Burch’s long-distance call wakes up Fort Mill

Nation Ford entered its girls basketball showdown on Jan. 24 against rival Fort Mill carrying all of the momentum as the Falcons had won three straight and 10 of their last 12 games.

Early on the Falcons dominated inside, relying on leading scorer Sami Tuipulotu’s short jumpers in the lane, but a Unique Burch 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer gave Fort Mill a lead it wouldn’t let slip away.

Tuipulotu scored 10 points in the first quarter and finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds – both game highs – but wasn’t as effective in the final three quarters as the Fort Mill defense sent constant double- and triple-teams her way.

“We made some adjustments and said anyone but (Tuipulotu) was going to beat us,” said Fort Mill coach Brett Childers.

“We made an adjustment and said we’ll make her kick it out and challenge anyone else to make a shot. It could have bit us, but it worked out for us tonight. Our first quarter was skittish, but we got refocused and did a much better job.”

The Yellow Jackets struggled out of the gates and trailed 12-8 after the first quarter and didn’t take their first lead until Burch’s 3-pointer gave them an 18-16 lead as the halftime buzzer sounded.

But Fort Mill tightened up defensively after the break and allowed just 11 second-half points, including just four in the fourth quarter that saw the Yellow Jackets extend a six-point lead to the final nine-point margin.

Fort Mill’s big move came late in the third quarter as Meredith Christopher assisted on a pair of Wallace Cortazar buckets that resulted in and-ones.

Cortazar connected on her first free throw attempt and missed her second attempt at a three-point play, but the five-point swing broke open a 24-23 lead to a 29-23 advantage that the Falcons couldn’t chip into.

“Wallace played great in the second half,” Childers said. “She’s a really good offensive player, but has been struggling of late getting her shot going. She stayed with it, and I’m really proud of her for sticking with it and getting some big baskets tonight.

“(Nation Ford) has had a really good year and they came in here playing really well of late. We had two really good days of practice leading up to this and my seniors have been locked in for the past couple of weeks. They kind of took ownership of this and they huddled before the game and made my job really easy tonight. They locked it down tonight and get credit for the win.”

Christopher, one of three seniors along with Kimber Hailey and Jackie White, led the way with 10 points for the Yellow Jackets, but White added eight, Cortazar scored seven and Burch had five points and eight rebounds.

“We kept doing what we do,” Childers said. “They are very good at what they do, but we kind of settled into a tempo that we like and really locked down to do what we’ve been working on.”

Turning point

Burch’s 3-pointer at the end of the first half gave Fort Mill its first lead of the game and the Yellow Jackets never looked back.

Critical

Nation Ford was chasing points since the first half ended, but made just 3-9 free throws and scored just four fourth-quarter points.

Star contributions

Fort Mill’s leading scorer Meredith Christopher led the Yellow Jackets with 10 points, but did her best work hitting Cortazar on consecutive and-one opportunities that put the game essentially out of reach.

On deck

Fort Mill will travel to Rock Hill on Jan. 31, while Nation Ford hosts Rock Hill on Jan. 27.

This story was originally published January 27, 2017 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Burch’s long-distance call wakes up Fort Mill."