Fairfield Lady Lions narrowly edged by Washington for road loss
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
WASHINGTON C.H. — On a night where there were roughly 23 lead changes — excluding tied scores — between the road team Fairfield Lady Lions and the host Washington Blue Lions, it was the blue-and-white Lions from Fayette County who gained the close win on Tuesday night, defeating Fairfield by a 49-45 score.
Washington (1-0), in their non-conference victory over the Lady Lions of Fairfield (1-1), saw senior Shawna Conger lead all scorers with 24 points, but on the flip side, Fairfield sophomore Emma Fouch led the Lady Lions with 20 points.
In her scoring, Conger totaled three two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Fouch finished with two 3-pointers, four-two point buckets and was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in the road contest.
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There were six lead changes in the first quarter, followed by six more in the second quarter, for a 14-14 score after eight minutes and a 26-23 lead for the host Last Blue Lions at halftime.
“Coming in here, it is always a tough place to play, and being all underclassmen, we played well with them. It was a really even game the entire way, and both teams played hard,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “I’m proud of my girls, but we just didn’t execute well down on the end on a few possessions.
“We didn’t shoot as well with free throws in the fourth quarter especially, and that comes back to bite you in a game like this. Washington pressured the ball a lot, and it is just the little things we need to improve on, but they (WCH) caused a lot of turnovers, and that made a big difference in the game.”
The first quarter saw Conger get the scoring started for Washington, only to see Fairfield take the early lead with a 3-pointer from Fouch 30 seconds into the game for an early 3-2 Fairfield advantage. From there, Washington scored five straight points — including a 3-pointer by Conger — for a 7-3 Court House lead with 4:45 on the clock.
Fairfield’s Cadence Saunders scored two points near the hoop, and Fouch came back with a jumper for FHS, tying the score at 7-7. Later, the score was tied at 9-9 and 12-12 in the first quarter, and eventually the first frame ended with a 14-14 score, with Fairfield’s Peyton Magee and Washington’s Jeleeya Tyree-Smith exchanging baskets at the end of the frame. Magee totaled five points for Fairfield, while Tyree-Smith finished with nine points for Washington.
The second quarter mirrored the previous first quarter, as there were numerous lead changes and tied scores with the score being tied at 16, 19 and 22. Ella Newkirk made it a 22-22 score with 1:18 left in the first half off a shot from the free-throw line.
Fairfield eventually took a 23-22 lead with a free-throw make from Fouch, but Washington took the lead back with layups from Natalie Woods and Halli Wall — who totaled nine points for the Lady Blue Lions — for a 26-23 lead which lasted to halftime.
The Fairfield Lady Lions outscored Washington, 14-10 in the third frame, leaving Fairfield holding on to the advantage at 37-36 once the quarter came to an end. Fairfield began the third with Madison Bronner scoring two points off a layup, and a rebound and jumper by Newkirk pushed the Lady Lions ahead at 27-26 with 6:06 still left in the quarter. Bronner finished with eight points.
Washington regained the lead with a layup by Wall, but Fairfield answered with a layup by Bronner, along with two made free throws by Fouch, for a 31-28 FHS Lady Lions lead with 4:50 left in the third.
Conger put Washington back to even with Fairfield by sinking a 3-pointer for a 31-31 score with 2:42 on the clock, only to see Fouch score two points to put Fairfield back in front with 1:48 on the third-quarter clock.
“We tried to switch defenses a little bit, and Conger is a heck of a player. They are tough to play zone against because if she gets an open look, she’s going to knock it down eight feet behind the line, and there isn’t a whole lot you can do,” Hamilton said. “We tried to switch things up, but she’s a tough player, and she is tough to stop.”
Hamilton also spoke about the play of Fouch, who is currently in her sophomore season.
“Emma shot really well, and you know when she makes her first one, the rest of the night should be good,” Hamilton said. “We tried to get her the ball, and we wanted to get her some shots. We want to work inside-out all the time, but when she’s shooting like that, we want her to take more shots.”
The score was tied at 33-33 when Tyree-Smith scored two points in the paint, but again Fairfield was able to jump back in front with two points from Bronner with 1:14. Washington had the sixth lead change of the third quarter when Conger sank another big-time 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the third.
Fairfield regained the lead once again with two made free throws with 0.5 on the clock for a 37-36 FHS Lady Lions lead.
In the fourth, Washington outscored Fairfield 13-8 where they were tied three times at 41, 42 and 44 points, with Washington taking the lead at 44-44 off a jumper by Wall with 1:29 left in regulation. From there, the FHS Lady Lions missed four straight free-throw attempts, and later with the score still tied at 44, Fairfield committed a turnover on a throw-in play, where Washington eventually scored off a jumper by Conger with 24 seconds on the clock.
Washington later added a free throw by Conger with 5.4 on the clock for a 47-44 advantage. FHS eventually reached the free-throw line following a foul called for two shots, as the officials — following a lengthy conversation with themselves and the two head coaches — ruled it wasn’t a foul while in the motion of shooting the basketball from beyond the three-point line.
Fouch made the first free throw and needed to miss the second one, Washington grabbed the rebound, as Conger was fouled and made two more free throws with the game eventually coming to an end.
The game saw Washington finish 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Fairfield finished 13-of-23 in their free throw attempts.
Next for Washington (1-0) is a Frontier Athletic Conference game on Saturday, Nov. 30 when the Lady Lions travel to Greenfield to face the McClain Lady Tigers (1-0).
The Fairfield Lady Lions will next play on Saturday, Nov. 30 in a home game against South Webster in non-conference action, with a JV start of 5 p.m. with a two-quarter JV game.
Washington (1-0), in their non-conference victory over the Lady Lions of Fairfield (1-1), saw senior Shawna Conger lead all scorers with 24 points, but on the flip side, Fairfield sophomore Emma Fouch led the Lady Lions with 20 points.
In her scoring, Conger totaled three two-point baskets, four 3-pointers and was 6-of-7 from the free-throw line. Fouch finished with two 3-pointers, four-two point buckets and was 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in the road contest.
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There were six lead changes in the first quarter, followed by six more in the second quarter, for a 14-14 score after eight minutes and a 26-23 lead for the host Last Blue Lions at halftime.
“Coming in here, it is always a tough place to play, and being all underclassmen, we played well with them. It was a really even game the entire way, and both teams played hard,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “I’m proud of my girls, but we just didn’t execute well down on the end on a few possessions.
“We didn’t shoot as well with free throws in the fourth quarter especially, and that comes back to bite you in a game like this. Washington pressured the ball a lot, and it is just the little things we need to improve on, but they (WCH) caused a lot of turnovers, and that made a big difference in the game.”
The first quarter saw Conger get the scoring started for Washington, only to see Fairfield take the early lead with a 3-pointer from Fouch 30 seconds into the game for an early 3-2 Fairfield advantage. From there, Washington scored five straight points — including a 3-pointer by Conger — for a 7-3 Court House lead with 4:45 on the clock.
Fairfield’s Cadence Saunders scored two points near the hoop, and Fouch came back with a jumper for FHS, tying the score at 7-7. Later, the score was tied at 9-9 and 12-12 in the first quarter, and eventually the first frame ended with a 14-14 score, with Fairfield’s Peyton Magee and Washington’s Jeleeya Tyree-Smith exchanging baskets at the end of the frame. Magee totaled five points for Fairfield, while Tyree-Smith finished with nine points for Washington.
The second quarter mirrored the previous first quarter, as there were numerous lead changes and tied scores with the score being tied at 16, 19 and 22. Ella Newkirk made it a 22-22 score with 1:18 left in the first half off a shot from the free-throw line.
Fairfield eventually took a 23-22 lead with a free-throw make from Fouch, but Washington took the lead back with layups from Natalie Woods and Halli Wall — who totaled nine points for the Lady Blue Lions — for a 26-23 lead which lasted to halftime.
The Fairfield Lady Lions outscored Washington, 14-10 in the third frame, leaving Fairfield holding on to the advantage at 37-36 once the quarter came to an end. Fairfield began the third with Madison Bronner scoring two points off a layup, and a rebound and jumper by Newkirk pushed the Lady Lions ahead at 27-26 with 6:06 still left in the quarter. Bronner finished with eight points.
Washington regained the lead with a layup by Wall, but Fairfield answered with a layup by Bronner, along with two made free throws by Fouch, for a 31-28 FHS Lady Lions lead with 4:50 left in the third.
Conger put Washington back to even with Fairfield by sinking a 3-pointer for a 31-31 score with 2:42 on the clock, only to see Fouch score two points to put Fairfield back in front with 1:48 on the third-quarter clock.
“We tried to switch defenses a little bit, and Conger is a heck of a player. They are tough to play zone against because if she gets an open look, she’s going to knock it down eight feet behind the line, and there isn’t a whole lot you can do,” Hamilton said. “We tried to switch things up, but she’s a tough player, and she is tough to stop.”
Hamilton also spoke about the play of Fouch, who is currently in her sophomore season.
“Emma shot really well, and you know when she makes her first one, the rest of the night should be good,” Hamilton said. “We tried to get her the ball, and we wanted to get her some shots. We want to work inside-out all the time, but when she’s shooting like that, we want her to take more shots.”
The score was tied at 33-33 when Tyree-Smith scored two points in the paint, but again Fairfield was able to jump back in front with two points from Bronner with 1:14. Washington had the sixth lead change of the third quarter when Conger sank another big-time 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the third.
Fairfield regained the lead once again with two made free throws with 0.5 on the clock for a 37-36 FHS Lady Lions lead.
In the fourth, Washington outscored Fairfield 13-8 where they were tied three times at 41, 42 and 44 points, with Washington taking the lead at 44-44 off a jumper by Wall with 1:29 left in regulation. From there, the FHS Lady Lions missed four straight free-throw attempts, and later with the score still tied at 44, Fairfield committed a turnover on a throw-in play, where Washington eventually scored off a jumper by Conger with 24 seconds on the clock.
Washington later added a free throw by Conger with 5.4 on the clock for a 47-44 advantage. FHS eventually reached the free-throw line following a foul called for two shots, as the officials — following a lengthy conversation with themselves and the two head coaches — ruled it wasn’t a foul while in the motion of shooting the basketball from beyond the three-point line.
Fouch made the first free throw and needed to miss the second one, Washington grabbed the rebound, as Conger was fouled and made two more free throws with the game eventually coming to an end.
The game saw Washington finish 8-of-11 from the free-throw line. Fairfield finished 13-of-23 in their free throw attempts.
Next for Washington (1-0) is a Frontier Athletic Conference game on Saturday, Nov. 30 when the Lady Lions travel to Greenfield to face the McClain Lady Tigers (1-0).
The Fairfield Lady Lions will next play on Saturday, Nov. 30 in a home game against South Webster in non-conference action, with a JV start of 5 p.m. with a two-quarter JV game.