During the opening minutes of the first round at the Class C state tournament, Fairview looked as nervous as a team that hasn’t been at the state tourney for more than 15 years.

“The girls were really excited,” Fairview Coach Mark Thompson said. He added that even when the Warriors began shooting in warm-ups, they were pretty shaky. “They had to control their emotions.”

After falling behind 5-2 early, the Warriors accounted for the last eight points of the first quarter en route to a 38-24 victory over Drummond. Helping control the team’s emotions was Stephanie Murphy, who played at state as a freshman in Charlo.

“We were definitely a little off today,” the transfer student said. “I told them we just have to play like we did last week. We just have to play together.”

Murphy scored Fairview’s first four points in the game. “She seemed to be a little more calm than the rest,” Thompson said.

The coach, however, was pleased with the entire squad’s defensive performance in the first half. That effort led Fairview to a 20-8 half-time advantage.

Down 5-2, Fairview’s man-to-man defense held Drummond scoreless the rest of the period.

After Murphy scored off a pass from Katie Hardy, the Warriors gained an 8-5 lead on two straight shots by Morgan Klose.

A long inbounds pass by Erica Riedel led to a basket by Jordan Gifford for a 10-5 lead to end the quarter.

Sophomore Tiffany Kittleson came off the bench to score off an assist from Hardy to open the second period. “She was a sparkplug for us off the bench,” Thompson said.

Drummond ended its drought when Kenzi Bradshaw hit a 12-footer at the 7:26 mark. The Warriors were able to slowly extend their lead to 20-7 on hoops by Murphy, Klose, Gifford and Kittleson. A free throw by Drummond’s Emilie Angelo put the half-time margin at 20-8.

A basket by Klose, off a pass from Hardy, increased the gap to 26-10 midway into the third quarter, the Trojans battled back with nine of the next 11 points led by five from Ayla Martell. Two free tosses by Klose increased the margin to 30-19 to end the quarter.

Three straight points by Murphy opened the fourth quarter, but the Trojans were able to pull to nine points.

Fairview’s defense, however, held Drummond scoreless for the final 2:27 and put the contest away with five straight points by Hardy.

Fairview’s top scorers were Klose with 10, Murphy with nine and Hardy with nine. Also scoring were Gifford with six and Kittleson with four.

Murphy led the team with eight rebounds while Hardy finished with seven boards.

Leading Drummond were Brianna Jesse and Martell with five points each.