Lady Lions win 4th straight game
LEESBURG — Having a first half that wasn’t much offensively, but strong defensively, the second half was improved for the Lady Lions, who earned a Southern Hills Athletic Conference win by a 56-34 over the Manchester Lady Greyhounds at Grandle Gymnasium.
Fairfield (5-3, 7-7) scored just 19 points in the opening half, including a nine-point first frame and 10 points in the second quarter. The good thing for the hosts was the fact their defense was on point, holding Manchester to just 16 points for a three-point lead at halftime.
In that first half, FHS trailed by a 9-7 score after the first quarter but outscored MHS, 10-9 in the second frame for the 19-16 halftime score.
“The game was slower than we would have liked, but it is a different game if we would have made our shots in the first half,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “Even in the first half, I couldn’t complain about the defense, but I told them at halftime it was just a matter of making shots.
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“In the second half, we made shots, and the defense was about the same as it was in the first half. Making shots is a big part of the equation, and thankfully we did that in the second half. I told the girls at halftime, we have girls who can shoot, but in the first half it was a matter of facing the zone and holding onto the ball too long.”
During the first half, the score was tied six times, lastly at 15 points, but the third frame is where the game went from being closely contested to all Lady Lions, scoring 18 points in the third and building a 37-25 lead.
The third began with two points from Blake Adams, and later, Grace Shope followed with two points of her own, beginning what was six straight points by the junior for a 27-18 lead with 4:40 left in the quarter.
After Manchester (0-10, 2-15) answered with a jumper, the Lady Lions had an answer of their own as well with Carly Arnold and Abigail Newkirk contributing with two-point baskets for a 31-20 lead with 3:08 left in the third. Later in the quarter, Adams connected with two consecutive layups for a 35-23 advantage, followed by two free throws from Shope. Once the third frame was complete, FHS led, 37-25.
The Lady Lions never trailed in the final frame with Newkirk, Shope, Carli Reiber, Trinity Huff, Adams and Brianna Barnes all contributing to the fourth quarter scoring. Shope added five points in the fourth, including a 3-pointer. She finished with a game-high 20 points. Also in double figures were Barnes with 12 points (scoring seven points in the fourth quarter) and Adams with 11 points.
Huff totaled five points in the win, while Newkirk finished with four points. Arnold and Reiber had two points against their SHAC foe.
For the game, FHS was 9-of-15 from the free-throw line, while the Lady Greyhounds were 5-of-12. Leading Manchester was CJ Hobbs with 19 points, making two 3-pointers, six two-point baskets and was 1-of-1 from the free-throw line.
In this four-game winning streak, the Lady Lions have defeated Manchester on Thursday night, along with wins over Clermont Northeastern (46-21), Manchester (68-36) and Fayetteville (47-41).
The two-quarter JV game saw FHS win over Manchester, 26-10. FHS was led by Savannah Jones with six points.
Next for the Lady Lions are games Monday (Jan. 23) at home vs. Ripley, Wednesday (Jan. 25) at Paint Valley, Thursday (Jan. 26) at West Union and Saturday (Jan. 28) at home vs. Blanchester.