Lady Lions sweep Whiteoak
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
LEESBURG — Though it seemed both teams were in a "foul mood" on Thursday as they combined for 48 fouls, it was the Fairfield Lady Lions who were all smiles at the conclusion of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference game, as they defeated the Whiteoak Lady Wildcats for the second time this season, this time winning by a score of 59-51.
The home win for the Lady Lions gives them four wins on the season (they have an overall record of 4-15), with one regular-season game left, a makeup game at home vs. Lynchburg-Clay on Saturday. The Lady 'Cats wrap up their regular season at 2-20.
As for the game, which was tied at 22 with 55 seconds left in the first half, the Lady Lions led 24-23 at the half and never trailed in the second half for the conference win.
As for the second half, FHS began the third with points by Haley Bobb and Lydia Sowders for a 28-24 advantage with 6:30 left in the third.
"In the first half, we lost the diamond press, and then we switched to the 2-2-1 press and that led to us forcing some turnovers," FHS head coach Matt Hodson said. "We were up and they made a rally, but we made some changes and became more effective when we went to half-court man in the third quarter."
After two points by WHS freshman Emma Wardlow, who led all scorers with a game-high 27 points, the Lady Lions extended their lead with points by Heather Cox and a three-point play by Justice Hattan for a lead of 33-26.
"This was a great game, and I enjoyed being a part of it," WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "It was a fun game, but they (FHS) just executed more than we did."
Cox led FHS with her 18th double-double of the year, as she totaled 24 points and 18 rebounds.
[[In-content Ad]]Later in the third, FHS took a 14-point lead at 47-33 following two points by Hattan, who ended the game with 12 points, including five points in the third.
Though FHS ended the third with 19 points in the eight minutes, it was WHS who ended the quarter with five straight points, with four from Wardlow and one by Courtney Cummings.
In the fourth, WHS scored 18 points, but FHS added 14 to their lead to keep the win.
Wardlow scored 12 of the 18 points in the fourth frame, including going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in the eight minutes. Also adding points for WHS in the fourth were Emily Stratton, Clarissa Johnson, Cummings and Amber Gorman. Stratton ended the game with seven points.
As for the Lady Lions' fourth, Kaitlin Evans, Amanda Sanderson, Hattan and Cox all scored points. Evans finished with seven points and eight assists. Also scoring points in the game was Heather Sanderson with seven points in the first half.
For the game, FHS shot 22-of-61 (36 percent) from the field, while WHS was 16-of-48 for 33 percent. From the free-throw line, FHS was 14-of-36, while WHS went 15-of-27.
The Lady Wildcats will play again on Monday as they travel to McDermott High School to play Green in the sectional tournament at 6:15 p.m. Fairfield will follow WHS that day with an 8 p.m. sectional game as they face New Boston.
"We need to come out and be prepared to play Monday," Cooper said. "We have to take care of the ball and play defense."
In JV play, FHS defeated WHS, 30-27. Macie Pauley and Shaylee Carson each had eight points for FHS.
The home win for the Lady Lions gives them four wins on the season (they have an overall record of 4-15), with one regular-season game left, a makeup game at home vs. Lynchburg-Clay on Saturday. The Lady 'Cats wrap up their regular season at 2-20.
As for the game, which was tied at 22 with 55 seconds left in the first half, the Lady Lions led 24-23 at the half and never trailed in the second half for the conference win.
As for the second half, FHS began the third with points by Haley Bobb and Lydia Sowders for a 28-24 advantage with 6:30 left in the third.
"In the first half, we lost the diamond press, and then we switched to the 2-2-1 press and that led to us forcing some turnovers," FHS head coach Matt Hodson said. "We were up and they made a rally, but we made some changes and became more effective when we went to half-court man in the third quarter."
After two points by WHS freshman Emma Wardlow, who led all scorers with a game-high 27 points, the Lady Lions extended their lead with points by Heather Cox and a three-point play by Justice Hattan for a lead of 33-26.
"This was a great game, and I enjoyed being a part of it," WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "It was a fun game, but they (FHS) just executed more than we did."
Cox led FHS with her 18th double-double of the year, as she totaled 24 points and 18 rebounds.
[[In-content Ad]]Later in the third, FHS took a 14-point lead at 47-33 following two points by Hattan, who ended the game with 12 points, including five points in the third.
Though FHS ended the third with 19 points in the eight minutes, it was WHS who ended the quarter with five straight points, with four from Wardlow and one by Courtney Cummings.
In the fourth, WHS scored 18 points, but FHS added 14 to their lead to keep the win.
Wardlow scored 12 of the 18 points in the fourth frame, including going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in the eight minutes. Also adding points for WHS in the fourth were Emily Stratton, Clarissa Johnson, Cummings and Amber Gorman. Stratton ended the game with seven points.
As for the Lady Lions' fourth, Kaitlin Evans, Amanda Sanderson, Hattan and Cox all scored points. Evans finished with seven points and eight assists. Also scoring points in the game was Heather Sanderson with seven points in the first half.
For the game, FHS shot 22-of-61 (36 percent) from the field, while WHS was 16-of-48 for 33 percent. From the free-throw line, FHS was 14-of-36, while WHS went 15-of-27.
The Lady Wildcats will play again on Monday as they travel to McDermott High School to play Green in the sectional tournament at 6:15 p.m. Fairfield will follow WHS that day with an 8 p.m. sectional game as they face New Boston.
"We need to come out and be prepared to play Monday," Cooper said. "We have to take care of the ball and play defense."
In JV play, FHS defeated WHS, 30-27. Macie Pauley and Shaylee Carson each had eight points for FHS.