Lady Lions advance to sectional finals by defeating Portsmouth
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LUCASVILLE — A dominant effort by the Fairfield Lady Lions was on display Wednesday night in their Division III SE District Semifinal game at Valley High School, defeating the Portsmouth Lady Trojans by a 67-21 score to move on to the sectional finals this Saturday.
Fairfield (18-5) had a bit of a slow start in the first half as they led 15-9, and by the time halftime arrived the Lady Lions led by a 28-13 score, outscoring the Lady Trojans 13-4 in the second frame.
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To start the first quarter, the Lady Lions led by a 4-0 score off a layup and free throw from Grace Shope and a free throw by Lyndee Spargur. After two points from Portsmouth, Shope scored the next five points, including a 3-pointer for a 9-2 advantage around the 3:00 mark. Following another two points by Portsmouth — the away team on the scoreboard — Fairfield had two points in the paint by Brianna Barnes (off a steal by Samara Cannon), as Barnes totaled 10 points.
FHS managed to score four more points in the first with a 3-pointer by Kami Magee and a free throw from Shope, as the senior led the Lady Lions with 24 points in the game.
“We knew they would play a 1-2-2, and they play it pretty well,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “We didn’t play very well in the first half in my opinion, offensively or defensively, but luckily we got off the break a little more. Their point guard got into the lane too much in the first half, but in the second half we did a much better job of limiting her. That was a big difference in terms of their offense.”
The 13-point second quarter for the Lady Lions began with an 8-0 run in a 2:30 span of playing time with Cannon scoring the first five points of the quarter, including a 3-pointer with 5:37 on the clock and a three-point play by Shope for a 24-9 lead. Cannon finished the game with 13 points.
Portsmouth came back with four consecutive points, but FHS answered with a layup off the glass from Shope and two free throws to end the quarter by Shope as well for the 28-13 lead.
Then the complexion of the game went from being somewhat close with a 15-point lead on the scoreboard at halftime to Fairfield extending their lead to 32 points by the end of the third, with FHS outscoring Portsmouth 23-6 in the frame for a 51-19 lead.
FHS opened the third with two points from Shope, followed by Cannon with two points as well. PHS answered with a two-point basket, but the Lady Lions had answers with two points by Shope and a layup by Blake Adams for a 36-15 advantage with 4:35 left in the quarter.
From there, the Lady Lions had points from Shope, Cannon (a 3-pointer), Molly Thackston, Barnes and Adams to end the third as FHS also ended the third on a 9-0 run.
In the fourth, Magee, Barnes, Thackston, Adams and Jaden Smith combined for 16 points in a quarter with a running clock.
Next for the Lady Lions is a sectional final game this Saturday (Feb. 17) against the Wheelersburg Lady Pirates at Valley High School with a start time of 2:45 p.m. Wheelersburg defeated Eastern Pike 66-6 in their sectional semifinal game on Wednesday.
“Wheelersburg is very good. They are fast and have great defense, and they’re good at every position,” Hamilton said. “They are a team we’ll have to prepare a lot for and put four good quarters together to give ourselves a chance to beat them.”
Fairfield (18-5) had a bit of a slow start in the first half as they led 15-9, and by the time halftime arrived the Lady Lions led by a 28-13 score, outscoring the Lady Trojans 13-4 in the second frame.
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To start the first quarter, the Lady Lions led by a 4-0 score off a layup and free throw from Grace Shope and a free throw by Lyndee Spargur. After two points from Portsmouth, Shope scored the next five points, including a 3-pointer for a 9-2 advantage around the 3:00 mark. Following another two points by Portsmouth — the away team on the scoreboard — Fairfield had two points in the paint by Brianna Barnes (off a steal by Samara Cannon), as Barnes totaled 10 points.
FHS managed to score four more points in the first with a 3-pointer by Kami Magee and a free throw from Shope, as the senior led the Lady Lions with 24 points in the game.
“We knew they would play a 1-2-2, and they play it pretty well,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “We didn’t play very well in the first half in my opinion, offensively or defensively, but luckily we got off the break a little more. Their point guard got into the lane too much in the first half, but in the second half we did a much better job of limiting her. That was a big difference in terms of their offense.”
The 13-point second quarter for the Lady Lions began with an 8-0 run in a 2:30 span of playing time with Cannon scoring the first five points of the quarter, including a 3-pointer with 5:37 on the clock and a three-point play by Shope for a 24-9 lead. Cannon finished the game with 13 points.
Portsmouth came back with four consecutive points, but FHS answered with a layup off the glass from Shope and two free throws to end the quarter by Shope as well for the 28-13 lead.
Then the complexion of the game went from being somewhat close with a 15-point lead on the scoreboard at halftime to Fairfield extending their lead to 32 points by the end of the third, with FHS outscoring Portsmouth 23-6 in the frame for a 51-19 lead.
FHS opened the third with two points from Shope, followed by Cannon with two points as well. PHS answered with a two-point basket, but the Lady Lions had answers with two points by Shope and a layup by Blake Adams for a 36-15 advantage with 4:35 left in the quarter.
From there, the Lady Lions had points from Shope, Cannon (a 3-pointer), Molly Thackston, Barnes and Adams to end the third as FHS also ended the third on a 9-0 run.
In the fourth, Magee, Barnes, Thackston, Adams and Jaden Smith combined for 16 points in a quarter with a running clock.
Next for the Lady Lions is a sectional final game this Saturday (Feb. 17) against the Wheelersburg Lady Pirates at Valley High School with a start time of 2:45 p.m. Wheelersburg defeated Eastern Pike 66-6 in their sectional semifinal game on Wednesday.
“Wheelersburg is very good. They are fast and have great defense, and they’re good at every position,” Hamilton said. “They are a team we’ll have to prepare a lot for and put four good quarters together to give ourselves a chance to beat them.”