Fairfield gains 1st win of season; defeats East Clinton

There was no place like home for the Fairfield Lady Lions Monday evening as they gained their first win of the season by defeating the visiting East Clinton Lady Astros, 61-49.

The non-conference game for the Lady Lions (1-1) saw them open their home schedule with a big night from senior Heather Cox, as she scored a game-high 29 points while collecting a double-double by grabbing 22 rebounds. For good measure, she also had two steals.

"Heather had a huge game … you don't see too many performances with 20-plus rebounds," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said.

The score was tied at 17 following the first quarter, but FHS managed to take the lead in the next eight minutes by outscoring their opponent, 14-10 in the second for a 31-27 halftime advantage.

The Lady Lions' defense didn't allow EC to score a point in the third frame, while their offense added 15 more points for a third-quarter lead of 46-27. In the final eight minutes, EC outscored FHS, 22-15, as the Lady Lions had the game well in hand.

The win was also the first win of Hamilton as a head coach.

"It's nice to get a win in our first home game," he said. "The girls rebounded very well (Monday), and we did a much better job at taking care of the ball than in the first game. We'd like to see our turnovers at 15 or less, and that's where we were."

Also for FHS, junior Kaitlin Evans scored 19 points, including a 3-pointer. She was 10-of-15 from the free-throw line, as she also collected six rebounds and four steals.

Shelby Smithson followed with seven points (one 3-pointer), 11 rebounds and two steals. Justice Hattan added five points and eight rebounds, and wrapping up the scoring was Lydia Sowders with one point, seven rebounds and two steals.

"Shelby was big for us on the boards as well," Hamilton said. "Kaitlin did a great job at handling the pressure and getting everyone to their spots.

"Justice played well on the defensive end, forcing some turnovers."

For the visiting Lady Astros, junior Brooke Carpenter led with 15 points (four 3-pointers), while senior Hannah Barnes totaled 10. All four of Carpenter's 3-pointers were in the first half.

Hamilton spoke about keying in on Carpenter in the final two quarters.

"I told the girls at halftime that if we were able to guard Carpenter and disrupt her offensively in the second half, that would be the key," Hamilton said. "We did a better job of that, and I think that made the difference."

The Lady Lions finished 21-of-31 from the free-throw line, while EC was 11-of-17.

FHS will play again on Thursday, Dec. 5 when they host Manchester.