Lady Lions move onto sectional finals
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lady Lions hadn't played a game in a little over a week, and the rust of game action showed up at times, but in the end, all that mattered was they were advancing in the sectional tournament once the final buzzer sounded.
For the Lady Lions (8-12), their Division IV SE District sectional semifinal game saw them lead after every quarter and fend off a charging Paint Valley Lady Bearcats team in the final few minutes for a 43-37 victory Wednesday evening at Northwest High School.
"We've been off for a week and a half, and it showed a little bit, but in the tournament, a win is a win, so you don't want to dwell on the negative things too much," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. "We did come away with plenty of things we need to work on for Clay on Saturday."
The Lady Lions led by 10 points at the conclusion of the third quarter at 35-25, but PV didn't make things very easy in the final eight minutes as they were first to score in the final frame. That was quickly answered with four straight points by Heather Cox for a 12-point lead, the highest of the game for the Lady Lions, with 5:16 left in the quarter.
Cox led FHS and all scorers with 18 points and 19 rebounds for the double-double.
From there, the Lady 'Cats scored four straight points, then eventually cut the FHS lead to four points with 1:35 left in regulation.
FHS didn't help their own cause with their free-throw shooting near the end of the game as they missed five straight attempts on four trips to the line in the final minute of the tournament game.
"I knew we could run the floor on them, but I don't think we did that as effectively as we could have," Hamilton said. "I knew we could have penetrated against that diamond-and-one and run the floor.
"Unfortunately, we are used to seeing the diamond-and-one, box-and-one defenses on Heather. Lucky for us, it doesn't seem to affect her stats. She gets what she gets every game, and it doesn't seem to affect us in what defense the other team is in."
In the fourth, the Lady Bearcats outscored FHS, 12-8. Leading PV in scoring was Nellie Rhoads with 10 points.
The Lady Lions eventually won by six points when Cox ended the scoring with two converted free throws with 20.9 left on the clock.
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As for the first three quarters, the Lady Lions led 11-6 after the opening eight minutes with Justice Hattan scoring the first points of the game with a jumper at the 7:28 mark. From there, the game was tied at 2-2, but Hattan followed with points in the paint at the 5:05 mark in the first.
Later in the first, Kaitlin Evans sank a 3-pointer for the Lady Lions, as did teammates Carly Arnold and Lydia Sowders for the five-point lead. Evans finished with nine points and Hattan with six.
By halftime, the Lady Lions led by a 25-16 score with points from Heather Cox, Haley Bobb and Evans, who ended the first-half scoring with a jumper for the nine-point FHS lead after two quarters.
In the third, the Lady Lions led by as much as 11 points after two points by Evans for a 19-18 lead and ended the quarter with a 35-25 advantage after Evans scored off an layup with 21.3 left in the third.
FHS will play again on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they travel back to NWHS to take on the Clay Lady Panthers in their sectional final.
"They (Clay) have three girls who average over 13 points per game, and they are athletic," Hamilton said. "We have to do a better job rebounding and limiting them to one shot in order to have a chance to win that one."
For the Lady Lions (8-12), their Division IV SE District sectional semifinal game saw them lead after every quarter and fend off a charging Paint Valley Lady Bearcats team in the final few minutes for a 43-37 victory Wednesday evening at Northwest High School.
"We've been off for a week and a half, and it showed a little bit, but in the tournament, a win is a win, so you don't want to dwell on the negative things too much," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. "We did come away with plenty of things we need to work on for Clay on Saturday."
The Lady Lions led by 10 points at the conclusion of the third quarter at 35-25, but PV didn't make things very easy in the final eight minutes as they were first to score in the final frame. That was quickly answered with four straight points by Heather Cox for a 12-point lead, the highest of the game for the Lady Lions, with 5:16 left in the quarter.
Cox led FHS and all scorers with 18 points and 19 rebounds for the double-double.
From there, the Lady 'Cats scored four straight points, then eventually cut the FHS lead to four points with 1:35 left in regulation.
FHS didn't help their own cause with their free-throw shooting near the end of the game as they missed five straight attempts on four trips to the line in the final minute of the tournament game.
"I knew we could run the floor on them, but I don't think we did that as effectively as we could have," Hamilton said. "I knew we could have penetrated against that diamond-and-one and run the floor.
"Unfortunately, we are used to seeing the diamond-and-one, box-and-one defenses on Heather. Lucky for us, it doesn't seem to affect her stats. She gets what she gets every game, and it doesn't seem to affect us in what defense the other team is in."
In the fourth, the Lady Bearcats outscored FHS, 12-8. Leading PV in scoring was Nellie Rhoads with 10 points.
The Lady Lions eventually won by six points when Cox ended the scoring with two converted free throws with 20.9 left on the clock.
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As for the first three quarters, the Lady Lions led 11-6 after the opening eight minutes with Justice Hattan scoring the first points of the game with a jumper at the 7:28 mark. From there, the game was tied at 2-2, but Hattan followed with points in the paint at the 5:05 mark in the first.
Later in the first, Kaitlin Evans sank a 3-pointer for the Lady Lions, as did teammates Carly Arnold and Lydia Sowders for the five-point lead. Evans finished with nine points and Hattan with six.
By halftime, the Lady Lions led by a 25-16 score with points from Heather Cox, Haley Bobb and Evans, who ended the first-half scoring with a jumper for the nine-point FHS lead after two quarters.
In the third, the Lady Lions led by as much as 11 points after two points by Evans for a 19-18 lead and ended the quarter with a 35-25 advantage after Evans scored off an layup with 21.3 left in the third.
FHS will play again on Saturday at 1 p.m. when they travel back to NWHS to take on the Clay Lady Panthers in their sectional final.
"They (Clay) have three girls who average over 13 points per game, and they are athletic," Hamilton said. "We have to do a better job rebounding and limiting them to one shot in order to have a chance to win that one."