Lady Lions hold on to defeat Lady 'Cats
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — The Fairfield Lady Lions controlled most of the game's tempo against rival Whiteoak Monday evening and in the final few minutes held off a strong run from the visiting Lady Wildcats for a 51-42 win at Grandle Gymnasium.
For a game where the Lady Lions were in control, the Lady 'Cats did have a rallying effort in the fourth where they cut the FHS lead down to as low as five points with 1:17 left in regulation.
The run was short-lived, then stopped by the Lady Lions (2-4, 4-7) when they ended the game with the final four points, with Shelby Smithson making two free throws and Heather Cox ending the game with a put-back basket.
[[In-content Ad]]Cox finished the game with a double-double by scoring 27 points and collecting 19 rebounds. She shot 12-of-19 from the field.
"Heather has worked a lot on her shooting this year, and being in the middle of the season, it is hard to get in the extra work she wants to do to improve her game," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. "This past week, we had a couple of days to work on her shooting, and it seemed to work. She played well for us."
Besides the ending, a big part of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game was the start for the Lady Lions, as they built a 10-2 lead with 5:09 left in the first.
Evans opened the game with a 3-pointer, but it was answered with points from Whiteoak's Emily Stratton.
From there, the Lady Lions scored seven consecutive points, with Cox making three free throws and a layup, along with a jumper by Lydia Sowders with 5:09 left on the clock.
Following two points by Whiteoak's Jayde Parr, the two teams exchanged baskets, including two points by Shelby Smithson off a pass from Carly Arnold on a fast break, putting FHS ahead 14-6 with 2:32 left in the opening quarter.
Parr came back with a 3-pointer for the Lady 'Cats (0-6, 1-11), but FHS gained the upper hand with four straight points to end the quarter with Cox sinking a jumper and Smithson (10 points total) following with two points for their 18-9 advantage.
"The start was key for us," Hamilton said. "We made shots, built a lead and it is amazing what making shots early on does for our confidence."
FHS led 31-14 after the second quarter due in large part to a 13-5 second frame with Arnold scoring two points for the Lady Lions, along with teammates Cox scoring eight points and Evans adding three points in the quarter.
Hamilton was pleased with the defensive play of Evans.
"Kaitlin's defense against (Wardlow) was huge for us," he said. "Wardlow is a very good player, but I felt the defense of Kaitlin made a huge difference in this game. She did what we asked of her, and she was constantly moving … her play was a difference maker."
Cox had 17 points after the first two quarters, including making a basket at the buzzer to end the second.
"Hats off to Heather (Cox)," Mike Cooper said. "She's a great player for the league and the area. She did what she wanted to do against us."
The third frame saw FHS lead 41-29 at the conclusion of the quarter, but it was WHS who led the quarter scoring at 15-10. Stratton made a 3-pointer in the third for WHS, along with Maggie Carr, Wardlow and Amber Gorman all chipping in with points.
Carr led WHS with 10 points, while Gorman totaled eight. Wardlow finished the game with eight points, while Stratton totaled seven for WHS.
In the final eight minutes, WHS made things tough for the Lady Lions by opening the quarter with a 7-2 run, including a 3-pointer by Carr with 4:58 left in the quarter.
FHS managed to do enough to keep their lead at five or more points for the entire quarter and defend their home court for the win.
"We played much better in the second half," Cooper said. "We climbed back into it during the fourth quarter, but we allowed too many put-back opportunities."
For a game where the Lady Lions were in control, the Lady 'Cats did have a rallying effort in the fourth where they cut the FHS lead down to as low as five points with 1:17 left in regulation.
The run was short-lived, then stopped by the Lady Lions (2-4, 4-7) when they ended the game with the final four points, with Shelby Smithson making two free throws and Heather Cox ending the game with a put-back basket.
[[In-content Ad]]Cox finished the game with a double-double by scoring 27 points and collecting 19 rebounds. She shot 12-of-19 from the field.
"Heather has worked a lot on her shooting this year, and being in the middle of the season, it is hard to get in the extra work she wants to do to improve her game," FHS head coach Chad Hamilton said. "This past week, we had a couple of days to work on her shooting, and it seemed to work. She played well for us."
Besides the ending, a big part of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game was the start for the Lady Lions, as they built a 10-2 lead with 5:09 left in the first.
Evans opened the game with a 3-pointer, but it was answered with points from Whiteoak's Emily Stratton.
From there, the Lady Lions scored seven consecutive points, with Cox making three free throws and a layup, along with a jumper by Lydia Sowders with 5:09 left on the clock.
Following two points by Whiteoak's Jayde Parr, the two teams exchanged baskets, including two points by Shelby Smithson off a pass from Carly Arnold on a fast break, putting FHS ahead 14-6 with 2:32 left in the opening quarter.
Parr came back with a 3-pointer for the Lady 'Cats (0-6, 1-11), but FHS gained the upper hand with four straight points to end the quarter with Cox sinking a jumper and Smithson (10 points total) following with two points for their 18-9 advantage.
"The start was key for us," Hamilton said. "We made shots, built a lead and it is amazing what making shots early on does for our confidence."
FHS led 31-14 after the second quarter due in large part to a 13-5 second frame with Arnold scoring two points for the Lady Lions, along with teammates Cox scoring eight points and Evans adding three points in the quarter.
Hamilton was pleased with the defensive play of Evans.
"Kaitlin's defense against (Wardlow) was huge for us," he said. "Wardlow is a very good player, but I felt the defense of Kaitlin made a huge difference in this game. She did what we asked of her, and she was constantly moving … her play was a difference maker."
Cox had 17 points after the first two quarters, including making a basket at the buzzer to end the second.
"Hats off to Heather (Cox)," Mike Cooper said. "She's a great player for the league and the area. She did what she wanted to do against us."
The third frame saw FHS lead 41-29 at the conclusion of the quarter, but it was WHS who led the quarter scoring at 15-10. Stratton made a 3-pointer in the third for WHS, along with Maggie Carr, Wardlow and Amber Gorman all chipping in with points.
Carr led WHS with 10 points, while Gorman totaled eight. Wardlow finished the game with eight points, while Stratton totaled seven for WHS.
In the final eight minutes, WHS made things tough for the Lady Lions by opening the quarter with a 7-2 run, including a 3-pointer by Carr with 4:58 left in the quarter.
FHS managed to do enough to keep their lead at five or more points for the entire quarter and defend their home court for the win.
"We played much better in the second half," Cooper said. "We climbed back into it during the fourth quarter, but we allowed too many put-back opportunities."