2017 Fairfield Lady Lions Preview: Will Lady Lions take next step within the SHAC standings?
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lady Lions reached the Division IV Southeast District Semifinals last season, but this year they will have a bit of a change as they are now in Division III, meaning once tournament time rolls around, the postseason will look a little different than usual.
That said, the Lady Lions are coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, having a 12-11 overall record and 8-6 Southern Hills Athletic Conference record. They reached the Division IV district semifinals the past two seasons and have won a sectional championship in those same two seasons.
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As head coach Chad Hamilton enters his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Lions, he knows his team is talented enough to take the next step in the SHAC and even the postseason tournament.
“Our goal this season is to win the conference championship in the small school division,” Hamilton said. “We finished second last year, and I believe we have the players to make it happen this season.”
On the team this season are seniors Ashley Sowards, Grace Shope, Carli Reiber and Blake Adams; juniors Lauren Arnold, Lyndee Spargur, Kamryn Magee and Brianna Barnes. The lone sophomore is Molly Thackston, and the lone freshman is Samara Cannon.
FHS lost two seniors from last season in Carly Arnold and Abby Newkirk, both of whom started games and played in at least 23 games apiece last year. They were also a part of a roster that had a program record nine-game winning streak from Jan. 12-30 last season.
FHS began their program-record winning streak Jan. 12, 2017 with a 47-41 win over Fayetteville. They then defeated Manchester twice (68-36, 56-34), Clermont Northeastern (46-21), Ripley (39-35), Paint Valley (75-67), West Union (58-47), Blanchester (54-46) and Whiteoak (59-30).
Hamilton spoke about his team before the start of the season.
“Grace Shope is expected to do big things for us like always. I believe she is more well-rounded this season, and she will have a lot of help offensively,” Hamilton said. “She has had a great career to this point, and I expect this season to be special.
“Blake Adams and Brianna Barnes are two players inside that will be relied upon heavily. They have really worked on their games and will be big factors in our success. Carli Reiber and Lyndee Spargur do a lot of the little things that don't always get noticed on a stat sheet but are very important.
“Ashley Sowards and Kami Magee will give us a boost with their outside shooting, and Lauren Arnold and Samara Cannon are great passers and very explosive.”
As for Shope, she’s a returning All-Ohio selection from last season, plus she is tied as the all-time leading scorer in program history, entering the season with 1,199 points through her first three seasons. She also has Lady Lions records by scoring 39 points in a game in 2016 and 18 points in a quarter in the same game.
Last season, Shope scored 417 points, averaging 17.4 points per game, playing in 24 games. She also totaled 35 3-pointers, 163 rebounds (6.8 rebounds per game), 62 assists (2.6 assists per game) and 93 steals (3.9 steals per game). She shot nearly 40 percent from the field, 64 percent from the free-throw line and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
Adams last season scored 176 points (7.3 points ppg), while also totaling 157 rebounds (6.5 rpg) — including a team-high 65 offensive rebounds — 15 assists and 30 steals.
Barnes returns this season after playing in all 24 games last year. She scored 118 points (4.9 ppg) last season, along with having 106 rebounds (4.4 rpg), 11 assists and 20 steals.
With the expectations to win a Division II SHAC championship this season, Hamilton knows his team needs to make improvements from last season, as one of those improvements is rebounding the basketball on a more consistent basis and not committing as many turnovers. Last season, the Lady Lions averaged 31.4 rebounds per game and 20.5 turnovers per game.
Free throw shooting is also an improvement needed by the Lady Lions, according to Hamilton. Last year they made 57.7 percent of their free throw attempts as a team at 229-397. In all, the Lady Lions averaged 48.2 ppg during the 2016-17 season.
“I would really like to see us improve our rebounding, turnovers and free throw shooting,” Hamilton said. “Those three things are usually the difference in whether you win or lose.”
Those improvements will need to come quickly, as the Lady Lions open the season at home vs. East Clinton, followed by home games against Southeastern and Fayetteville for their first three games.
The non-conference schedule for the Lady Lions includes: East Clinton, Southeastern, Paint Valley, North Adams, Cincinnati Northwest, Washington, McClain, Clermont Northeastern, Georgetown and Portsmouth Clay.
“We have a very busy schedule to start the season, so we need to be at the top of our game from the beginning,” Hamilton said. “I would like to see our continuity improve throughout the year as our veterans get more comfortable with our younger players.
“We played a lot of games this summer, and we have a lot of experienced players returning, so that allowed us to get right back in the swing of things from last season. We have a solid scrimmage schedule lined up, and we should be ready to go come November 27.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing this team on the floor when it counts. It is exciting to practice and scrimmage, but I'm really excited to see how we do when the pressure is on.”
That said, the Lady Lions are coming off one of their best seasons in recent memory, having a 12-11 overall record and 8-6 Southern Hills Athletic Conference record. They reached the Division IV district semifinals the past two seasons and have won a sectional championship in those same two seasons.
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As head coach Chad Hamilton enters his fifth season at the helm of the Lady Lions, he knows his team is talented enough to take the next step in the SHAC and even the postseason tournament.
“Our goal this season is to win the conference championship in the small school division,” Hamilton said. “We finished second last year, and I believe we have the players to make it happen this season.”
On the team this season are seniors Ashley Sowards, Grace Shope, Carli Reiber and Blake Adams; juniors Lauren Arnold, Lyndee Spargur, Kamryn Magee and Brianna Barnes. The lone sophomore is Molly Thackston, and the lone freshman is Samara Cannon.
FHS lost two seniors from last season in Carly Arnold and Abby Newkirk, both of whom started games and played in at least 23 games apiece last year. They were also a part of a roster that had a program record nine-game winning streak from Jan. 12-30 last season.
FHS began their program-record winning streak Jan. 12, 2017 with a 47-41 win over Fayetteville. They then defeated Manchester twice (68-36, 56-34), Clermont Northeastern (46-21), Ripley (39-35), Paint Valley (75-67), West Union (58-47), Blanchester (54-46) and Whiteoak (59-30).
Hamilton spoke about his team before the start of the season.
“Grace Shope is expected to do big things for us like always. I believe she is more well-rounded this season, and she will have a lot of help offensively,” Hamilton said. “She has had a great career to this point, and I expect this season to be special.
“Blake Adams and Brianna Barnes are two players inside that will be relied upon heavily. They have really worked on their games and will be big factors in our success. Carli Reiber and Lyndee Spargur do a lot of the little things that don't always get noticed on a stat sheet but are very important.
“Ashley Sowards and Kami Magee will give us a boost with their outside shooting, and Lauren Arnold and Samara Cannon are great passers and very explosive.”
As for Shope, she’s a returning All-Ohio selection from last season, plus she is tied as the all-time leading scorer in program history, entering the season with 1,199 points through her first three seasons. She also has Lady Lions records by scoring 39 points in a game in 2016 and 18 points in a quarter in the same game.
Last season, Shope scored 417 points, averaging 17.4 points per game, playing in 24 games. She also totaled 35 3-pointers, 163 rebounds (6.8 rebounds per game), 62 assists (2.6 assists per game) and 93 steals (3.9 steals per game). She shot nearly 40 percent from the field, 64 percent from the free-throw line and 34 percent from beyond the arc.
Adams last season scored 176 points (7.3 points ppg), while also totaling 157 rebounds (6.5 rpg) — including a team-high 65 offensive rebounds — 15 assists and 30 steals.
Barnes returns this season after playing in all 24 games last year. She scored 118 points (4.9 ppg) last season, along with having 106 rebounds (4.4 rpg), 11 assists and 20 steals.
With the expectations to win a Division II SHAC championship this season, Hamilton knows his team needs to make improvements from last season, as one of those improvements is rebounding the basketball on a more consistent basis and not committing as many turnovers. Last season, the Lady Lions averaged 31.4 rebounds per game and 20.5 turnovers per game.
Free throw shooting is also an improvement needed by the Lady Lions, according to Hamilton. Last year they made 57.7 percent of their free throw attempts as a team at 229-397. In all, the Lady Lions averaged 48.2 ppg during the 2016-17 season.
“I would really like to see us improve our rebounding, turnovers and free throw shooting,” Hamilton said. “Those three things are usually the difference in whether you win or lose.”
Those improvements will need to come quickly, as the Lady Lions open the season at home vs. East Clinton, followed by home games against Southeastern and Fayetteville for their first three games.
The non-conference schedule for the Lady Lions includes: East Clinton, Southeastern, Paint Valley, North Adams, Cincinnati Northwest, Washington, McClain, Clermont Northeastern, Georgetown and Portsmouth Clay.
“We have a very busy schedule to start the season, so we need to be at the top of our game from the beginning,” Hamilton said. “I would like to see our continuity improve throughout the year as our veterans get more comfortable with our younger players.
“We played a lot of games this summer, and we have a lot of experienced players returning, so that allowed us to get right back in the swing of things from last season. We have a solid scrimmage schedule lined up, and we should be ready to go come November 27.
“I’m just looking forward to seeing this team on the floor when it counts. It is exciting to practice and scrimmage, but I'm really excited to see how we do when the pressure is on.”