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The Buffaloes thank Floyd County fans after getting the state championship trophy.

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Girls win state championship

By Roger Mannon
Staff Writer

This time the finish was perfect.
Floyd County beat Lancaster 64-50 to win the Group A, Division 2 girls’ basketball state championship at the Siegel Center in Richmond Saturday, March 15, 2008. The Buffaloes lost in the state tournament at Richmond the last two years.
“We weren’t thinking ‘third time’s the charm’,” said coach Alan Cantrell. “The girls came up with ‘finish on a win’ as a slogan.”
The finish, start, and everything in between went Floyd’s way as the Lady Buffs never trailed. Molly Brown got a basket off the opening tip, Carmen Bolt scored off a turnover, Brittany Avancini scored off a steal, and Brandy Phillips made two free throws for an 8-0 lead.
Andrea White and Ashley Ransome got baskets to cut the lead to four. Brittany Bourne made a jumper, and Ransome scored on a break to keep the lead at four.
Floyd pushed the lead to 11 as Kayla Hartman scored on a give and go, Bourne hit a three-pointer, and Alisha Gray scored on a break to make it 17-6. Ransome scored on a break, and Tyesha Harvey made two free throws to make it 17-10 at the end of the first quarter.
Ransome got a stickback with Brown answering from the key. Ransome scored on another drive, with Avancini hitting a three-pointer.
White hit from the baseline, Harvey made a free throw, and White hit a jumper to get the Red Devils within three. Avancini made another three, with Takeia Jones getting a free throw for Lancaster.
Avancini hit a two-pointer at 2:19, and then White made a free throw that gave her 1,000 career points. Hartman made two free throws, and White answered with a pair for Lancaster.
Avancini hit a three at 1:02, but the Buffaloes were in peril as all the starters had two fouls, and Cantrell went with five reserves in the last minute. “We were holding for the last shot,” Cantrell said.
The plan worked perfectly as Hartman got a lay-in at the buzzer to extend the lead to 34-23. “I was really excited,” Hartman said.
Cantrell said the last basket gave the Buffs a boost to start the second half. White opened with a length of the court drive, but Avancini answered with a three and added a free throw after a steal. Ransome got a rebound basket, and Bolt made a free throw and scored on a cut to up the lead to 41-27.
Lancaster cut the lead to seven as Miesha Wiggins made a free throw and White made three straight lay-ups for a 41-34 margin. A baseline jumper was contributed by Brown, and Avancini made two free throws and scored on a steal for a 47-35 lead.
Jones hit a three, with Avancini getting two free throws with 21 seconds left. A jumper by White with nine seconds left made it 49-40 at the end of three.
Avancini opened the fourth with a jumper, and Jasmine Moody got a three for Lancaster. Avancini made two free throws, and White answered with two for the Red Devils.
Phillips made two free throws for a 55-43 lead at 5:15.White got two free throws, and Hartman and Jones traded baskets to keep the lead at ten.
Hartman got a lay-in, with White hitting a three-pointer. After White missed a pair of free throws at 2:42, Floyd ran a motion offense, using 1:16 before Phillips was fouled and made one of two free throws.
Avancini made two free throws at 1:02 and one of two with 43 seconds left for a 13-point lead. By that time the players and fans sensed the game was clinched.
Avancini was fouled again with 13 seconds left, and Cantrell planned to substitute after a made second free throw and let Avancini come out of the game to a well-deserved ovation. “I sent Nicole (Snead) to the scorer’s table, but Brittany made the first shot and missed the second.
“I think she did it on purpose,” Cantrell joked. “She wanted to stay on the floor.”
Lancaster: White 24, T. Jones 4, Harvey 3, Wiggins 1, Ransome 13, Crockett 0, Moody 3, D. Jones 2 Rebounds: Harvey 11, White 8, Ransome 8, Wiggins 3, Jones 2, Moody 1, D. Jones 1
Floyd County: Avancini 31, Phillips 5, Brown 6, Bourne 5, Bolt 5, Gray 2, Hartman 10 Hollandsworth 0, Thompson 0, Bowman 0, McAlexander 0, Quesenberry 0, Snead 0 Rebounds: Avancini 7, Phillips 4, Brown 5, Bourne 8, Bolt 4, Hollandsworth 1, Gray 1, E. Thompson 3, Snead 3, Hartman 5 Steals: Avancini 8, Phillips 3, Bourne 1, Bolt 1, Thompson 1, Snead 1 Assists: Avancini 1, Brown 2, Bourne 7, Gray 1, Snead 1, Quesenberry 2 Block: Avancini 1