Lady Lions bounce by Lady Greyhounds for SHL victory
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
LEESBURG — The basketball bounced the way of the Fairfield Lady Lions on Saturday, as they outlasted a couple last second shot attempts by the Manchester Lady Greyhounds, earning their fourth win of the season at 46-44.
The Lady Lions, who have continued to improve the past few games according to head coach Matt Hodson, outscored their Southern Hills League rival 18-10 in the final eight minutes, including 3-pointers by Kaitlin Evans and Justice Hattan. Evans finished with nine points (along with eight rebounds, five steals and four assists), and Hattan tallied six points.
FHS also produced from the free-throw line in the fourth at 4-of-8. Also adding points for FHS in the final frame were Lydia Sowders, Heather Cox and Shelby Smithson.
[[In-content Ad]]Hodson spoke about the leadership of his sophomores, including Smithson who finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds. For the game, FHS totaled 48 rebounds (21 offensive).
"Shelby stepped up in the huddle, telling the girls this is what they have been working for all season long," he said. "That right there shows we have good leadership."
Cox led all scorers with a game-high 17 points, with six points coming in the third frame. Cox added a double-double with 19 rebounds.
"Heather is averaging a double-double (points, rebounds)," Hodson said. "The entire team … we are finally playing like we should. We are gaining rebounds, and playing Fairfield Lady Lion basketball."
Leading MHS was Hannah Rideout with 15 points, and Haylee Adams with 12.
The game opened nearly even, with FHS trailing 10-9 after the opening quarter ended. Scoring those nine points were Evans (a 3-pointer), Cox (five points) and Smithson (a free throw).
In the second, FHS added seven points to their total, with Hattan, and Smithson scoring. In the quarter, Smithson scored five of her 10 total game points.
The third quarter saw FHS tally 12 points, with six by Cox, and two points each from Evans, Sowders and Smithson. Sowders wrapped up the game with four points.
Fairfield wraps up the regular season with a 4-16 overall record, and a SHL mark of 3-10. Manchester finishes at 8-12 overall.
"This win is huge for the girls," Hodson said. "We've played well lately, and the kids are gaining confidence. The girls were fired up to play (Saturday), and excited to play in front of a bigger crowd."
The Lady Lions will be back in action on Monday, Feb. 13 in the postseason, as they play in a opening round game in the Division IV SE Sectional tournament. FHS, a No. 7 seed, will face No. 10 seeded Green High School, who at the time of the tournament draw had one victory. The game will take place at Northwest High School (McDermitt) at 8 p.m.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS 10 15 09 10 — 44
FHS 09 07 12 18 — 46
INDIVIDUAL STATS
FHS (46)
K.Evans 1 (2) 1-4 9
L.Sowders 2 (0) 0-1 4
J.Hattan 1 (1) 1-2 6
H.Cox 7 (0) 3-6 17
C.Sova-Davy 0 (0) 0-2 0
S.Smithson 4 (0) 2-6 10
TOTALS: 15 (3) 7-22 46
MHS (44)
H.Adams 2 (1) 5-6 12
J.Boyd 1 (0) 0-0 2
H.Rideout 5 (0) 5-12 15
R.Casey 4 (0) 2-3 10
V.Casey 1 (1) 0-3 5
TOTALS: 13 (2) 12-24 44
The Lady Lions, who have continued to improve the past few games according to head coach Matt Hodson, outscored their Southern Hills League rival 18-10 in the final eight minutes, including 3-pointers by Kaitlin Evans and Justice Hattan. Evans finished with nine points (along with eight rebounds, five steals and four assists), and Hattan tallied six points.
FHS also produced from the free-throw line in the fourth at 4-of-8. Also adding points for FHS in the final frame were Lydia Sowders, Heather Cox and Shelby Smithson.
[[In-content Ad]]Hodson spoke about the leadership of his sophomores, including Smithson who finished with 10 points and 15 rebounds. For the game, FHS totaled 48 rebounds (21 offensive).
"Shelby stepped up in the huddle, telling the girls this is what they have been working for all season long," he said. "That right there shows we have good leadership."
Cox led all scorers with a game-high 17 points, with six points coming in the third frame. Cox added a double-double with 19 rebounds.
"Heather is averaging a double-double (points, rebounds)," Hodson said. "The entire team … we are finally playing like we should. We are gaining rebounds, and playing Fairfield Lady Lion basketball."
Leading MHS was Hannah Rideout with 15 points, and Haylee Adams with 12.
The game opened nearly even, with FHS trailing 10-9 after the opening quarter ended. Scoring those nine points were Evans (a 3-pointer), Cox (five points) and Smithson (a free throw).
In the second, FHS added seven points to their total, with Hattan, and Smithson scoring. In the quarter, Smithson scored five of her 10 total game points.
The third quarter saw FHS tally 12 points, with six by Cox, and two points each from Evans, Sowders and Smithson. Sowders wrapped up the game with four points.
Fairfield wraps up the regular season with a 4-16 overall record, and a SHL mark of 3-10. Manchester finishes at 8-12 overall.
"This win is huge for the girls," Hodson said. "We've played well lately, and the kids are gaining confidence. The girls were fired up to play (Saturday), and excited to play in front of a bigger crowd."
The Lady Lions will be back in action on Monday, Feb. 13 in the postseason, as they play in a opening round game in the Division IV SE Sectional tournament. FHS, a No. 7 seed, will face No. 10 seeded Green High School, who at the time of the tournament draw had one victory. The game will take place at Northwest High School (McDermitt) at 8 p.m.
BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
MHS 10 15 09 10 — 44
FHS 09 07 12 18 — 46
INDIVIDUAL STATS
FHS (46)
K.Evans 1 (2) 1-4 9
L.Sowders 2 (0) 0-1 4
J.Hattan 1 (1) 1-2 6
H.Cox 7 (0) 3-6 17
C.Sova-Davy 0 (0) 0-2 0
S.Smithson 4 (0) 2-6 10
TOTALS: 15 (3) 7-22 46
MHS (44)
H.Adams 2 (1) 5-6 12
J.Boyd 1 (0) 0-0 2
H.Rideout 5 (0) 5-12 15
R.Casey 4 (0) 2-3 10
V.Casey 1 (1) 0-3 5
TOTALS: 13 (2) 12-24 44