Lady Lions open season with win over Adena

LEESBURG — Teams never know what to expect when a season opener arrives, and for the 2025-26 Fairfield Lady Lions and Adena Lady Warriors, they both played very different games throughout the four quarters of action at Grandle Gymnasium Friday evening as FHS won by a 54-51 score in their first season-opening win since the 2022-23 season.  

The first half was controlled by the Lady Lions, as they built an 18-point lead at halftime. FHS took a 17-2 lead after the first frame, then when they outscored Adena 10-7 in the second, Fairfield held a 27-9 advantage. 

The second half was flipped for Fairfield as Adena outscored the Lady Lions 25-10 in the third quarter, cutting Fairfield’s lead to 37-34. In the fourth frame, the Lady Lions lost their lead on two occasions, but ultimately outscored Adena, 17-14 in the final eight minutes for the three-point win. 

That fourth frame where Fairfield regained their lead saw big plays on defense that led to fast-break points for the lead and eventually the win in the final 30 seconds of play. 

Fairfield junior Vivian Henninger made the first of the final two baskets scored in the game when she put the Lady Lions back in front with 29 seconds on the clock, as she stole the ball off an inbounds pass and raced to the hoop for a layup, putting Fairfield ahead by one point at 52-51. 

Next, Fairfield made another big defensive steal, this time by junior Isabelle Hale stealing the ball on another Athens inbounds pass. She passed the ball to Henninger in transition for another layup with 11.3 on the clock, putting FHS in front with what became the final score of 54-51. 

Coach Jennifer Blue spoke about what she said to her team during the final moments of the game.

“We told the girls to just keep playing our game, and don’t look at the score right now, and just keep doing what we do. Don’t fall into it, and we knew they (Adena) are a good team and knew they were going to make a run and we had to just withstand that,” Blue said. “The last time out I told (Vivian) to pick it up, and that ‘you only have a minute left, Viv, give it to me.’’ She played her heart out on (Marley) Holcomb all night, and she’s an outstanding player for them, and Viv was on her the entire night.” 

Getting to those clutch plays at the end of regulation was a roller coaster of a ride for both teams, as Fairfield came out of the locker room on a mission, and it was mission accomplished in the first frame by keeping the Lady Warriors to just two points, while scoring 17 points of their own for a 15-point lead. 

Fairfield had baskets from sophomore Addison Cannon and junior Meri Jackson, forcing Adena to call a timeout less than two minutes into the game. Though the Lady Warriors answered with a basket following the break in action, the Lady Lions roared back with a 13-0 run that included points from Hale (including a 3-pointer), Jackson, senior Rilee Quickle and freshman     Landyn Hodson for the aforementioned 17-2 lead. 

Quickle ended the game with 24 points, totaling six 3-pointers, two two-point field goals and she was 2-of-4 from the free-throw line. Hale finished the game with seven points. 

Adena opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to cut the Lady Lions’ lead to eight points, but the final 10 points of the quarter were all scored by Fairfield, a span lasting the final 4:55 of the frame. Fairfield began the run with a 3-pointer by Quickle, followed by a jumper also by Quickle, a jumper off a shot from Cannon and another 3-pointer by Quickle with .12 left in the first half for what was a 27-9 halftime lead. Cannon ended the night with six points. 

Adena controlled most of the third frame, starting with a 9-3 run in the first two minutes of the third quarter for a 30-19 deficit, including 3-pointers from Marley Holcomb and Ava Ferrell. Holcomb ended the game with 23 points, making six two-point buckets, three 3-pointers, and she was 2-of-2 from the free-throw line. Ferrell finished with 12 points for Adena. 

Also in that span, Fairfield’s three points were from a trey by Quickle, and with 5:40 left in the third, Quickle again drained a 3-pointer for a 33-19 Lady Lion lead. 

After a timeout, Jackson — who totaled six points — raced around a defender and scored two points with a layup, but Adena answered with two consecutive baskets to make it a 10-point game at 35-25. 

After two free throws made by Fairfield’s Quickle, Adena scored the nine points of the second quarter in a span of 3:10 for a 37-34 score with Fairfield still leading after three quarters. 

Though Adena opened the fourth frame with a basket by Holcomb, which cut Fairfield’s lead to one point at 37-36, Cannon answered with a 3-pointer for FHS with 7:15 left in regulation for a four-point advantage. 

Next was a 3-pointer by Quickle increasing the Lady Lions’ lead to seven points for a 43-36 lead. After the big shot by Quickle, Adena went on an 8-0 run from the 5:41 mark to the 4:20 mark for a 44-43 lead for Adena. 

Fairfield regained the lead with a 3-pointer from Quickle, her sixth 3-pointer of the game, and a basket by Henninger, leaving FHS in front at 48-44 with 3:46 left in the fourth frame. Henninger ended the night with six points. 

Adana rallied with a 3-pointer from Holcomb, a put-back basket by Olivia Ferrell and another basket by Holcomb for a 51-48 lead over Fairfield, leaving 1:25 left on the clock. 

Fairfield wasn’t finished, scoring the final six points of the game, including a jumper from Cannon and the aforementioned steal and basket by Henninger, followed by the steal and assist by Hale on another Henninger basket for a 54-51 final score. 

“The win is huge for the girls. They come from two successful fall programs, and our volleyball and soccer teams are both very successful, and that’s huge for us and carries over. They’ve got to believe and this will just help them believe in the future,” Blue said. “This is something we need to build on. 

“We got a little tired at the end, but I give them props for everything they did. They left it all on the floor tonight, and that’s what I ask them to do. The last thing I said to the girls before we started was ‘give me 110-percent and you get tomorrow off,’ so they gave me 110-percent and they get tomorrow off.’”

Fairfield will play again on Tuesday, Nov. 25 on the road against SHAC opponent Fayetteville. 

BOX SCORE
AHS    02 07 25 17 — 51
FHS    17 10 10 17 — 54

FAIRFIELD (54) — I.Hale 1 (1) 2-4 7, R.Quickle 2 (6) 2-2 24, L.Hodson 1 (0) 0-0 2, V.Henninger 3 (0) 0-0 6, A.Cannon 3 (1) 0-0 9, M.Jackson 3 (0) 0-0 6. TOTALS: 13 (8) 4-6 54. 

ADENA (51) — M.Holcomb 6 (3) 2-2 23, A.Ferrell 3 (2) 0-0 12, J.Mallow 4 (0) 0-0 8, O.Ferrell 2 (0) 0-0 4, J.Jett 2 (0) 0-0 4. TOTALS: 17 (5) 2-2 51.