By PATRICK CASEY
The Freeport Lady Bulldogs used a big second half to pull away from the Chipley Tigers on Friday night for a 60-44 victory that propelled the squad to the Class A Final Four in Lakeland.
Senior guard Katie O’Neal scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs took advantage of Chipley turnovers and poor shooting after intermission to earn their first trip to Lakeland in the history of the girls program at Freeport.
Freeport trailed 16-12 after one quarter of competition as Chipley senior guard Amanda Paschal scored 10 points in the opening frame while the Bulldogs struggled, making only 3-of-16 shots from the field.
The Bulldogs got going in the second quarter as junior guard Megan O’Neal canned four shots from behind the three-point line in the first half, scoring 14 of her 19 points in the first 16 minutes of play to help Freeport rally to a 26-23 halftime advantage.
Senior guard Laura Ham capped the rally with a basket as time expired to push the visiting team to a three-point lead and send the squad into the locker room with momentum.
On Jan. 31, Chipley had a huge third quarter in Baker against Freeport to turn the momentum, leading to a 48-46 district win that put Freeport on the road for both rounds of the playoffs. On Friday night, it was the Bulldogs’ turn to play the second half with an advantage as the Bulldogs made 11-of-22 shots from the field after intermission while hitting 16-of-20 free throws in the contest to lengthen the lead.
Chipley had a rough half in their final 16 minutes of play on their home floor, making only 8-of-28 shots from the field in the second half with none of their multiple three-point shot attempts falling. Paschal scored 27 points to lead the way in her final game at Chipley, but her teammates were only able to provide 17 points of their own in the loss.
The Bulldogs forced 15 turnovers while committing only 10 of their own and got seven points from Devany Beard, six from Mary Kate Myrick and four from Laura Ham. Freeport hit 18-of-47 shots from the field in the game and played with a fire that pleased head coach Mike Myrick.
“I think we wanted it more. Chipley has been to state the last two years and we really wanted to show that we could finish the game against them, unlike at Baker. When Megan made those first two shots from behind the arc in the first half I thought she would have a good shooting night. Laura and Devany had a good second half and Molly Head battled on the inside as a freshman. I told them we could not lose the rebounding battle against an aggressive team like Chipley and we held our own tonight.”
The Bulldogs got to the Region 2 final after having to pull out a road win at Port St. Joe on Feb. 10 with a 20-point run in the fourth quarter to eliminate the Sharks with a 49-40 decision.
Freeport suffered a poor shooting night, hitting only 15-of-58 shots against the Gulf County squad, but Katie O’Neal rescued the team with a 30-point performance, including hitting 10-of-14 shots from the charity stripe. Myrick provided a pair of three-point shots in the game and had 10 points, her highest total since returning from the Sept. 30 knee injury she suffered against Walton in volleyball.
The Sharks were game as freshman Teiyahna Hutchinson scored 20 points to lead the host squad but her teammates were only able to add 20 points of their own.
The Sharks hit 17-of-46 shots from the field but had 14 turnovers with Katie racing the other way for several lay-ups that kept Freeport ahead in the fourth quarter.
Megan O’Neal was held to six points but the experience of the Bulldogs squad in handling the ball in hostile environments paid off as they pulled away to capture the win and move on to the next round.
Freeport (22-4) ended Port St. Joe (13-13) and Chipley’s (16-8) seasons last week and now must square off against county rival Paxton (21-7) in a Class A state semi-final on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m. in Lakeland with the winner to face the Hilliard-Wildwood winner in the Class A title game on Thursday at 11 a.m.
Freeport defeated Paxton 62-53 back on Nov. 24 in Freeport with Katie O’Neal leading the way with 33 points scored. The Bulldogs are the top offensive team in the Area 5 while Paxton boasts the top defense and are the defending Class A state champions.
The Lady Bobcats have dominated the series since the 1991-92 season, winning 27 of the 32 games between the two schools. The winner of their match-up will play for the Area 5’s fourth consecutive state championship in girls basketball as Ponce de Leon captured the crown in 2012, South Walton in 2013 and Paxton in 2014.
Team Notes: Freeport coach Mike Myrick is in his 16th season and holds a mark of 178-231 in that time. The Lady Bulldogs are 7-5 in state playoff history in six appearances and earned their first playoff berth after the 1975-76 season under coach Jackie Herring. Katie O’Neal has scored 1,007 points for the varsity while at Freeport in her two seasons with the squad. Mary Kate Myrick has 1,147 varsity points scored in four years and Megan O’Neal has 983 points scored at Freeport in two seasons. Freeport is making their first state playoff appearance since the 2006-07 season which resulted in a 58-36 loss at Ponce de Leon. Paxton coach Steve Williams is in his sixth season and holds a record of 133-35 in that time. Paxton is 39-17 in 23 playoff appearances and won the Class A title last year with a 39-34 defeat of Chipley. Paxton has won five state titles in school history and is looking to go back-to-back for the second time in school history (1995-96 and 1996-97). This is Paxton’s seventh trip to the Final Four with the school holding a 10-1 mark, losing in a semi-final in 2007-08 to Lakeland Trinity Christian for their only loss at the event. Paxton senior guard Bethany Neale has 1,348 points scored in four years of varsity competition.
