Fairfield Lady Lions bow out of tournament with loss to Chesapeake
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LUCASVILLE — The first round of the Division III sectional tournament for the Fairfield Lady Lions had its share of highs and lows on Sunday afternoon at Valley High School against the Chesapeake Lady Panthers.
The No. 15 Lady Lions were ahead by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but the young team consisting of all freshmen and sophomores was not able to hold on to that advantage, as No. 18 seeded Chesapeake chipped away at the lead. Fairfield eventually lost their lead in the fourth quarter, and ultimately they were eliminated from the sectional semifinal round with a 52-45 loss.
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“The first half we shot the ball pretty well, and the second half simply enough shots wouldn’t go in, and we didn’t execute what we were supposed to do as far as handling their pressure,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “We had too many turnovers, and even when we were able to break their pressure, we got into a half-court set and really didn’t run an offense. They (CHS) just rushed us, sped us up and that is exactly what they wanted to do, and we fell right into their hands.
“Our rebounding was nonexistent. It was one shot and out about every possession, and when those shots aren’t makes, things usually don’t go your way.”
Fairfield entered the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead, but Chesapeake — who outscored the Lady Lions 19-5 in the final frame — opened the fourth with a jumper. FHS answered with a free throw by Peyton Magee with 6:04 left in regulation. Next came two points by the Lady Panthers, and that was followed by a jumper by Chesapeake’s Emily Duncan to make it a two-point differential with FHS still ahead by a 41-39 score with 5:17 left in regulation.
Then came a basket that changed the entire tone of the game when Maddie Ward sank a 3-pointer for the Lady Panthers — the visiting team on the scoreboard — at the 4:15 mark of the fourth, sending Chesapeake into the lead by a point at 42-41, erasing what at one time was a 17-point deficit.
Fairfield came back to take the lead with 3:55 left in the game off points in the paint by Madison Bronner, but missed free throws, missed shots and a jump ball in favor of Chesapeake eventually led to the Lady Panthers taking back the lead with 2:10 left in the fourth quarter when Taylor Hicks scored two points on a one-handed shot.
Chesapeake turned their one-point advantage at 44-43 into a three-point lead with two made free throws by Blake Anderson, leaving 1:26 in the game. Fairfield got a little closer with two free throws made by Bronner at the 1:12 mark of the quarter, but that was as close as FHS got back to the lead, with Chesapeake making free throws to remain ahead. In the final 1:04 of play, CHS went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line to win by seven points.
In the entire eight-minute fourth quarter, Chesapeake was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line, and in the game they were 16-of-24 with their free-throw shooting for 67-percent. In comparison, Fairfield was 11-of-17 for the game from the free-throw line (64 percent) but shot only five free throws in the fourth quarter (3-of-5).
“We got down to the end and we had to foul to get them in the bonus when we lost the lead, and they didn’t miss,” Hamilton said.
Ward led the Lady Panthers with 29 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, finishing the game with five two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and she was 10-of-16 from the free-throw line. In the second half, Ward was 6-of-9 in her free-throw attempts.
As for Fairfield, they had three players reach double figures in the game on the scoreboard with Bronner leading the way with 15 points, Emma Fouch with 12 points and Ella Newkirk totaling 11 points. Magee also finished with seven points in the game, as those were the four scorers in the game for the Lady Lions.
Going back to the start of the game, Fairfield was at their best by winning the first frame at 19-11 and the second quarter at 12-10 for a halftime lead of 31-21.
Fairfield was first to score points with a layup from Bronner, who went around her defender for two points. Eventually the score was tied at 3-3, but then FHS built a six-point lead with two baskets by Bronner and a 3-pointer by Newkirk for a 9-3 lead with 5:08 still remaining in the opening quarter.
After two points by Chesapeake, Fairfield had a rebound and jumper by Newkirk, and Magee scored two points as well. Newkirk followed with two made free throws with 2:31 on the clock, and Fouch made her first basket of the game with two points in the paint with 1:36 on the clock for a Fairfield lead of 17-5.
Eventually the 8-0 run was stopped with a basket by Chesapeake’s Sammie McComas, as CHS ended the first frame with a 6-2 scoring differential for the eight-point deficit, as FHS led 19-11.
Fairfield increased their lead to 17 points by starting the second frame with a 9-0 run that included a layup by Fouch, two free throws by Bronner and a 3-pointer by Magee. Following a CHS timeout, the Lady Lions responded with two made free throws by Fouch for a 28-11 score with 2:12 left in the second quarter.
Chesapeake battled back with 3-pointers from both Anderson and Ward, but Fouch had a 3-pointer of her own, making it with 1:01 left in the first half for a 31-17 Lady Lions advantage. CHS ended the second-quarter scoring with a four-point play by Ward as she made a 3-pointer while being fouled and followed that by making the ensuing free throw.
The Lady Lions were outscored 12-9 in the third with FHS leading 40-33 at the conclusion of the frame. Fairfield had points in the third by Newkirk, Fouch, Magee and Bronner, with Fouch making a 3-pointer in the quarter.
This season the Lady Lions, with no upperclassmen, finished second place in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference with a SHAC record of 7-6 and overall record of 12-10. FHS still has a regular-season non-conference game they are making up on Tuesday, Feb. 11 on the road at Huntington with a 6 p.m. start.
“I told the girls they are freshmen and sophomores, and if they put the work and you improve that is a good thing right now, and we have to make sure we do that in the offseason,” Hamilton said. “I think this group will do that, and the sky’s the limit for them.
“Our goal was a winning record, and we have one more game left, but we have a winning record regardless. We were able to achieve that, but there were three or four games we gave away in the last couple minutes just due to inexperience, and hopefully we can turn that around next season.”
Chesapeake advances to the sectional final, which will be on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Valley against No. 2 Wheelersburg, who defeated No. 31 Wellston, 85-17 on Sunday.
The No. 15 Lady Lions were ahead by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but the young team consisting of all freshmen and sophomores was not able to hold on to that advantage, as No. 18 seeded Chesapeake chipped away at the lead. Fairfield eventually lost their lead in the fourth quarter, and ultimately they were eliminated from the sectional semifinal round with a 52-45 loss.
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“The first half we shot the ball pretty well, and the second half simply enough shots wouldn’t go in, and we didn’t execute what we were supposed to do as far as handling their pressure,” FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. “We had too many turnovers, and even when we were able to break their pressure, we got into a half-court set and really didn’t run an offense. They (CHS) just rushed us, sped us up and that is exactly what they wanted to do, and we fell right into their hands.
“Our rebounding was nonexistent. It was one shot and out about every possession, and when those shots aren’t makes, things usually don’t go your way.”
Fairfield entered the fourth quarter with a seven-point lead, but Chesapeake — who outscored the Lady Lions 19-5 in the final frame — opened the fourth with a jumper. FHS answered with a free throw by Peyton Magee with 6:04 left in regulation. Next came two points by the Lady Panthers, and that was followed by a jumper by Chesapeake’s Emily Duncan to make it a two-point differential with FHS still ahead by a 41-39 score with 5:17 left in regulation.
Then came a basket that changed the entire tone of the game when Maddie Ward sank a 3-pointer for the Lady Panthers — the visiting team on the scoreboard — at the 4:15 mark of the fourth, sending Chesapeake into the lead by a point at 42-41, erasing what at one time was a 17-point deficit.
Fairfield came back to take the lead with 3:55 left in the game off points in the paint by Madison Bronner, but missed free throws, missed shots and a jump ball in favor of Chesapeake eventually led to the Lady Panthers taking back the lead with 2:10 left in the fourth quarter when Taylor Hicks scored two points on a one-handed shot.
Chesapeake turned their one-point advantage at 44-43 into a three-point lead with two made free throws by Blake Anderson, leaving 1:26 in the game. Fairfield got a little closer with two free throws made by Bronner at the 1:12 mark of the quarter, but that was as close as FHS got back to the lead, with Chesapeake making free throws to remain ahead. In the final 1:04 of play, CHS went 6-of-8 from the free-throw line to win by seven points.
In the entire eight-minute fourth quarter, Chesapeake was 8-of-11 from the free-throw line, and in the game they were 16-of-24 with their free-throw shooting for 67-percent. In comparison, Fairfield was 11-of-17 for the game from the free-throw line (64 percent) but shot only five free throws in the fourth quarter (3-of-5).
“We got down to the end and we had to foul to get them in the bonus when we lost the lead, and they didn’t miss,” Hamilton said.
Ward led the Lady Panthers with 29 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, finishing the game with five two-point baskets, three 3-pointers and she was 10-of-16 from the free-throw line. In the second half, Ward was 6-of-9 in her free-throw attempts.
As for Fairfield, they had three players reach double figures in the game on the scoreboard with Bronner leading the way with 15 points, Emma Fouch with 12 points and Ella Newkirk totaling 11 points. Magee also finished with seven points in the game, as those were the four scorers in the game for the Lady Lions.
Going back to the start of the game, Fairfield was at their best by winning the first frame at 19-11 and the second quarter at 12-10 for a halftime lead of 31-21.
Fairfield was first to score points with a layup from Bronner, who went around her defender for two points. Eventually the score was tied at 3-3, but then FHS built a six-point lead with two baskets by Bronner and a 3-pointer by Newkirk for a 9-3 lead with 5:08 still remaining in the opening quarter.
After two points by Chesapeake, Fairfield had a rebound and jumper by Newkirk, and Magee scored two points as well. Newkirk followed with two made free throws with 2:31 on the clock, and Fouch made her first basket of the game with two points in the paint with 1:36 on the clock for a Fairfield lead of 17-5.
Eventually the 8-0 run was stopped with a basket by Chesapeake’s Sammie McComas, as CHS ended the first frame with a 6-2 scoring differential for the eight-point deficit, as FHS led 19-11.
Fairfield increased their lead to 17 points by starting the second frame with a 9-0 run that included a layup by Fouch, two free throws by Bronner and a 3-pointer by Magee. Following a CHS timeout, the Lady Lions responded with two made free throws by Fouch for a 28-11 score with 2:12 left in the second quarter.
Chesapeake battled back with 3-pointers from both Anderson and Ward, but Fouch had a 3-pointer of her own, making it with 1:01 left in the first half for a 31-17 Lady Lions advantage. CHS ended the second-quarter scoring with a four-point play by Ward as she made a 3-pointer while being fouled and followed that by making the ensuing free throw.
The Lady Lions were outscored 12-9 in the third with FHS leading 40-33 at the conclusion of the frame. Fairfield had points in the third by Newkirk, Fouch, Magee and Bronner, with Fouch making a 3-pointer in the quarter.
This season the Lady Lions, with no upperclassmen, finished second place in Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference with a SHAC record of 7-6 and overall record of 12-10. FHS still has a regular-season non-conference game they are making up on Tuesday, Feb. 11 on the road at Huntington with a 6 p.m. start.
“I told the girls they are freshmen and sophomores, and if they put the work and you improve that is a good thing right now, and we have to make sure we do that in the offseason,” Hamilton said. “I think this group will do that, and the sky’s the limit for them.
“Our goal was a winning record, and we have one more game left, but we have a winning record regardless. We were able to achieve that, but there were three or four games we gave away in the last couple minutes just due to inexperience, and hopefully we can turn that around next season.”
Chesapeake advances to the sectional final, which will be on Saturday, Feb. 15 at Valley against No. 2 Wheelersburg, who defeated No. 31 Wellston, 85-17 on Sunday.