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2020 2A State Final: Linton-Stockton v Frankton

By Randy Beckett
Updated: March 1, 2020

#4 Linton-Stockton Miners (24-5) were coming off an upset Final Four win of the unbeaten and #1 team in the state. Unranked Frankton Eagles (21-7), who had seen time in the Top 20, had turned the corner in early January and had won twelve of their last thirteen contest. Linton-Stockton is led by a trio of juniors in Vanessa Shafford (17.6PPG), Aubrey Burgess (12.7PPG), and Haley Rose (12.5PPG). Frankton is led in scoring by junior Ava Gardner (9.4PPG).

The two teams would trade buckets in the first couple of minutes of the contest and be tied 5-5 at the 5:30 mark of the first. A 7-0 run in the middle of the quarter would give the Miners a 12-5 lead, that would balloon to 20-10 by the first quarter horn. Linton-Stockton connected on 60% of their chances and came up with six steals in the first eight minutes.

The wheels would come off for the Eagles in the second quarter. The Miners would score the first eight points, and nineteen of the first twenty points before the Eagles could get their first field goal to fall nearly five and half minutes into the quarter. By then the lead had grown to 28 points and the air was out of the sails for the Eagles. In a 27-point quarter that saw the Miners shot nearly 70% the halftime advantage would stand at a jaw dropping 47-16. Linton Stockton shot a red hot 64.5% in the first half, including 6-9 from behind the three-point line, while Frankton was ice cold at 25%. Junior sharpshooter Vanessa Shafford led the Miners at half with 19 points, while Bailey Tucker had 5 for the Eagles.

Both teams would struggle to find points in the third quarter, as the two teams combined for just 13 points on 4-23 shooting. The lone bright spot was the Eagles Chloe Thomas who had 5 points and 5 rebounds in the quarter. Linton Stockton would take a 55-21 lead into the final eight minutes of play.

The shooting struggles would continue for the Eagles in the fourth and the Miners would connect on all nine of their free throw chances and the lead would grow to its biggest margin as the horn sounded with a Linton Stockton 70-28 2A State Championship. The 42-point margin was the second largest margin of victory in state finals history. Linton Stockton shot 51% for the game, including 46% from three & 93% from the line. Frankton finished the contest shooting just 19.6%. The Miners were led by the fantastic performances of juniors Vanessa Shafford 26 points & 9 rebounds and Aubrey Burgess who finished with 19 points, 7 assist, and 7 rebounds. Frankton was paced by junior Chloee Thomas who had 11 points and 11 boards.

Linton Stockton (70): Shafford (26), Burgess (19), Rose (13), Hayes (6), Warrick (2), Brownfield (2), Chambers (2)

Frankton (28): Thomas (11), Tucker (7), Gardner (3), Gardner (3), Alexander (2), Utterback (2)