Hayden Fahy's stellar shooting leads Maine South to comeback win over Lane

All Maine South senior Hayden Fahy could do was cover her face to conceal her smile after making her second banked three-pointer in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s game. Fahy said she hadn’t ever banked in one three, let alone two, in a game before.

“But it didn’t matter because they were important,” said Fahy, who scored 17 points in Maine South’s 55-48 win over Lane.

The Hawks’ 4A sectional semifinal win showed the team’s relentlessness. They trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half but trimmed the deficit to seven at halftime. That’s when the Hawks knew they had to make a change to complete the comeback.

“We just, like, needed to relax,” Fahy said. “ Like we were all too razzled, it’s the playoffs. Everyone's excited. [Coach Jeff Haman] was like, ‘You guys need to relax and rebound.’”

The pep talk paid off as the Hawks surged out of halftime with a renewed sense of urgency. They boxed out, did a better job of defending Lane’s backdoor cuts, and got into more of a flow offensively. Fahy, junior guard Phoebe O’Shea and junior forward Evelina Sotos all hit a three in the third quarter.

There was a different fervor from the Hawks in the third quarter. They weren’t going to be deterred from completing the comeback. On one play, Sotos ran to the right corner and corralled a loose ball to give Maine South an extra possession. The ball eventually swung back to Sotos, and she drilled a three-pointer. Senior guard Gianna LaVecchia knocked down two free throws at the end of the third quarter to give Maine South its first lead since the first quarter.

“We are resilient, tough, and a group that loves each other,” Hamann said. “When you have that love for each other … [combined with] the toughness and the resiliency, we can do some great things.”

Lane was very impressive on Tuesday. The Champions were active on the glass and held a lead for the majority of the game. But foul trouble and double-digit turnovers plagued the Champions.

“All the credit goes to Lane,” Hamann said. “They're young, and they're good.”

The Hawks are a team that uses the majority of their roster. It’s not uncommon for the Hawks to play 10 players in a game. Fahy’s points were huge, but O’Shea’s 13 points were also critical off the bench. She had some tough drives to the basket to either convert at the basket or draw a foul. She’s also a knockdown shooter.

“She's amazing off the bench,” Fahy said of O’Shea. “She's like a hidden weapon. When [opposing players] come down the court, people are like, ‘Oh, shoot.’ She's always ready for those moments, and she knows her role.”

After Maine South’s win, its fan base stormed the court to celebrate with the Hawks. This was a confidence-boosting win for the Hawks going into the 4A sectional championship against Loyola on Thursday at Maine South.

“I'm really proud of them [that] in a game that we weren't at our best and things weren't flowing the way we wanted to, we still found a way in a state playoff game in this atmosphere,” Haman said.