Lady Lions stay on the floor, gain 3rd win of season
Lead Summary
By
The Highland County Press-
Before the game Monday night, Fairfield head coach Matt Hodson spoke to his team about aggressiveness … and the message was received as they controlled the game defensively, and they scored more than enough points to gain their third win of the year by defeating the Blanchester Lady Wildcats on the road, 51-37 in non-conference play.
The defense of the Lady Lions (3-14) held the host team to just 17 points in the first half, as FHS led 12-7 after the first quarter and 27-10 at the half.
"I talked to the girls before the game and told them we wanted to come out and be very aggressive on the defensive end from the start, and they did that," Hodson said. "Our aggressiveness caused Blanchester to have numerous turnovers in the first quarter."
At halftime, Hodson did something a little different. Instead of heading to the locker room, they talked on their bench.
"We stayed out on the floor at halftime, turned our chairs around and talked right there," Hodson said. "We have been so sluggish coming out of the locker room at halftime, I decided to not even leave the floor."
It worked.
In the third frame, coming off their halftime routine, the Lady Lions scored 16 points in the third, while holding Blanchester to another seven-point quarter for a lead of 43-24.
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The fourth frame saw BHS lead the eight minutes, 13-8.
"I was proud of the girls (Monday)," Hodson said. "They knew we really needed this win and went out and got it. It was a total team effort as all five starters scored, and we had good bench play."
As for the scoring, FHS junior Heather Cox finished with her 16th double-double of the season (in 17 games), scoring a team-high 21 points while adding 16 rebounds. She added two steals and two assists.
Kaitlin Evans added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Heather Sanderson totaled seven points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Also for the Lady Lions, Lydia Sowders finished with four points and two steals, while Haley Bobb had three points (making the lone 3-pointer for FHS) and three assists.
The loss drops Blanchester to 0-18 overall.
The Lady Lions play again on Thursday, Jan. 31 as they travel to face Ripley.
The defense of the Lady Lions (3-14) held the host team to just 17 points in the first half, as FHS led 12-7 after the first quarter and 27-10 at the half.
"I talked to the girls before the game and told them we wanted to come out and be very aggressive on the defensive end from the start, and they did that," Hodson said. "Our aggressiveness caused Blanchester to have numerous turnovers in the first quarter."
At halftime, Hodson did something a little different. Instead of heading to the locker room, they talked on their bench.
"We stayed out on the floor at halftime, turned our chairs around and talked right there," Hodson said. "We have been so sluggish coming out of the locker room at halftime, I decided to not even leave the floor."
It worked.
In the third frame, coming off their halftime routine, the Lady Lions scored 16 points in the third, while holding Blanchester to another seven-point quarter for a lead of 43-24.
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The fourth frame saw BHS lead the eight minutes, 13-8.
"I was proud of the girls (Monday)," Hodson said. "They knew we really needed this win and went out and got it. It was a total team effort as all five starters scored, and we had good bench play."
As for the scoring, FHS junior Heather Cox finished with her 16th double-double of the season (in 17 games), scoring a team-high 21 points while adding 16 rebounds. She added two steals and two assists.
Kaitlin Evans added 12 points, five rebounds and three assists, and Heather Sanderson totaled seven points, nine rebounds and two assists.
Also for the Lady Lions, Lydia Sowders finished with four points and two steals, while Haley Bobb had three points (making the lone 3-pointer for FHS) and three assists.
The loss drops Blanchester to 0-18 overall.
The Lady Lions play again on Thursday, Jan. 31 as they travel to face Ripley.