Peebles pulls away in 4th quarter against Fairfield
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Nobody ever said that Division II of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference was going to be easy, and from start to finish, the Fairfield Lady Lions and the Peebles Lady Indians proved that Monday night at Grandle Gymnasium.
The Lady Lions gave all they had to the visiting first-place Peebles squad, but when the final buzzer sounded it was the Lady Indians who were just a little stronger, winning by a 65-59 score.
Peebles’ win over Fairfield moves them to 9-1 in the SHAC Division II standings, as they have now clinched the Division II championship, as Fairfield moves to 5-5 in the SHAC and Fayetteville is 4-6.
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In their first meeting on Jan. 9 of this season at Peebles, the Lady Lions lost by a 71-55 score.
“I’m very proud of the girls,” Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton said. “They didn’t quit, played all the way through, and this was a much better game and much closer game than what it was down there (at Peebles). We were a little bit better prepared and knew what to expect.
“I thought the girls played hard, but it was just execution down the stretch and missing some easy shots, especially some free throws in the fourth quarter, that really came back to bit us. When it counted, we missed a lot of easy opportunities to convert under the basket, missed a lot of layups, and that is tough to overcome.”
On Monday night, though, the Lady Lions came ready to play, and they did so by leading Peebles after the first quarter came to a close at 15-14. Fairfield began the quarter with four straight points from Madison Bronner and Ella Newkirk, and following a jumper from Peebles’ Jacey Justice, Bronner added another point with a free-throw conversion for an early 5-2 lead.
Justice led all scorers with 31 points, as the junior collected eight two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and she was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Peebles took the lead with 5:01 left in the first with consecutive baskets by Justice, and after Peyton Magee scored two points for the Lady Lions, Justice answered with a 3-pointer at the 3:53 mark for a 9-7 Peebles advantage.
The Lady Lions tied the score at 9-9 with a basket from Bronner. Peebles came back with a three-point play by Lilly Gray — who finished the game with 10 points — only to have Fairfield score four straight points from the duo of Braylynn Haines and Hailey Tolle for a one-point advantage of 13-12. Justice followed by sinking two of three free-throw attempts for a Peebles lead, but the frame ended with FHS on top as Haines scored two points in the paint at the buzzer for a 15-14 lead.
Peebles outscored the host Lady Indians 24-18 in the second, which gave them a 38-33 lead at halftime. The score was tied four times in the second at 18, 20, 23 and 25 points. When the score was tied at 18, it came off a 3-pointer from Ella Newkirk from the corner of the court, only to see Peebles’ Gray sink a jumper at the 6:50 mark for a 20-18 Lady Indians lead.
The Lady Lions tied the score at 20 when Fouch sank a jumper at the 6:33 mark, and they took the lead with a 3-pointer from Newkirk with another 3-pointer from the opposite corner for a 23-20 lead.
Fouch finished with 21 points to lead the Lady Lions.
PHS tied the score at 23 with a 3-pointer by Justice and regained the lead with two free throws made by Gray with 5:24 left in the second. Haines tied the score at 25 for Fairfield with a wide-open layup, but Peebles moved ahead at 27-25 with a layup by Justice with 3:34 left in the second frame.
Following a Fairfield time out, the lead went back to the Lady Lions as Fouch sank a 3-pointer as she was fouled. The sophomore converted the rare four-point play with 3:13 on the clock, giving Fairfield a two-point advantage. That lead quickly went to four points with two more made free throws by Fouch.
Peebles gained the upper hand in the final 2:10 of the frame, and they did so by outscoring the hosts, 12-2 for a halftime lead of five points at 38-33. In that span, Tatum Arey, Justice and Harlee Wilkerson all scored points for PHS, including Wilkerson sinking two 3-pointers in that run of scoring.
Wilkerson finished with 10 points, and Arey totaled nine points for Peebles.
When Fairfield returned from the locker room following halftime, they were more focused than even before and won the frame at 19-11, taking a 52-49 lead once the third frame had closed.
Even with Peebles opening the third with another 3-pointer by Wilkerson, Fairfield had four straight points from Bronner to answer the trey by Peebles. Bronner totaled 17 points for Fairfield.
The Lady Indians came back with four more points of their own for a six-point lead, but again a three-point play by Haines — who scored nine points for the game — and a three-point play from Bronner left the score tied at 43 with 3:56 left in the third.
Peebles took back the top spot with a point from Arey and added to the slight lead with a basket by Justice.
Newkirk tied the score for Fairfield with a 3-pointer (and she finished with eight points), and that was followed by a 3-pointer by Fouch, as those six points pushed the Lady Lions ahead at 49-46 with 1:26 left in the third. Peebles answered with a 3-pointer by Arey, tying the score at 49, but with around 40 seconds left on the clock, Fouch answered that shot with a 3-pointer of her own, putting the Lady Lions ahead, 52-49, as that score stood when the third was finalized.
Things changed in the fourth where Peebles outscored the Lady Lions, 16-7, as Fairfield had issues at the free-throw line in the final frame. As a team in the fourth, the Lady Lions were 3-of-9 from the free-throw line, while Peebles was 7-of-9 with their free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
In that fourth frame, the score was tied at 52 and 56 with Justice tying the score at 52 with two points at the 6:29 mark, and Fairfield tied the score at 56 following two free throws by Fouch, as before that Bronner made a basket near the hoop.
Peebles took the lead for good following two made free throws by Arey with 2:54 left on the clock, and from there Fairfield missed multiple shots, but they did have a big-time three-point play from Bronner with 37 seconds left to make it a two-point game.
The problem for Fairfield is Peebles went right back down the court and scored two points for a four-point lead off a basket by Madison Beekman, her only (and very timely) basket of the game. Peebles put the game out of reach with two final free-throw conversions by Justice with 9.4 on the clock.
Fairfield ended the game with team totals of 15 two-point baskets, six 3-pointers and they were 11-of-19 from the free-throw line (58 percent). Peebles totaled 16 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and they were 21-of-27 with their free-throw attempts (78 percent).
Next for the Lady Lions is a road SHAC game on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Manchester.
The Lady Lions gave all they had to the visiting first-place Peebles squad, but when the final buzzer sounded it was the Lady Indians who were just a little stronger, winning by a 65-59 score.
Peebles’ win over Fairfield moves them to 9-1 in the SHAC Division II standings, as they have now clinched the Division II championship, as Fairfield moves to 5-5 in the SHAC and Fayetteville is 4-6.
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In their first meeting on Jan. 9 of this season at Peebles, the Lady Lions lost by a 71-55 score.
“I’m very proud of the girls,” Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton said. “They didn’t quit, played all the way through, and this was a much better game and much closer game than what it was down there (at Peebles). We were a little bit better prepared and knew what to expect.
“I thought the girls played hard, but it was just execution down the stretch and missing some easy shots, especially some free throws in the fourth quarter, that really came back to bit us. When it counted, we missed a lot of easy opportunities to convert under the basket, missed a lot of layups, and that is tough to overcome.”
On Monday night, though, the Lady Lions came ready to play, and they did so by leading Peebles after the first quarter came to a close at 15-14. Fairfield began the quarter with four straight points from Madison Bronner and Ella Newkirk, and following a jumper from Peebles’ Jacey Justice, Bronner added another point with a free-throw conversion for an early 5-2 lead.
Justice led all scorers with 31 points, as the junior collected eight two-point baskets, two 3-pointers and she was 9-of-11 from the free-throw line.
Peebles took the lead with 5:01 left in the first with consecutive baskets by Justice, and after Peyton Magee scored two points for the Lady Lions, Justice answered with a 3-pointer at the 3:53 mark for a 9-7 Peebles advantage.
The Lady Lions tied the score at 9-9 with a basket from Bronner. Peebles came back with a three-point play by Lilly Gray — who finished the game with 10 points — only to have Fairfield score four straight points from the duo of Braylynn Haines and Hailey Tolle for a one-point advantage of 13-12. Justice followed by sinking two of three free-throw attempts for a Peebles lead, but the frame ended with FHS on top as Haines scored two points in the paint at the buzzer for a 15-14 lead.
Peebles outscored the host Lady Indians 24-18 in the second, which gave them a 38-33 lead at halftime. The score was tied four times in the second at 18, 20, 23 and 25 points. When the score was tied at 18, it came off a 3-pointer from Ella Newkirk from the corner of the court, only to see Peebles’ Gray sink a jumper at the 6:50 mark for a 20-18 Lady Indians lead.
The Lady Lions tied the score at 20 when Fouch sank a jumper at the 6:33 mark, and they took the lead with a 3-pointer from Newkirk with another 3-pointer from the opposite corner for a 23-20 lead.
Fouch finished with 21 points to lead the Lady Lions.
PHS tied the score at 23 with a 3-pointer by Justice and regained the lead with two free throws made by Gray with 5:24 left in the second. Haines tied the score at 25 for Fairfield with a wide-open layup, but Peebles moved ahead at 27-25 with a layup by Justice with 3:34 left in the second frame.
Following a Fairfield time out, the lead went back to the Lady Lions as Fouch sank a 3-pointer as she was fouled. The sophomore converted the rare four-point play with 3:13 on the clock, giving Fairfield a two-point advantage. That lead quickly went to four points with two more made free throws by Fouch.
Peebles gained the upper hand in the final 2:10 of the frame, and they did so by outscoring the hosts, 12-2 for a halftime lead of five points at 38-33. In that span, Tatum Arey, Justice and Harlee Wilkerson all scored points for PHS, including Wilkerson sinking two 3-pointers in that run of scoring.
Wilkerson finished with 10 points, and Arey totaled nine points for Peebles.
When Fairfield returned from the locker room following halftime, they were more focused than even before and won the frame at 19-11, taking a 52-49 lead once the third frame had closed.
Even with Peebles opening the third with another 3-pointer by Wilkerson, Fairfield had four straight points from Bronner to answer the trey by Peebles. Bronner totaled 17 points for Fairfield.
The Lady Indians came back with four more points of their own for a six-point lead, but again a three-point play by Haines — who scored nine points for the game — and a three-point play from Bronner left the score tied at 43 with 3:56 left in the third.
Peebles took back the top spot with a point from Arey and added to the slight lead with a basket by Justice.
Newkirk tied the score for Fairfield with a 3-pointer (and she finished with eight points), and that was followed by a 3-pointer by Fouch, as those six points pushed the Lady Lions ahead at 49-46 with 1:26 left in the third. Peebles answered with a 3-pointer by Arey, tying the score at 49, but with around 40 seconds left on the clock, Fouch answered that shot with a 3-pointer of her own, putting the Lady Lions ahead, 52-49, as that score stood when the third was finalized.
Things changed in the fourth where Peebles outscored the Lady Lions, 16-7, as Fairfield had issues at the free-throw line in the final frame. As a team in the fourth, the Lady Lions were 3-of-9 from the free-throw line, while Peebles was 7-of-9 with their free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter.
In that fourth frame, the score was tied at 52 and 56 with Justice tying the score at 52 with two points at the 6:29 mark, and Fairfield tied the score at 56 following two free throws by Fouch, as before that Bronner made a basket near the hoop.
Peebles took the lead for good following two made free throws by Arey with 2:54 left on the clock, and from there Fairfield missed multiple shots, but they did have a big-time three-point play from Bronner with 37 seconds left to make it a two-point game.
The problem for Fairfield is Peebles went right back down the court and scored two points for a four-point lead off a basket by Madison Beekman, her only (and very timely) basket of the game. Peebles put the game out of reach with two final free-throw conversions by Justice with 9.4 on the clock.
Fairfield ended the game with team totals of 15 two-point baskets, six 3-pointers and they were 11-of-19 from the free-throw line (58 percent). Peebles totaled 16 two-point baskets, four 3-pointers, and they were 21-of-27 with their free-throw attempts (78 percent).
Next for the Lady Lions is a road SHAC game on Thursday, Jan. 30 at Manchester.