Ripley's Hackney scores 1,000th point; Lady Blue Jays upset Fairfield in district quarterfinals

LEESBURG — For the second consecutive season, the Fairfield Lady Lions lost their opening tournament game, and Monday’s loss to No. 11 seeded Ripley saw Fairfield have struggles with having shots fall and untimely turnovers, resulting in a 47-44 loss at Grandle Gymnasium in the Division VI SE District Quarterfinals.

The No. 6 seeded Lady Lions (12-11) began the fourth quarter with a four-point lead at 35-31, but the lead quickly shrank to two points following a layup by Ripley’s Raquel Hackney off a Fairfield turnover. 

The Lady Lions responded with a 3-pointer from senior Rilee Quickle, but it was Hackney — who earlier in the first quarter had a career milestone by scoring her 1,000th point — scoring two points in the paint for three-point RHS deficit. Hackney finished the game with 13 points. 

Fairfield came back with two points from Addison Cannon, and after a bucket by the Lady Blue Jays, Cannon made two more baskets with perfect jumpers that swished through the hoop for a seven-point Fairfield lead at 44-37 with 3:45 left in the game, as those baskets ended up being the final points of the game scored by Fairfield. Cannon ended the game with six points. 

Ripley (10-13) wasn’t finished as they went on a 10-0 run to end the game in the final 2:35, starting their run with a jumper by Brooklyn Manning (who totaled 14 points for the game), and following a Fairfield turnover, a 3-pointer from Alyssa Tucker. Tucker, a freshman, wasn’t finished, as another Lady Lions turnover resulted in another 3-pointer by Tucker with 1:15 left on the clock for a 45-44 Ripley lead. Tucker ended the game with 13 points. 

Following a full timeout with 1:05 on the clock, the Lady Lions had a turnover at the 57-second mark, but the game continued to be close as following a timeout, RHS had a turnover of their own with 50.2 remaining in the fourth quarter. 

FHS went to the free-throw line, and neither attempt fell through the hoop with 34 seconds left in regulation. RHS then lost the ball out of bounds with 32 seconds left, only to have FHS lose possession of the ball at the 28.0 mark of the quarter. 

Ripley went back to the free-throw line with 21.7 on the clock, and Jenna Wilkins (who scored four points) made 1-of-2 attempts for a two-point RHS lead. The Lady Lions had an opportunity to tie the score with 12.2 left, but neither free-throw attempt was converted, and the Lady Blue Jays grabbed the rebound. 

RHS scored one final point with 7.4 on the clock with another 1-of-2 trip to the free-throw line by Wilkins for the eventual three-point win at 47-44. 

The first quarter had Ripley in front 8-6 when time expired with points for RHS scored by Hackney, Jasmine Young and Manning. Hackney scored her 1,000th career point with a jumper at the 3:19 mark for a 6-3 RHS lead, as the game stopped for a few seconds to honor the achievement. 

Fairfield’s first-quarter points were scored by Isabelle Hale with two 3-pointers. Hale had nine points for the game. 

The Lady Lions built a 21-17 lead when halftime arrived with points in the frame by Cannon Vivian Henninger, Meri Jackson (who finished with six points) and Hale. 

Ripley’s nine points in the quarter were scored by Wilkins, Manning and Hackney. 

Fairfield held a four-point lead after three frames, leading by as many as 11 points in the quarter, with Quickle — who led FHS with 14 points — beginning the frame with a jumper for two points. Tucker answered that with a Ripley 3-pointer, and that was followed with a free throw made by Hackney. 

Fairfield jumped their lead to 11 points with a barrage of 3-pointers, starting with Quickle draining one with 4:30 on the clock, followed by a trey by Henninger (who finished with nine points), and Quickle made another 3-pointer with 3:23 on the clock for a 32-21 lead.

After a timeout, the Lady Blue Jays regrouped and scored 10 of the next 13 points to end the third frame, with Manning and Abi Taylor combining for those points, as Manning had seven in that span, including a 3-pointer with 33 seconds left in the third. Taylor’s points came on a three-point play, as she ended the game with three points. 

The win ends Fairfield’s season at 12-11 overall, while Ripley moves to 10-13 on the season.

Earlier in the season, Fairfield defeated Ripley, 56-32 in Southern Hills Athletic Conference play. The Lady Lions end the season as SHAC Div. II runners-up.

Seniors for Fairfield are Rilee Quickle and Jaeden Drury.

BOX SCORE
RHS    08 09 14 16 — 47
FHS    06 15 14 09 — 44

RIPLEY (47) — J.Wilkins 1 (0) 2-4 4, A.Taylor 1 (0) 1-1 3, B.Manning 5 (1) 1-1 14, A.Taylor 2 (3) 0-4 13, R.Hackney 5 (0) 3-4 13. TOTALS: 14 (4) 7-14 47. 

FAIRFIELD (44) — I.Hale 0 (2) 3-4 9, R.Quickle 1 (4) 0-0 14, V.Henninger 3 (1) 0-4 9, A.Cannon 3 (0) 0-0 6, M.Jackson 2 (0) 2-5 6. TOTALS: 9 (7) 5-13 44.