Lady Lions prevail over Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — It took some work, but the Fairfield Lady Lions' press in the first half, added with better shooting and fewer turnovers in the final 16 minutes, led to their second win of the season, defeating the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats, 50-42.
The Monday night Southern Hills Athletic Conference game between the two county rivals was tied three times in the third frame, as the Lady 'Cats trailed, 20-17 at the half.
"I was pleased with our effort … the girls had no quit in them," WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "We had our moments, but we didn't take care of the ball in the first half.
"Then in the fourth, having three straight possessions with turnovers didn't help. We handled their press better in the second half."
Whiteoak's Emily Stratton began the third with a 3-pointer, tying the score at 20, followed by the Lady 'Cats taking their first of two leads in the game with two points by Sunnie Lehr with 7:16 on the third-quarter clock.
"Emily had her best game of the year," Cooper said. "Other than a couple things in the fourth, I was really pleased with her game."
After Kaitlin Evans tied the score at 22 for FHS, WHS freshman Emma Wardlow answered with a put-back bucket for a 24-22 Lady 'Cats advantage.
"We knew we were in for a fight," FHS head coach Matt Hodson said. "Coach Cooper prepares his team really well, and this was a game with two young teams just trying to get better.
"We had foul trouble hurt us early on, but Amanda (Sanderson) and Macie (Pauley) stepped up and played well off the bench. It is good to come away with a win."
Evans led all scorers with 20 points, while Wardlow led WHS with 19 points.
"Kaitlin recently had a couple down games, but she picked up her game (Monday)," Hodson said. "With her running mates on the bench with fouls in the first half at times, Kaitlin was alone on an island out there in terms of running the offense. She ran things well and kept us in the game.
"She plays 100 miles per hour all the time, and she's the hardest-working kid I've coached."
From there, though, the Lady Lions regained the lead with three combined free throws from Lydia Sowders and Heather Cox (who totaled 15 points) for a 25-24 Lady Lion lead with 4:46 on the clock. Cox finished with a double-double by adding 10 rebounds.
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"Heather helped tremendously in the second half," Hodson said. "She was great from the free-throw line."
After the score was tied at 25 with a free throw by Wardlow, the Lady Lions took the lead for good with five straight points by Cox, along with a jumper from Macie Pauley, as FHS took a lead of 32-25 with 2:15 left in the quarter.
The Lady Lions entered the third with a 34-26 lead and added two points from the free-throw line for a 10-point advantage.
Later in the fourth, Lehr (who totaled seven points) brought the Lady 'Cats closer with a 3-pointer for a 39-35 deficit, leaving 3:47 left in regulation.
After Wardlow brought WHS back to within five points, Haley Bobb put the Lady Lions ahead by eight points with a 3-pointer with around 1:00 left in the game, putting the game out of reach for the Lady 'Cats.
The first quarter was mostly controlled by the Lady Lions as they led 17-8 after eight minutes, including FHS totaling a 5-0 lead to start the game with two points from Cox and a 3-pointer by Evans.
Later, FHS took a 13-2 lead as Evans, Bobb and Justice Hattan combined for eight points with 2:25 left in the first. WHS ended the first by outscoring the Lady Lions, 6-2 on the final 2:00 of the first.
FHS entered the second ahead by nine points but ended the frame ahead by just three as foul trouble hurt the Lady Lions, and WHS took advantage by outscoring FHS, 9-3 in the quarter.
Scoring for WHS in the second were Lehr, Brittany Luman, Wardlow and Amber Gorman with three points.
FHS made one field goal in the second, a 3-pointer by Bobb.
For the game, FHS was 15-of-48 from the field, while WHS was 13-of-61. FHS finished with 19 turnovers, and WHS ended with 18. From the free-throw line, WHS was 14-of-21, while FHS went 10-of-25.
The win moves the Lady Lions to 2-8 in the SHAC and 2-13 overall. WHS falls to 1-9 in the SHAC and 2-15 overall.
The Lady 'Cats will play again on Thursday when they host Peebles. WHS will also play again on Thursday, hosting Ripley.
The Monday night Southern Hills Athletic Conference game between the two county rivals was tied three times in the third frame, as the Lady 'Cats trailed, 20-17 at the half.
"I was pleased with our effort … the girls had no quit in them," WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "We had our moments, but we didn't take care of the ball in the first half.
"Then in the fourth, having three straight possessions with turnovers didn't help. We handled their press better in the second half."
Whiteoak's Emily Stratton began the third with a 3-pointer, tying the score at 20, followed by the Lady 'Cats taking their first of two leads in the game with two points by Sunnie Lehr with 7:16 on the third-quarter clock.
"Emily had her best game of the year," Cooper said. "Other than a couple things in the fourth, I was really pleased with her game."
After Kaitlin Evans tied the score at 22 for FHS, WHS freshman Emma Wardlow answered with a put-back bucket for a 24-22 Lady 'Cats advantage.
"We knew we were in for a fight," FHS head coach Matt Hodson said. "Coach Cooper prepares his team really well, and this was a game with two young teams just trying to get better.
"We had foul trouble hurt us early on, but Amanda (Sanderson) and Macie (Pauley) stepped up and played well off the bench. It is good to come away with a win."
Evans led all scorers with 20 points, while Wardlow led WHS with 19 points.
"Kaitlin recently had a couple down games, but she picked up her game (Monday)," Hodson said. "With her running mates on the bench with fouls in the first half at times, Kaitlin was alone on an island out there in terms of running the offense. She ran things well and kept us in the game.
"She plays 100 miles per hour all the time, and she's the hardest-working kid I've coached."
From there, though, the Lady Lions regained the lead with three combined free throws from Lydia Sowders and Heather Cox (who totaled 15 points) for a 25-24 Lady Lion lead with 4:46 on the clock. Cox finished with a double-double by adding 10 rebounds.
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"Heather helped tremendously in the second half," Hodson said. "She was great from the free-throw line."
After the score was tied at 25 with a free throw by Wardlow, the Lady Lions took the lead for good with five straight points by Cox, along with a jumper from Macie Pauley, as FHS took a lead of 32-25 with 2:15 left in the quarter.
The Lady Lions entered the third with a 34-26 lead and added two points from the free-throw line for a 10-point advantage.
Later in the fourth, Lehr (who totaled seven points) brought the Lady 'Cats closer with a 3-pointer for a 39-35 deficit, leaving 3:47 left in regulation.
After Wardlow brought WHS back to within five points, Haley Bobb put the Lady Lions ahead by eight points with a 3-pointer with around 1:00 left in the game, putting the game out of reach for the Lady 'Cats.
The first quarter was mostly controlled by the Lady Lions as they led 17-8 after eight minutes, including FHS totaling a 5-0 lead to start the game with two points from Cox and a 3-pointer by Evans.
Later, FHS took a 13-2 lead as Evans, Bobb and Justice Hattan combined for eight points with 2:25 left in the first. WHS ended the first by outscoring the Lady Lions, 6-2 on the final 2:00 of the first.
FHS entered the second ahead by nine points but ended the frame ahead by just three as foul trouble hurt the Lady Lions, and WHS took advantage by outscoring FHS, 9-3 in the quarter.
Scoring for WHS in the second were Lehr, Brittany Luman, Wardlow and Amber Gorman with three points.
FHS made one field goal in the second, a 3-pointer by Bobb.
For the game, FHS was 15-of-48 from the field, while WHS was 13-of-61. FHS finished with 19 turnovers, and WHS ended with 18. From the free-throw line, WHS was 14-of-21, while FHS went 10-of-25.
The win moves the Lady Lions to 2-8 in the SHAC and 2-13 overall. WHS falls to 1-9 in the SHAC and 2-15 overall.
The Lady 'Cats will play again on Thursday when they host Peebles. WHS will also play again on Thursday, hosting Ripley.