Shackled by shooting difficulties in their offensive sets, the Fulton Lady Hornets profited from what was freely made available.
Fulton outscored Moberly 21-11 in the fourth quarter, making 12-of-14 free throws during that span, as the Lady Hornets turned back the Lady Spartans 57-48 in a North Central Missouri Conference win Friday night.
Fulton (10-6, 5-2 NCMC) - winners of two straight - was in front 23-13 at halftime, but Moberly erupted in the third quarter and outscored the Lady Hornets 24-13 to take a 37-36 lead. With Fulton wrestling with its offensive issues, head coach TJ Quick stressed the need to penetrate the lane for better shots and chances to get to the foul line.
Sparked by junior guard Sloane Totta, the Lady Hornets followed through on Quick's command. Totta converted 7-of-8 free throws over the final 8 minutes as Fulton gradually took control.
Totta finished 10-of-14 from the line and the Lady Hornets converted 71 percent (17-of-24) of their free throws.
"Toward the end of the third quarter we started to get our momentum back," Quick said. "We gathered ourselves and that carried over nicely to the fourth quarter.
"We needed to attack the basket and get higher-percentage shots, and get to the free-throw line to get our (shooting) stroke back there. That worked well for us in the fourth quarter."
Totta ended up with a game-high 23 points, while junior forward NaShayla Brandt posted a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Junior forward Crystal Tilson also tallied eight points for Fulton.
The Lady Hornets - despite being outrebounded 40-34 - outscored the Lady Spartans 32-20 in the paint. Still, Fulton shot just 33 percent (19-of-58) overall.
"We were moving the ball and getting open looks; we were just flat-out missing shots," Quick said.
Lexy Ganaway was the only Moberly player to make it into double figures, supplying 18 points on six 3-pointers.
The Lady Hornets dropped a junior varsity game at Moberly on Thursday night, falling 45-29. Junior guard Michaela Huff and sophomore guard Kenzie Archer shared the team lead with seven points, while freshman forward Alize Coleman contributed six.
Fulton has drawn the second seed for this week's Southern Boone Classic in Ashland. The Lady Hornets square off against the host, No. 7 seed Southern Boone, in the first round at 7:30 p.m. Monday.
Fatima - ranked No. 5 in Class 3 - is the tournament's No. 1 seed. Harrisburg, which was ranked in Class 2 earlier this season, is seeded third behind Fulton. Father Tolton is the No. 4 seed.
"The bracket is a toss-up; you can flip a coin," Quick said. "It's going to be a good tournament."