Ford II girls’ basketball coach Matt Joseph saw a different look in guard Anayya Davis’ eyes when he high-fived her during player introductions before its district championship game against visiting Fraser on Friday night.

Davis looked like a player who would not be denied as she poured in 30 points, leading the Falcons to a 63-48 title game win over the Ramblers.

“This is our 24th game and today she had a little different look on her face before the game,” Joseph said. “When she wants it, she puts us on her back and she does so much passing the ball, rebounding and finishing. She’s tough to defend.”

Early on, though, it was Fraser who came out flying, racing to a 12-2 lead five minutes into the game.

The Falcons, though, settled down and finished the quarter with a 14-3 run, taking a 16-15 edge after eight minutes.

“I knew Fraser would come out and play hard,” Joseph said. “Rob (Fraser coach Fulgenzi) does such a great job with that team and program. They hit some big shots and we were a little nervous.”

Fulgenzi said he couldn’t have asked for a better start from his squad.

“It’s funny because we talked about Ford coming out hard and us having to take their first punch,” Fulgenzi said. “We came out ready to play, hitting some big shots and getting some stops. But, Ford settled down and their press forced us into some turnovers and they got back into the game.”

Davis and teammate Claire O’Brien, who scored six and seven points respectively in the first quarter, continued their strong play in the second. Davis scored 12 in the second quarter, while O’Brien added seven, pacing a 21-10 Ford outburst and a 37-25 lead at halftime.

“All credit to Ford,” Fulgenzi said. “They played great tonight and they’re a great team. Anayya is one of the best players in the county and state as well. She put a lot of pressure on our defense by getting to the basket and forcing our defense to collapse. That hurt us.”

Fraser trimmed the Falcon lead to 39-32 on a layup by Natasha Smith with 4:39 left in the third quarter.

Ford, though, answered with a 12-4 run, including 10 points by Davis, extending its advantage to 51-36 heading into the final period, coasting to the win.

“Our girls played hard,” Fulgenzi said. “We had to downsize our lineup and play a little smaller. We hung in there. We were only down 10 points in the fourth quarter and that’s all you can ask for when you’ve gone through adversity the entire game with foul trouble. We battled.”

Besides her 30 points, Davis added 11 rebounds and three blocked shots. O’Brien had 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots. Emily Leusby chipped in seven points, and Emma McNally finished with five.

“Claire was huge tonight,” Joseph said. “When she plays like that, we’re tough to defend. She’s come miles from the start of the year to now. Her ability to score inside gives us that other option offensively, which is big for us.

“Lea Raciti and Emma McNally gave us some big minutes tonight off the bench,” Joseph added. “Lea competes as hard as anybody and constantly wants to be in the gym to improve her game.”

The win improved the Falcons’ record to 22-2 overall and moved them into Monday night’s regional semifinal game against Dakota at Lakeview High School. Joseph said the plan is simple.

“We have to play together and compete like we did tonight,” Joseph said. “We’ve been telling them all along that we’re as good as anybody, and we believe that. This is a big one for us because we know that anybody can beat us. They know they have to bring their ‘A’ game.”

Fraser was led by Alaynah Quinn with 21 points.

“I can’t say any more good things about Alaynah,” Fulgenzi said. “I think she’s proven that she’s one of the best point guards in the county. She’s playing at a high level right now, and making plays. She’s coming back next year and she’ll get even better heading into her senior year.”

Francesca Sines added 13 points for the Ramblers, while Smith chipped in nine points. The loss ended Fraser’s season at 17-7 overall. Fulgenzi said this one hurts, but feels his team will be back battling for the district title next year.

“We got them all coming back but one player and I want them to remember this feeling,” Fulgenzi said. “When you get this far in the tournament, you’re going to play a good team, and you have to be at your best offensively and defensively. We have to play four good quarters. I like the future.”