WARDSVILLE, Mo. - Up by four with about three minutes remaining, the Blair Oaks Lady Falcons were just hoping to get a good look at the basket.
They weren't even able to get a shot off, but they ended up not needing to.
The Lady Falcons drained more than a minute and a half off the clock before the Lady Trailblazers stole the ball away. But to make up for the turnover, Bailey Rissmiller took it right back in just a few seconds, Halie Rackers made four free throws thanks to a technical foul and the Lady Trailblazers missed their final two shot attempts as Blair Oaks held on for a 48-40 victory Thursday night.
"We didn't necessarily want to sit on it, but we had said we were going to run this play until we get what we want and they were patient," Blair Oaks coach Darren Heckman said. "I actually messed it up and tried to change the play and then we turned it over. We were just running the offense. We weren't trying to stall. They really were just patient on their own, so that was nice to see."
Rackers scored Blair Oaks' final six points of the game and tallied her first six points in just two and a half minutes to lead what ended up being a 12-1 start for the Lady Falcons.
"We've been getting off to decent starts," Heckman said. "Right now it seems to be we take a little lull for whatever reason in the second quarter, but the start was really good. It was all about our energy defensively."
A Rissmiller steal led to a pair of free throws for Brooke Boessen for a 4-0 lead. Rissmiller made it 10-1 with a layup and Abby Girard scored inside to cap the run at the 2:20 mark of the opening quarter.
Father Tolton's sixth turnover of the quarter resulted in a Rissmiller basket with less than 10 seconds on the clock for a 15-6 lead.
But the Lady Trailblazers made a run in the second quarter that resulted in a four-point deficit for the Lady Falcons.
Emily Gall, a senior, got open in the corner for back-to-back 3-pointers to give Father Tolton a 19-17 lead with 3:36 left before halftime.
"We had talked about her," Heckman said. "She did that to us last year. When she gets in those corners she makes that shot. Those were the two times we didn't guard her. Other than that, we guarded her."
Sophia Elfrink closed out the 14-0 run with a layup at the 2:46 mark for a 21-17 lead and Father Tolton took a 24-23 advantage into intermission.
But just a few minutes into the third quarter, Blair Oaks took the lead for good. A Rackers layup with 5:11 left in the quarter made it 27-26 and began a 6-0 spurt for the Lady Falcons. Rackers scored a game-high 18 points and the guard was second on the team with five rebounds.
"She found her shot last week a little bit and it was a really nice aggressive approach tonight in all aspects," Heckman said. "That makes a big difference when she's playing that way."
Makenna Kliethermes scored five of her nine points in the fourth quarter to help close out the win. Boessen led Blair Oaks with six rebounds.
But it was the defense by those two along with Girard that Heckman was pleased with. Father Tolton (9-10) post players Amber Wright and Sophia Elfrink scored seven and 12 points, respectively.
"We challenged them at halftime to guard their two post players and they did a good job," Heckman said.
With the win, Blair Oaks (14-6) is 5-0 against Class 3 District 9 opponents with seeding being decided next week.
The Lady Falcons will try to make it 6-0 on Saturday when they face South Callaway at 10:30 a.m. in the Central Bank Shootout at Rackers Fieldhouse.
Blair Oaks defeated Father Tolton in the JV game 45-26. Mallorie Fick led the Lady Falcons with 15 points, while Alyssa Hargus added nine points.