Team Preview: Can Fairfield achieve goal of winning season?
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The Fairfield Lady Lions will be playing a fast style of basketball, using their team speed rather than concentrating on the post for the 2014-15 season, which begins on Friday, Nov. 28.
In his second season as the Lady Lions head coach, Fairfield alum Chad Hamilton will coach more to the style of basketball he enjoys … running the court and playing a fast-tempo style of basketball.
Last season, the Lady Lions finished 11-13 overall and 7-6 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. FHS was 1-1 in the postseason for the '13-14 season, losing in the sectional finals by a 53-49 score against the Clay Lady Panthers in overtime. In the sectional semifinals, FHS defeated the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats, 43-37.
"This will be more of what I'm used to coaching, because last year we were more post-reliant. … more running the floor, which is a style I like to coach," Hamilton said. "We don't have a dominant post player, so we'll have to spread out the scoring and rely on all the girls who don't have a lot of experience to play a bigger role.
"We are smaller and quicker, so that means we'll be a little more up-tempo. Being that we won't be relying on the post like last year, a bad shooting night from the outside will be more detrimental than what it would have been last year."
[[In-content Ad]]Fairfield's team will consist of six seniors, including: Kaitlin Evans, Katie Runyon, Haley Bobb, Justice Hattan, Lydia Sowders and Emily Teeters.
Sophomores are Olivia Bobb, Carly Arnold and Abigail Newkirk, and the freshmen will be Blake Adams and Grace Shope. There are no juniors in the girls program.
The change comes as FHS lost their All-Ohio post player in Heather Cox, who graduated after last season. Cox was the leading scorer for the Lady Lions one season ago, where she averaged a double-double with 19.1 points per game and 14.8 rebounds per game in 24 total games (including the postseason).
Replacing a player like Cox is tough on any team, but she was also the all-time leading scorer in the history of Fairfield girls basketball, with 1,199 points and 982 rebounds in four seasons with the Lady Lions.
This season, the returning top scorer will be Evans, who is starting her fourth consecutive season with the Lady Lions and will also be the point guard once again. She's coming off a season where in 24 games she averaged 9.6 ppg (4.2 rpg), the second-leading scorer on the roster.
Evans also had 3.8 assists per game. For the season, Evans scored 230 points and tallied 101 rebounds. The senior also shot 56 percent from the free-throw line last season.
"Kaitlin has improved on picking her spots," Hamilton said. "She's worked on controlling the basketball and working on her outside shot. She's come a long way in being a leader, giving the younger girls a base they can come to."
Some of the returning post players will be Sowders and Hattan, who were a couple of the better rebounders on the team last season. Sowders averaged 3.5 ppg last season, along with 4.8 rpg and 1.1 apg.
Sowders also totaled 114 rebounds and scored a grand total of 85 points last season.
As for Hattan, she finished with 60 points (3.2 ppg) and 83 rebounds (4.4 rpg).
"Those two (Sowders and Hattan) will be relied upon a lot in the post," Hamilton said. "They will have to defend the post for us.
"Our team in general … even though they've had time on the court, they are going to have to step up their game with their experience. We are also expecting a lot of our new players as well."
Arnold, a shooting guard, also started most of the season last year. Arnold, who played in all 24 games, finished with 54 points last season (2.3 ppg). along with 1.5 rpg and 1.2 apg.
The now-sophomore Arnold also made three 3-pointers her freshman season, plus collected 35 rebounds (15 offensive).
Bobb also has varsity experience from last season, playing in 22 games. In those games, she averaged 3.3 ppg and 2.0 rpg, finishing the season with 73 points and 45 rebounds.
Hamilton also spoke about the differences of year one as a head coach to year two.
"Year one was a big learning experience, no matter how long I was around as an assistant," he said. "Being the head coach is vastly different. You learn a lot in your first year, and you try to make those changes and go about it in a way where it can benefit your team as a whole."
The goals for FHS are to just to continue to improve under their second-year head coach.
"We want to have a winning record, and to do that, we'll have to play well right off the bat," Hamilton said. "We have a rough league and non-league schedule, but we just have to get the job done.
"We'll have to be playing well from day one to have a successful year."
Assisting Hamilton this season is Joe Turner. The JV coach for FHS will be Travis Vance.
In his second season as the Lady Lions head coach, Fairfield alum Chad Hamilton will coach more to the style of basketball he enjoys … running the court and playing a fast-tempo style of basketball.
Last season, the Lady Lions finished 11-13 overall and 7-6 in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference. FHS was 1-1 in the postseason for the '13-14 season, losing in the sectional finals by a 53-49 score against the Clay Lady Panthers in overtime. In the sectional semifinals, FHS defeated the Paint Valley Lady Bearcats, 43-37.
"This will be more of what I'm used to coaching, because last year we were more post-reliant. … more running the floor, which is a style I like to coach," Hamilton said. "We don't have a dominant post player, so we'll have to spread out the scoring and rely on all the girls who don't have a lot of experience to play a bigger role.
"We are smaller and quicker, so that means we'll be a little more up-tempo. Being that we won't be relying on the post like last year, a bad shooting night from the outside will be more detrimental than what it would have been last year."
[[In-content Ad]]Fairfield's team will consist of six seniors, including: Kaitlin Evans, Katie Runyon, Haley Bobb, Justice Hattan, Lydia Sowders and Emily Teeters.
Sophomores are Olivia Bobb, Carly Arnold and Abigail Newkirk, and the freshmen will be Blake Adams and Grace Shope. There are no juniors in the girls program.
The change comes as FHS lost their All-Ohio post player in Heather Cox, who graduated after last season. Cox was the leading scorer for the Lady Lions one season ago, where she averaged a double-double with 19.1 points per game and 14.8 rebounds per game in 24 total games (including the postseason).
Replacing a player like Cox is tough on any team, but she was also the all-time leading scorer in the history of Fairfield girls basketball, with 1,199 points and 982 rebounds in four seasons with the Lady Lions.
This season, the returning top scorer will be Evans, who is starting her fourth consecutive season with the Lady Lions and will also be the point guard once again. She's coming off a season where in 24 games she averaged 9.6 ppg (4.2 rpg), the second-leading scorer on the roster.
Evans also had 3.8 assists per game. For the season, Evans scored 230 points and tallied 101 rebounds. The senior also shot 56 percent from the free-throw line last season.
"Kaitlin has improved on picking her spots," Hamilton said. "She's worked on controlling the basketball and working on her outside shot. She's come a long way in being a leader, giving the younger girls a base they can come to."
Some of the returning post players will be Sowders and Hattan, who were a couple of the better rebounders on the team last season. Sowders averaged 3.5 ppg last season, along with 4.8 rpg and 1.1 apg.
Sowders also totaled 114 rebounds and scored a grand total of 85 points last season.
As for Hattan, she finished with 60 points (3.2 ppg) and 83 rebounds (4.4 rpg).
"Those two (Sowders and Hattan) will be relied upon a lot in the post," Hamilton said. "They will have to defend the post for us.
"Our team in general … even though they've had time on the court, they are going to have to step up their game with their experience. We are also expecting a lot of our new players as well."
Arnold, a shooting guard, also started most of the season last year. Arnold, who played in all 24 games, finished with 54 points last season (2.3 ppg). along with 1.5 rpg and 1.2 apg.
The now-sophomore Arnold also made three 3-pointers her freshman season, plus collected 35 rebounds (15 offensive).
Bobb also has varsity experience from last season, playing in 22 games. In those games, she averaged 3.3 ppg and 2.0 rpg, finishing the season with 73 points and 45 rebounds.
Hamilton also spoke about the differences of year one as a head coach to year two.
"Year one was a big learning experience, no matter how long I was around as an assistant," he said. "Being the head coach is vastly different. You learn a lot in your first year, and you try to make those changes and go about it in a way where it can benefit your team as a whole."
The goals for FHS are to just to continue to improve under their second-year head coach.
"We want to have a winning record, and to do that, we'll have to play well right off the bat," Hamilton said. "We have a rough league and non-league schedule, but we just have to get the job done.
"We'll have to be playing well from day one to have a successful year."
Assisting Hamilton this season is Joe Turner. The JV coach for FHS will be Travis Vance.