Fairfield Lady Lions upend undefeated Peebles in overtime
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — This season, the Fairfield Lady Lions are showing they have not only taken a step forward with their program, but they are on a path to success in the Southern Hills Athletic Conference.
Thursday night saw the Lady Lions (5-1, 9-2) fend off everything the visiting Peebles Lady Indians had to offer, and in the end, after going into overtime, it was Fairfield defending Grandle Gymnasium against their conference rival and a previously undefeated Peebles squad by a 59-57 score.
“This was a fantastic team win for us. I hope this shows our girls what they are capable of when they execute the game plan,” Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton said. “Foul trouble really hurt us in the first half (seven in the first quarter), and early in the second half we went cold and got down by double figures.
“It would have been easy to fold, but we kept fighting, and the shots finally started falling again. We made plenty of mistakes down the stretch, but luckily we did enough to pull it out.”
The game was played very close in the first two frames, as Fairfield trailed Peebles by three points at halftime by a 26-23 score following a 3-pointer by Jacey Justice of Peebles (5-1, 6-1) with less than two seconds left on the clock, breaking the tied score.
Justice finished the game with 37 points to lead all scorers. She finished with five two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
The first six minutes of the third frame weren’t kind to the Lady Lions, either, as they had multiple turnovers and trailed by a 38-24 score with around three minutes left in the frame. FHS made a comeback with a basket by Emma Fouch, and later a full-court drive and bucket from Peyton Magee — who totaled nine points overall — brought the deficit down to eight points.
Fouch finished the game with 16 points, as she collected three two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
A layup from Madison Bronner saw FHS cut Peebles’ lead to six points, but a trey by Justice with 47 seconds left in the third made it an 11-point lead for PHS. Fairfield ended the third with four made free throws in four chances by Braylynn Haines for a 41-36 score after three frames in favor of the visitors.
Bronner finished tied for the scoring lead with Fouch, as she too scored 16 points in the win. Bronner totaled seven two point baskets and was 2-of-5 in her free throw attempts. Bronner also had a double-double with 11 rebounds, including three in overtime.
Haines also had double-figure scoring with 10 points from three two-point baskets and finishing 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Then the fourth frame arrived, and the game really got exciting.
The Lady Lions opened up the fourth quarter with a jumper by Haines to make it a three-point game at 41-38. As both teams committed turnovers, and there was a jump ball mixed in, it was Fairfield eventually tying the score at 41 with a 3-pointer at the top of the key by Magee with 6:17 remaining in regulation.
Justice stole the basketball from the Lady Lions as the fourth frame continued and took the ball straight to the hoop on a fast break to put the Lady Indians back in front with 5:48 on the clock.
Fairfield didn’t fold. Rather, they stepped up their play even more with a layup from Bronner, with the assist by Magee, then a 3-pointer by Ella Newkirk lifted Fairfield back in front at 46-43 with 3:12 left in regulation. Newkirk totaled eight points in the win.
Justice was clutch for her team once again, tying the score at 46 with a 3-pointer at the 3:00 mark, but the Lady Lions regained the advantage with a jumper by Bronner at the 2:37 mark of the fourth. Again, Justice tied the score, this time at 48 with a layup while under pressure from the FHS defense, leaving 2:21 on the clock.
Then a sequence of timeouts, jump balls and one last chance in regulation — a missed shot by Peebles — sent the game into overtime tied at 48.
The overtime frame didn’t start out well for the Lady Lions as Peebles took the lead with a layup by Gabby Cobb, only to see FHS tie the score at 50 following a jumper from the corner of the court by Haines with 3:03 left in overtime.
Fairfield took a 52-50 lead, then extended it to five points following a three-point play by Newkirk as the junior stole the basketball and scored two points on a fast break with 1:55 left in OT.
Peebles came back with two points by Cobb, then a steal and basket by Justice left Fairfield’s lead at one point for a 55-54 score with under a minute to play. Fairfield made it a three-point lead with a layup from Bronner with the assist by Haines.
Justice was later fouled while shooting a 3-pointer, as she made the first two shots from the trip to the charity stripe with 27.7 on the clock, but the third attempt bounced out with the timely rebound by Fouch, keeping the Lady Lions in front at 57-56.
With 15.3 left in OT, Fouch was fouled and made two free throw tries, putting the Lady Lions ahead at 59-56. PHS scored one last point at the free-throw line by Justice, but in the end the Lady Lions’ defense stood strong and fended off the Lady Indians in the final seconds of overtime to earn the conference win.
The first half saw FHS trail Peebles 14-12 after the first frame, with points scored for Fairfield by Newkirk, Fouch, Magee, Bronner and Haines. The second quarter had the Lady Lions with 11 points as Fouch scored five points in the frame, while Magee made two free throws and Bronner had two field goals for four points.
PHS scored 14 points in the first quarter and in the second frame added 12 points. Justice made four free throws in the first, and in the second she broke out for 10 points. Also scoring points for the Lady Indians in the first half were Cobb with two points, Peyton Johnson with four points and Lilly Gray with six points in the first two frames.
Peebles outscored Fairfield 15-13 in the third frame, with 11 points by Justice and four points by Johnson.
FHS won the fourth frame at 11-7 and overtime at 11-9.
Other final scoring totals for the Lady Indians included eight points by Johnson and six points each from Gray and Cobb.
PHS finished with 11 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and they were 20-of-27 from the free-throw line.
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Thursday night saw the Lady Lions (5-1, 9-2) fend off everything the visiting Peebles Lady Indians had to offer, and in the end, after going into overtime, it was Fairfield defending Grandle Gymnasium against their conference rival and a previously undefeated Peebles squad by a 59-57 score.
“This was a fantastic team win for us. I hope this shows our girls what they are capable of when they execute the game plan,” Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton said. “Foul trouble really hurt us in the first half (seven in the first quarter), and early in the second half we went cold and got down by double figures.
“It would have been easy to fold, but we kept fighting, and the shots finally started falling again. We made plenty of mistakes down the stretch, but luckily we did enough to pull it out.”
The game was played very close in the first two frames, as Fairfield trailed Peebles by three points at halftime by a 26-23 score following a 3-pointer by Jacey Justice of Peebles (5-1, 6-1) with less than two seconds left on the clock, breaking the tied score.
Justice finished the game with 37 points to lead all scorers. She finished with five two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and went 12-of-15 from the free-throw line.
The first six minutes of the third frame weren’t kind to the Lady Lions, either, as they had multiple turnovers and trailed by a 38-24 score with around three minutes left in the frame. FHS made a comeback with a basket by Emma Fouch, and later a full-court drive and bucket from Peyton Magee — who totaled nine points overall — brought the deficit down to eight points.
Fouch finished the game with 16 points, as she collected three two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and went 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
A layup from Madison Bronner saw FHS cut Peebles’ lead to six points, but a trey by Justice with 47 seconds left in the third made it an 11-point lead for PHS. Fairfield ended the third with four made free throws in four chances by Braylynn Haines for a 41-36 score after three frames in favor of the visitors.
Bronner finished tied for the scoring lead with Fouch, as she too scored 16 points in the win. Bronner totaled seven two point baskets and was 2-of-5 in her free throw attempts. Bronner also had a double-double with 11 rebounds, including three in overtime.
Haines also had double-figure scoring with 10 points from three two-point baskets and finishing 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Then the fourth frame arrived, and the game really got exciting.
The Lady Lions opened up the fourth quarter with a jumper by Haines to make it a three-point game at 41-38. As both teams committed turnovers, and there was a jump ball mixed in, it was Fairfield eventually tying the score at 41 with a 3-pointer at the top of the key by Magee with 6:17 remaining in regulation.
Justice stole the basketball from the Lady Lions as the fourth frame continued and took the ball straight to the hoop on a fast break to put the Lady Indians back in front with 5:48 on the clock.
Fairfield didn’t fold. Rather, they stepped up their play even more with a layup from Bronner, with the assist by Magee, then a 3-pointer by Ella Newkirk lifted Fairfield back in front at 46-43 with 3:12 left in regulation. Newkirk totaled eight points in the win.
Justice was clutch for her team once again, tying the score at 46 with a 3-pointer at the 3:00 mark, but the Lady Lions regained the advantage with a jumper by Bronner at the 2:37 mark of the fourth. Again, Justice tied the score, this time at 48 with a layup while under pressure from the FHS defense, leaving 2:21 on the clock.
Then a sequence of timeouts, jump balls and one last chance in regulation — a missed shot by Peebles — sent the game into overtime tied at 48.
The overtime frame didn’t start out well for the Lady Lions as Peebles took the lead with a layup by Gabby Cobb, only to see FHS tie the score at 50 following a jumper from the corner of the court by Haines with 3:03 left in overtime.
Fairfield took a 52-50 lead, then extended it to five points following a three-point play by Newkirk as the junior stole the basketball and scored two points on a fast break with 1:55 left in OT.
Peebles came back with two points by Cobb, then a steal and basket by Justice left Fairfield’s lead at one point for a 55-54 score with under a minute to play. Fairfield made it a three-point lead with a layup from Bronner with the assist by Haines.
Justice was later fouled while shooting a 3-pointer, as she made the first two shots from the trip to the charity stripe with 27.7 on the clock, but the third attempt bounced out with the timely rebound by Fouch, keeping the Lady Lions in front at 57-56.
With 15.3 left in OT, Fouch was fouled and made two free throw tries, putting the Lady Lions ahead at 59-56. PHS scored one last point at the free-throw line by Justice, but in the end the Lady Lions’ defense stood strong and fended off the Lady Indians in the final seconds of overtime to earn the conference win.
The first half saw FHS trail Peebles 14-12 after the first frame, with points scored for Fairfield by Newkirk, Fouch, Magee, Bronner and Haines. The second quarter had the Lady Lions with 11 points as Fouch scored five points in the frame, while Magee made two free throws and Bronner had two field goals for four points.
PHS scored 14 points in the first quarter and in the second frame added 12 points. Justice made four free throws in the first, and in the second she broke out for 10 points. Also scoring points for the Lady Indians in the first half were Cobb with two points, Peyton Johnson with four points and Lilly Gray with six points in the first two frames.
Peebles outscored Fairfield 15-13 in the third frame, with 11 points by Justice and four points by Johnson.
FHS won the fourth frame at 11-7 and overtime at 11-9.
Other final scoring totals for the Lady Indians included eight points by Johnson and six points each from Gray and Cobb.
PHS finished with 11 two-point baskets, five 3-pointers and they were 20-of-27 from the free-throw line.
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