Lady Lions earn road win over East Clinton
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lady Lions built a double-digit lead in the second half and saw it dwindle down to one point against the East Clinton Lady Astros on the road. Though that lead almost evaporated, it didn’t, and FHS did what they had to do to gain their first win of the season.
Fairfield sank big shots when needed, overcame some turnovers, used their depth off the bench and made very timely rebounds late in the fourth quarter to gain a 60-55 victory over the host Lady Astros, Wednesday in non-conference play.
“The story of the game was fouls for us,” Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton said. “Both teams were in the double bonus in both halves, so we knew going into halftime it was going to be the team that fouled the least and executed a little better down the stretch, and thankfully, that was us.
“I don’t think we shot free throws great down the stretch, but we made them when we needed to. We’re learning every day in practice in terms of learning time and score and game situations, and we did a better job at the end. We are making progress, and I’m happy.”
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With the score tied at halftime at 23 points each, it was the Lady Lions who broke the tie with the first points of the third quarter (a quarter where they outscored EC, 22-13), though before there were two minutes off the scoreboard, the Lady Astros tied the game at 25-25.
From there, Fairfield’s Grace Shope sank a 3-pointer with 6:10 on the clock for a 28-25 lead. The trey by Shope not only gave the Lady Lions the lead by three points, but it gave them the lead for good. FHS never lost the lead for the remainder of the game, though it was very close to happening at times in the second half.
Shope led all scorers with 24 points, including three 3-pointers. She made six two-point baskets and was 3-of-8 from the free-throw line. She also added 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Once FHS regained the lead, Brianna Barnes followed with two free throws, and later, a jumper from Blake Adams put the Lady Lions in front 32-26 with 4:10 left in the third frame. Adams also added seven rebounds.
Both teams continued to go back and forth, and at the 1:40 mark, Shope pushed the FHS lead to 10 points at 40-30 by making a layup.
Later, FHS regained the 10-point lead for the second time with a layup by Abigail Newkirk with 37 seconds on the clock at 44-34. Newkirk finished with 10 points.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Lady Lions led 45-36, and that is when East Clinton began their comeback, which included scoring the first five points of the quarter for a 45-41 deficit. At the 4:28 mark of the fourth, East Clinton’s Kayla Hall brought EC to within one point of FHS at 50-49.
“[East Clinton] made some runs, and thankfully, I think we’re mature enough as a team now to respond to those,” Hamilton said. “Our defense wasn’t great, but we got the job done in the end, and offensively, I thought we took care of the ball better in the second half and made shots when we needed to, and that was the difference.”
Fairfield responded with five straight points off a 3-pointer by Shope and two free throws by Newkirk for a 55-49 advantage with 2:43 left in regulation.
Later, Newkirk went straight to the hoop to push the FHS lead to 58-55 with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
With the Lady Lions holding on to a four-point lead, they went to the line. And with an important play of the game, Shope grabbed a rebound to keep EC from regaining possession with 12.9 seconds left on the clock.
“Grace does a lot of the little things,” Hamilton said. “She’s got a high basketball IQ, so she fills the stat sheet in a lot of ways, but none more important than that rebound at the end.”
Not much was settled in the opening half between the Lady Lions and Astros, with both teams tied at 23 once halftime arrived.
The first quarter saw FHS lead 13-10 after eight minutes, but the lead exchanged hands four times, including the final time in the opening frame when a layup by Shope put the Lady Lions ahead, 11-10 with 1:43 left in the quarter.
Fairfield built a 16-12 lead at the start of the second with a 3-pointer by Chloe Barber at the 6:33 mark.
EC tied the score at 16 with 5:33 left in the quarter, and from there, a 7-0 run turned into a 22-16 advantage with 2:52 left in the opening half.
Two points by Trinity Huff and a 3-pointer by Shope with 1:40 left on the scoreboard brought FHS to within one point of tying the score.
FHS didn't just tie the score, they took the lead at the 1:02 mark off a 3-pointer by Barber for a 23-22 lead.
A free throw by EC left the score tied at 23.
Also for FHS, Carly Arnold led with four assists. At the free-throw line, the Lady Lions were 14-of-30.
“I told them in the locker room, a lot of us are interchangeable at so many different positions,” Hamilton said. “We can sub anybody in. Chloe Barber really stepped up and shot the ball well at the end of the game. Abby Newkirk, she runs the floor well, she can penetrate and score.
“We’ve got a lot of different girls who can step up, and tonight, they did.”
EC was led by Kaitlin Durbin with 13 points, followed by MacKenzie Campbell with 12 points. The Lady Astros were 15-of-24 from the free-throw line.
FHS plays again on Thursday in their Southern Hills Athletic Conference opener when they host Eastern Brown.
Fairfield sank big shots when needed, overcame some turnovers, used their depth off the bench and made very timely rebounds late in the fourth quarter to gain a 60-55 victory over the host Lady Astros, Wednesday in non-conference play.
“The story of the game was fouls for us,” Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton said. “Both teams were in the double bonus in both halves, so we knew going into halftime it was going to be the team that fouled the least and executed a little better down the stretch, and thankfully, that was us.
“I don’t think we shot free throws great down the stretch, but we made them when we needed to. We’re learning every day in practice in terms of learning time and score and game situations, and we did a better job at the end. We are making progress, and I’m happy.”
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With the score tied at halftime at 23 points each, it was the Lady Lions who broke the tie with the first points of the third quarter (a quarter where they outscored EC, 22-13), though before there were two minutes off the scoreboard, the Lady Astros tied the game at 25-25.
From there, Fairfield’s Grace Shope sank a 3-pointer with 6:10 on the clock for a 28-25 lead. The trey by Shope not only gave the Lady Lions the lead by three points, but it gave them the lead for good. FHS never lost the lead for the remainder of the game, though it was very close to happening at times in the second half.
Shope led all scorers with 24 points, including three 3-pointers. She made six two-point baskets and was 3-of-8 from the free-throw line. She also added 12 rebounds for a double-double.
Once FHS regained the lead, Brianna Barnes followed with two free throws, and later, a jumper from Blake Adams put the Lady Lions in front 32-26 with 4:10 left in the third frame. Adams also added seven rebounds.
Both teams continued to go back and forth, and at the 1:40 mark, Shope pushed the FHS lead to 10 points at 40-30 by making a layup.
Later, FHS regained the 10-point lead for the second time with a layup by Abigail Newkirk with 37 seconds on the clock at 44-34. Newkirk finished with 10 points.
By the time the fourth quarter rolled around, the Lady Lions led 45-36, and that is when East Clinton began their comeback, which included scoring the first five points of the quarter for a 45-41 deficit. At the 4:28 mark of the fourth, East Clinton’s Kayla Hall brought EC to within one point of FHS at 50-49.
“[East Clinton] made some runs, and thankfully, I think we’re mature enough as a team now to respond to those,” Hamilton said. “Our defense wasn’t great, but we got the job done in the end, and offensively, I thought we took care of the ball better in the second half and made shots when we needed to, and that was the difference.”
Fairfield responded with five straight points off a 3-pointer by Shope and two free throws by Newkirk for a 55-49 advantage with 2:43 left in regulation.
Later, Newkirk went straight to the hoop to push the FHS lead to 58-55 with 57 seconds remaining in the game.
With the Lady Lions holding on to a four-point lead, they went to the line. And with an important play of the game, Shope grabbed a rebound to keep EC from regaining possession with 12.9 seconds left on the clock.
“Grace does a lot of the little things,” Hamilton said. “She’s got a high basketball IQ, so she fills the stat sheet in a lot of ways, but none more important than that rebound at the end.”
Not much was settled in the opening half between the Lady Lions and Astros, with both teams tied at 23 once halftime arrived.
The first quarter saw FHS lead 13-10 after eight minutes, but the lead exchanged hands four times, including the final time in the opening frame when a layup by Shope put the Lady Lions ahead, 11-10 with 1:43 left in the quarter.
Fairfield built a 16-12 lead at the start of the second with a 3-pointer by Chloe Barber at the 6:33 mark.
EC tied the score at 16 with 5:33 left in the quarter, and from there, a 7-0 run turned into a 22-16 advantage with 2:52 left in the opening half.
Two points by Trinity Huff and a 3-pointer by Shope with 1:40 left on the scoreboard brought FHS to within one point of tying the score.
FHS didn't just tie the score, they took the lead at the 1:02 mark off a 3-pointer by Barber for a 23-22 lead.
A free throw by EC left the score tied at 23.
Also for FHS, Carly Arnold led with four assists. At the free-throw line, the Lady Lions were 14-of-30.
“I told them in the locker room, a lot of us are interchangeable at so many different positions,” Hamilton said. “We can sub anybody in. Chloe Barber really stepped up and shot the ball well at the end of the game. Abby Newkirk, she runs the floor well, she can penetrate and score.
“We’ve got a lot of different girls who can step up, and tonight, they did.”
EC was led by Kaitlin Durbin with 13 points, followed by MacKenzie Campbell with 12 points. The Lady Astros were 15-of-24 from the free-throw line.
FHS plays again on Thursday in their Southern Hills Athletic Conference opener when they host Eastern Brown.