Lady Lions end sectional run, fall in final seconds
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
The postseason run of the Fairfield Lady Lions came to an end in heartbreaking fashion this Saturday as they lost in the final seconds to No. 2 seed Ironton St. Joseph, 40-39 at Northwest High School in their Division IV SE District sectional final.
The loss by FHS came down to the final quarter, as the underdog Lady Lions had possession of the basketball in the final seconds but were unable to get off a shot.
A jump ball off a missed free throw by Ironton St. Joseph gave FHS the ball with nine seconds left in regulation.
The Lady Lions got the ball past half court, and coach Matt Hodson called timeout to set up the final play with 4.4 seconds to play.
Hodson said his team ran exactly what was drawn up in the huddle, but there was some contact which caused the ball to bounce out of the hands of Heather Cox, out of bounds, which eventually sealed the win for St. Joseph.
"As I shook hands with Coach Miller from St. Joe, he said we are the best five-win team he has ever played," Hodson said. "The girls were really tore up after the game. They had just played their best game of the year and came up just short."
The Lady Lions had their season low in turnovers with nine and went 7-of-11 from the free-throw line.
"I couldn't be prouder of these girls," Hodson said. "They played their hearts out (Saturday) and left it all on the floor.
"Effort like this makes a big smile come across my face, as well as knowing we will have Shelby Smithson back next year after having to sit out this year with an ACL injury. I can't wait to get next season started."
Cox led FHS with a double-double, as she scored 24 points and collected 10 rebounds. She also had three steals.
Kaitlin Evans added six points and three assists. Haley Bobb totaled three points and contributed six assists. Justice Hatten and Lydia Sowders rounded out the scoring with four and two points, respectively.
Hodson spoke about preparing for Ironton St. Joseph (17-4).
"We had watched them on tape and felt we had a very good chance to win," he said. "They have a very good point guard, Hannah Miller, so we tried to hedge the screens they set for her, and they set a lot, to slow her down from dribble penetration. For the most part, our girls did a good job at this."
Miller led St. Joseph with 19 points.
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As for the beginning of the fourth frame (FHS trailed by four points), Cox scored a quick basket, then a St. Joe turnover produced a layup by Sowders, quickly cutting the St. Joseph lead to three points.
After points by the Lady Flyers, Cox continued to score inside, as she scored 11 in the fourth, with the Lady Lions running their offense and being patient to find her open.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, the Lady Lions' defense came through as they were down by one.
Cox stole the inbounds pass and threw it up the floor to Evans, who found Sowders, who in turn passed to Hatten for the basket, giving FHS their first and only lead of the contest.
Miller quickly advanced the ball up the floor to find Booker for the layup, giving the lead to St. Joseph for good.
At the start of the game, FHS trailed 14-11 at the conclusion of the first and were down 22-19 at halftime. At the end of the first, Bobb sank a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game.
"We really felt good only being down three at the half, after the way they came out and were hitting threes," Hodson said. "We adjusted our defense, and they didn't make another three after Neal hit that early one in the second."
The Lady Lions will play a makeup game on Thursday to end their season as they will face the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs.
The loss by FHS came down to the final quarter, as the underdog Lady Lions had possession of the basketball in the final seconds but were unable to get off a shot.
A jump ball off a missed free throw by Ironton St. Joseph gave FHS the ball with nine seconds left in regulation.
The Lady Lions got the ball past half court, and coach Matt Hodson called timeout to set up the final play with 4.4 seconds to play.
Hodson said his team ran exactly what was drawn up in the huddle, but there was some contact which caused the ball to bounce out of the hands of Heather Cox, out of bounds, which eventually sealed the win for St. Joseph.
"As I shook hands with Coach Miller from St. Joe, he said we are the best five-win team he has ever played," Hodson said. "The girls were really tore up after the game. They had just played their best game of the year and came up just short."
The Lady Lions had their season low in turnovers with nine and went 7-of-11 from the free-throw line.
"I couldn't be prouder of these girls," Hodson said. "They played their hearts out (Saturday) and left it all on the floor.
"Effort like this makes a big smile come across my face, as well as knowing we will have Shelby Smithson back next year after having to sit out this year with an ACL injury. I can't wait to get next season started."
Cox led FHS with a double-double, as she scored 24 points and collected 10 rebounds. She also had three steals.
Kaitlin Evans added six points and three assists. Haley Bobb totaled three points and contributed six assists. Justice Hatten and Lydia Sowders rounded out the scoring with four and two points, respectively.
Hodson spoke about preparing for Ironton St. Joseph (17-4).
"We had watched them on tape and felt we had a very good chance to win," he said. "They have a very good point guard, Hannah Miller, so we tried to hedge the screens they set for her, and they set a lot, to slow her down from dribble penetration. For the most part, our girls did a good job at this."
Miller led St. Joseph with 19 points.
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As for the beginning of the fourth frame (FHS trailed by four points), Cox scored a quick basket, then a St. Joe turnover produced a layup by Sowders, quickly cutting the St. Joseph lead to three points.
After points by the Lady Flyers, Cox continued to score inside, as she scored 11 in the fourth, with the Lady Lions running their offense and being patient to find her open.
With 30 seconds left in regulation, the Lady Lions' defense came through as they were down by one.
Cox stole the inbounds pass and threw it up the floor to Evans, who found Sowders, who in turn passed to Hatten for the basket, giving FHS their first and only lead of the contest.
Miller quickly advanced the ball up the floor to find Booker for the layup, giving the lead to St. Joseph for good.
At the start of the game, FHS trailed 14-11 at the conclusion of the first and were down 22-19 at halftime. At the end of the first, Bobb sank a 3-pointer to make it a three-point game.
"We really felt good only being down three at the half, after the way they came out and were hitting threes," Hodson said. "We adjusted our defense, and they didn't make another three after Neal hit that early one in the second."
The Lady Lions will play a makeup game on Thursday to end their season as they will face the Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs.