Lady Lions hold on to defeat Whiteoak
MOWRYSTOWN — The Fairfield Lady Lions had to use everything in their arsenal to fend off Southern Hills Athletic Conference rival Whiteoak Monday evening.
In the SHAC game at Whiteoak High School, it came down to a jump ball call, an out-of-bounds play and the Lady Lions stopping the hosts from getting an open shot at the buzzer for the Lady Lions to leave Mowrystown with a 53-50 win.
"We knew coming down here it was going to be a tough game," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. "They are a much, much better team that what their record suggests they are.
"We weren't under the impression we were going to walk through anybody. It wasn't pretty, but a win is a win, and I'll take it every day I can."
The fourth frame told the story of the Lady Lions (3-6, 6-9) and Whiteoak with Kaitlin Evans pushing FHS ahead 38-37 to start the final quarter with a 3-pointer, but that was followed with Courtney Cummings giving the Lady 'Cats the lead right back under 30 seconds later with a three-point play.
Cummings led WHS with 12 points.
Carly Arnold tied the score at 40 with a jumper for the Lady Lions, and that led to a free throw by teammate Grace Shope and a jumper from Evans for a 43-40 Lady Lions lead.
After that five-point run in a span of under one minute, the Lady Lions never lost the lead again in the final 4:49 of the game.
WHS (0-9, 2-14) didn't let the Lady Lions off easy as Michaela Luman (who finished with nine points) sank two free throws to bring Whiteoak back to within a point of FHS, only to see Shope make a combined three of four free throws in two trips to the free-throw line with 3:40 left in regulation.
The Lady 'Cats' Maggie Carr answered with a free throw of her own, only to see the FHS lead move to five points following a bank shot from Evans with 2:17 left in the quarter.
Both teams continued to score points, including an uncontested 3-pointer by Haley Bobb of the Lady Lions to make the FHS lead 51-46 with just under two minutes left in regulation.
Those three points were topped by WHS with Carr sinking two free throws and Emily Edingfield sinking a 3-pointer with 52 seconds left in the game. Edingfield totaled nine points in the loss.
Whiteoak's Emma Wardlow stole from the Lady Lions only to be ruled out of bounds while being heavily defended going down the court. Following the call with 27.7 left on the fourth-quarter clock, both teams were battling for possession of the ball near the WHS basket, when a jump ball was ruled with possession going to FHS with 6.2 remaining.
"At the beginning of the quarter, we fouled them too much and gave them free points," Hamilton said. "We were patient on offense and stepped up to make a couple big shots.
"We boxed out and got a couple big rebounds and did what we needed to do to squeak one out in the end."
"Credit our girls … having 14 straight losses, they come out here every game and battle," WHS head coach John Kirschner said. "I give them all the credit in the world. I have seniors in the locker room who can't wait to get to work in practice and get ready for Thursday.
"That's what I like about this team … it breaks my heart they can't get over that hump right now. It is nice to see the girls stepping up, but they have to understand it takes every girl when they are out there."
The opening three quarters were close as well, with FHS winning the first at 11-10, including seven of the 11 Lady Lions' points from Evans, including a 3-pointer with 6:08 on the first-quarter clock.
Both teams were tied at halftime at 27 points each. In the second, Evans had a four-point play by sinking a 3-pointer while being fouled, followed by a free-throw conversion with 5:43 left in the quarter for at the time a 17-12 FHS advantage.
Later in the quarter, FHS saw Evans make another 3-pointer, this one to put the Lady Lions in front, 20-16. Later, a three-point play by Cummings and one free throw from Luman tied the game at 20.
As the quarter continued, Cummings again made the score tied, this time at 22 with two free throws. Shope broke the tied score with a 3-pointer at 1:13 of the second, only to see WHS tie the score at 25 and take a two-point lead off free throws by Wardlow.
Shope ended the game with 19 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double.
The second ended with a jumper by Shope to make it a 27-27 score after 16 minutes of play.
WHS outscored the visiting Lady Lions, 10-8 in the third, to take a 37-35 lead before the aforementioned fourth frame.
In the third, the score was tied at 30 and 35, including a 3-point play from Sunnie Lehr of WHS and also a 3-pointer by Lehr. In all, the third frame saw Lehr score eight of the 10 WHS points.
For FHS in the third, Abby Newkirk sank a 3-pointer with around 3:00 on the clock to tie the score at 35. Also in the third for FHS, Justice Hattan, Evans and Shope contributed to the scoring.