COLUMBIA, MO – Paige Fowler called it a “full circle moment.”
The lone Lift for Life senior, who fouled out during a devastating state quarterfinal loss to Central-Park Hills last season, hoped for an opportunity to make amends.
“I had it the back of my mind that if I ever have a chance to play Central-Park Hills again, I will do my best,” Fowler said.
Fowler scored 13 points and gathered 12 offensive rebounds, including a pair of putbacks during the pivotal third quarter, as Life for Life defeated Central-Park Hills 75-57 to win the Class 4 state championship last Thursday during the Show-Me-Showdown at Mizzou Arena.
Lift for Life (28-3), which also won a Class 3 title in 2021, had five players reach double-figures led by freshman Amaya Manuel with 19 points and sophomore Zha’Varia Harris, who added 18 points and nine steals.
“We cried together last year. We told each other that we will not cry again, and here we are without our tears,” Lift for Life coach Chantell Polk said.
Fowler scored four points before fouling out of last year’s 46-42 quarterfinal loss to Central-Park Hills. She faced a similar scenario Thursday, going to the bench with three fouls midway through the second quarter.
“I had to adjust. I had to know when to be aggressive, when to go for the ball and when not to,” Fowler said.
That measured aggression took shape in a hurricane-like barrage early the third quarter after a three-pointer by Central junior Taylor O’Connor narrowed the Rebels’ deficit to 38-36.
“(Central) being that close lit a fire under us,” Fowler said. “We knew we didn’t want to lose. We came out and did what we had to do.”
Harris ignited the sequence with a triple. Then she made her ninth steal of the game and delivered a strike to sophomore Diamond Polk. Moments later, Harris gathered a rebound and fired a perfect, 60-foot baseball pass to Polk for a corner-3.
“We don’t win without Zha,” Chantell Polk said. “She has been a thief all season. 100 assists, 100 steals. She is the heart of our defense. Those quick buckets, when we need them, Zha Harris does it for us every time.”
A lightning-quick 12-0 barrage was only the windy portion of the storm, the eye wall had not yet arrived. A Fowler putback-and-1 began to instill physical damage. A pair of tough drives by Manuel added energy, and when Fowler delivered another putback, it concluded a 26-4 third-quarter event that deserved its own name to be retired forever.
“We’ve been practicing all season to make that third quarter our best quarter. I can’t imagine them playing any better than they did. They came out blazing,” Chantell Polk said.
Central Park-Hills (27-5), the Class 3 state champion in 2015, was making its first back-to-back final four appearance in program history after placing third last season.
The Rebels employed a similar strategy against Life for Life as they did in their quarterfinal win last season – enticing the Hawks to shoot from the perimeter.
“We wanted to pack it in, keep them out of the lane and be physical on the boards. If they were going to beat us making threes, that was something we’d have to live with,” Central-Park Hills coach Aaron Tyree said.
Lift for Life, which was 4-for-15 from deep in the quarterfinal loss to Central last season, accepted the challenge.
Harris drained a three on the Hawks first possession and freshman Cara Manuel drained two more shortly thereafter. When Harris sank a corner triple, the Hawks soared to a 19-12 lead, equaling the number of made threes from the previous meeting in the first six minutes.
“We were surprised. They’re not really known for that,” Central junior Allysa O’Connor said.
While the defensive strategy was not going as planned for the Rebels, they were succeeding at getting the Hawks in foul trouble. Lift for Life committed 15 first half fouls and had a trio of players, including Fowler, owning three fouls midway through the second quarter.
“We thought if we got them in foul trouble and made them go deeper into their bench, it could make things a little easier for us, but they brought kids in that were just as good and just as skilled,” Tyree said.
Central went 21-for-29 from the free throw line led by a perfect 8-for-8 effort from senior Khloe Dischbein, who led the Rebels with 24 points. Her tough basket in traffic sliced the deficit to 30-29 with less than a minute to play in the first half.
But a basket by Amaya Manuel and a quick steal and score by Harris beat the halftime buzzer and served as a precursor to the Hawks’ dynamic third quarter.
“I thought we played a really good first half, but we had an unfortunate series at the end of the second quarter. I felt like it took the momentum out of our sails,” Tyree said.
And in the second half, Fowler and the Hawks made the adjustments necessary to not only avoid another heartbreaking result, but to put together a quarter for the ages.
“Life is such a full circle. I fouled out last year, and I was heavy with myself. Tonight, I wanted to play my best and I feel like I did that,” Fowler said.
Photos at @metro_sports_stl Instagram.