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Fairfield gains sectional crown; defeats Huntington

Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The tournament run for the Fairfield Lady Lions will take another step, as they earned a Division III SE District sectional championship by defeating the visiting Huntington Lady Huntsmen by a 48-33 score Saturday afternoon at Grandle Gymnasium. 

The win for the Lady Lions improves them to 18-5 overall, and in the game the Lady Lions saw senior Peyton Magee add to her career accolades. 

Earlier this season, Magee became the fifth Fairfield girls player to score 1,000 points, and on Feb. 9 in a game at Valley High School she tied the single-game mark for 3-pointers as she sank seven treys. On Saturday, Feb. 18, Magee set the single-season Lady Lions record for 3-pointers in a season, and she set the record for career steals with 301. Magee also collected her 500th career rebound in the win, plus in her career she’s amassed 400-plus assists.

As for the Lady Lions’ win, they led by just a single point at the end of the first quarter by a 12-11 score, even though they began the game with a strong 8-0 run that saw a 3-pointer from Hannah Hamilton and a steal and layup by Magee with 6:30 on the clock. From there, the Lady Lions added points with a 3-pointer by Magee with 5:49 left in the first frame for the 8-0 lead. 

Huntington responded with four consecutive points by Emma Hinshaw, but a jumper from Fairfield senior Hailey Tolle lifted the Lady Lions to a 10-4 advantage. 

Huntington answered with seven straight points by Allie Baker from the 4:13 mark to the 1:27 mark to make it a Huntington lead of 11-10. Two made free throws later by Magee (on two different trips to the foul line) left the Lady Lions in the lead by one point at 12-11 when the opening quarter closed. 

By the time halftime arrived, the Lady Lions built a four-point lead at 20-16, outscoring Huntington, 8-5 in the second quarter. 

Huntington took the lead early in the second frame with a jumper by Hinshaw, only to see Fairfield tie the score at 13-13 with a free throw made by Faith Donley. Huntington regained the lead with two made free throws by Kaci Carroll, but FHS scored the next seven points from the 4:13 mark to the 2:02 mark with a steal and layup by Donley, a jumper from Magee (off an inbound pass by Jobey Hattan) and a 3-pointer from Magee at the 2:02 mark for a 20-15 Fairfield lead. Huntington added one final point near the end of the quarter, leaving the Lady Lions ahead by four points at halftime. 

FHS doubled their lead by the end of the third quarter with a 12-8 frame against Huntington, leading by a 32-24 score. Fairfield kept the lead for the entire frame, leading by as many as 10 points with 1:19 left on the clock, as they had points from Magee (six), Donley (four) and Hattan (two).

Fairfield scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, while Huntington scored nine points to end the game. 

In the fourth quarter, the Lady Lions had a 3-pointer and two free throws made by Tolle, four points by Donley, four points from Hattan, two points by Magee and one point from Kassi Miller. FHS was 7-of-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter, and for the game the team went 13-of-20. 

Magee led Fairfield with 20 points, totaling three 3-pointers, two two-point baskets (while adding four rebounds, one assist, and four steals) and she was 7-of-10 from the free-throw line. Donley totaled 11 points (one rebound, three assists, six steals); Tolle finished with seven points (six rebounds, three assists); Hattan collected six points (six rebounds, four assists, two steals); Hamilton scored three points; and Miller had one point (two assists, four steals) in the tournament win. 

Next for Fairfield is a Division III SE District Semifinal game on Wednesday, Feb. 22 at Jackson High School, as the No. 7 seeded Lady Lions will face No. 6 seeded Rock Hill at 8 p.m. Earlier this season (Jan. 21), the Lady Lions lost to Rock Hill on the road by a 54-52 score on a late basket. 

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