2018-19 Fairfield Lady Lions Basketball Preview
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
Some things will look much different for the Fairfield Lady Lions this season as they lost their all-time leading scorer in not just program history, but in school basketball history, along with other core players who have been a part of the starting lineup for the past few seasons.
Now it is time for a new era for the Fairfield Lady Lions to begin, as the current members look to continue the recent winning success for the upcoming 2018-19 basketball season under sixth-year head coach Chad Hamilton.
Last season the Lady Lions finished at 18-6 overall with a 10-3 record in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the Division II SHAC championship, the first time the Lady Lions won a conference championship in program history.
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This year as Fairfield looks to defend their championship, they will look to a team of three seniors, one junior, two sophomores and five freshmen, including seniors Brianna Barnes, Lauren Arnold and Trinity Huff.
The lone junior is Molly Thackston, while the two sophomores are Samara Cannon and Jaden Smith. New to the varsity program are freshmen Emma Fouch, Ella Newkirk, Braylynn Haines, Madison Bronner and Cadence Saunders.
With Barnes, the Lady Lions have a player returning who averaged 8.8 points per game in 22 regular-season games last year, scoring 194 points in those games. Arnold scored 42 points last season, and Cannon is the leading returning scorer at 9.9 ppg. with 217 points in 22 games as a freshman.
Last season, Cannon scored 20 or more points in two games, including a 25-point game vs. West Union.
“Our returning players that started the majority of the time are Brianna Barnes, Lauren Arnold and Samara Cannon,” Hamilton said.
The Lady Lions have lost four seniors from last year, including All-Ohio selection and the Fairfield all-time leading scorer Grace Shope. Shope averaged 21.5 ppg. last season in 22 games. Also graduated is Blake Adams, who averaged 8.1 ppg.
Getting prepared for the season has seen the Lady Lions learning to play better as a team, as they work to be more competitive.
“We are trying to gain continuity to be competitive. The girls are working hard, so we are excited to get started,” Hamilton said. “Samara Cannon and Brianna Barnes are our top two returning scorers from last season. Lauren Arnold and Trinity Huff are seniors who I expect to play a big role, and we have some underclassmen who I believe will step up and help us as well.”
One aspect for the Lady Lions that has been an issue this offseason has been the overall numbers of the program, leaving more questions for the Lady Lions as they begin their season.
“We struggled with numbers during the summer, so it was difficult to get an accurate look at the upcoming season. I'm excited to see how the girls will mesh on the floor,” Hamilton said. “With so many away games and so many games at the beginning of our season, we will have to play well from the beginning to get off to a positive start.”
Another part of the Fairfield season that stands out is their schedule, with the Lady Lions having just seven home games all season and 15 away games, including stretches of away games of six games and four games. In those stretches of games, FHS will be on the road all but two games from Dec. 1 to Jan. 7. Last season, the Lady Lions had 16 home games.
Within the 22-game schedule for the Lady Lions this season, non-conference games include: Huntington, East Clinton, South Webster, Paint Valley, Southeastern, Washington, Portsmouth Clay, McClain and Northwest (Cincinnati).
Fairfield opens the season on the road on Nov. 24 at Huntington. Their first home game will be their fourth game of the season on Nov. 29 vs. Whiteoak, and the Lady Lions won’t be home again until Dec. 17 vs. Peebles.
Now it is time for a new era for the Fairfield Lady Lions to begin, as the current members look to continue the recent winning success for the upcoming 2018-19 basketball season under sixth-year head coach Chad Hamilton.
Last season the Lady Lions finished at 18-6 overall with a 10-3 record in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, winning the Division II SHAC championship, the first time the Lady Lions won a conference championship in program history.
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This year as Fairfield looks to defend their championship, they will look to a team of three seniors, one junior, two sophomores and five freshmen, including seniors Brianna Barnes, Lauren Arnold and Trinity Huff.
The lone junior is Molly Thackston, while the two sophomores are Samara Cannon and Jaden Smith. New to the varsity program are freshmen Emma Fouch, Ella Newkirk, Braylynn Haines, Madison Bronner and Cadence Saunders.
With Barnes, the Lady Lions have a player returning who averaged 8.8 points per game in 22 regular-season games last year, scoring 194 points in those games. Arnold scored 42 points last season, and Cannon is the leading returning scorer at 9.9 ppg. with 217 points in 22 games as a freshman.
Last season, Cannon scored 20 or more points in two games, including a 25-point game vs. West Union.
“Our returning players that started the majority of the time are Brianna Barnes, Lauren Arnold and Samara Cannon,” Hamilton said.
The Lady Lions have lost four seniors from last year, including All-Ohio selection and the Fairfield all-time leading scorer Grace Shope. Shope averaged 21.5 ppg. last season in 22 games. Also graduated is Blake Adams, who averaged 8.1 ppg.
Getting prepared for the season has seen the Lady Lions learning to play better as a team, as they work to be more competitive.
“We are trying to gain continuity to be competitive. The girls are working hard, so we are excited to get started,” Hamilton said. “Samara Cannon and Brianna Barnes are our top two returning scorers from last season. Lauren Arnold and Trinity Huff are seniors who I expect to play a big role, and we have some underclassmen who I believe will step up and help us as well.”
One aspect for the Lady Lions that has been an issue this offseason has been the overall numbers of the program, leaving more questions for the Lady Lions as they begin their season.
“We struggled with numbers during the summer, so it was difficult to get an accurate look at the upcoming season. I'm excited to see how the girls will mesh on the floor,” Hamilton said. “With so many away games and so many games at the beginning of our season, we will have to play well from the beginning to get off to a positive start.”
Another part of the Fairfield season that stands out is their schedule, with the Lady Lions having just seven home games all season and 15 away games, including stretches of away games of six games and four games. In those stretches of games, FHS will be on the road all but two games from Dec. 1 to Jan. 7. Last season, the Lady Lions had 16 home games.
Within the 22-game schedule for the Lady Lions this season, non-conference games include: Huntington, East Clinton, South Webster, Paint Valley, Southeastern, Washington, Portsmouth Clay, McClain and Northwest (Cincinnati).
Fairfield opens the season on the road on Nov. 24 at Huntington. Their first home game will be their fourth game of the season on Nov. 29 vs. Whiteoak, and the Lady Lions won’t be home again until Dec. 17 vs. Peebles.