Skip to main content

Lady Lions take season series against Lady 'Cats

Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
MOWRYSTOWN — On the evening where the Whiteoak basketball program honored their senior class, the Fairfield Lady Lions crashed the celebration. FHS took advantage of Whiteoak's inability to convert shots from the free-throw line for a 55-44 victory Thursday at WHS.

As for the shooting from the free-throw line, WHS was 6-of-23 (26 percent), while FHS was 14-of-24 (58 percent). In their first meeting, at FHS, the Lady 'Cats were 7-of-31 (23 percent), as WHS lost that game 43-41.

"Our free-throw shooting … that's the story of our season," WHS head coach Mike Cooper said. "This season, we are shooting under 40 percent from the free-throw line. We just have to keep working at it."

Leading all scorers was Whiteoak senior Jessie Gilliland with 19 points, and Fairfield sophomore Shelby Smithson, also with 19 points. Smithson had a double-double by adding 15 rebounds (three offensive).


[[In-content Ad]]WHS (1-12, 1-18) was almost able to overcome their woes from the charity stripe, cutting the FHS lead to a single point with 1:32 left in regulation, after trailing by as much as 12 points with 2:33 left in the third quarter.

The Lady 'Cats opened the fourth with points by Clarissa Johnson, but those were answered with a basket by Cynnamon Sova-Davy. Johnson came back with a free throw, but Heather Cox followed with a layup for the Lady Lions with 5:33 remaining in the fourth. This week, in three games, Cox has totaled 49 points.

Following the layup by Cox, who finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds (seven offensive) and four assists; WHS scored seven straight points with 2:09 left on the clock. The run consisted of a layup by Gilliland, a 3-pointer by Johnson, and a steal with fast-break points by Gilliland, making it a 44-42 score. With 1:32 left in the fourth, Brittany Luman sank two free throws, making it a one-point game … but that was it for the Lady 'Cats.

FHS (2-10, 3-15) ended the game with six straight free throws, two by Smithson and four by Kaitlin Evans, who finished with 11 points.

"This win all started with our defense," FHS head coach Matt Hodson said. "We talked all week, we sat down … we wanted to contain Jessie (Gilliland) and force their other players to score.

"We switched to a Diamond-One and that helped us build a lead."

Hodson credited the Lady Lions' rebounding the past few games.

"When we rebound well, we are in games," Hodson said. "The reason for the improvement is we are boxing out better. At the start of the season, we would turn and look at the basket. We may only have three wins, but the kids have progressed so much since November."

WHS led 10-4 in the first quarter, with a free throw by senior Marissa Bohl, and seven-straight points by Gilliland, including a 3-pointer with 4:41 left in the quarter. The Lady 'Cats continued to lead in the first quarter, finishing with a 16-11 lead after eight minutes.

It took until the 6:17 mark of the second quarter for the Lady Lions to take the lead at 17-16, with points by Smithson. Before those points, Cox opened the quarter with a put back basket, starting what turned into an 11-0 run for the Lady Lions.

Evans followed with a layup while being fouled, and the points by Smithson (two baskets) gave FHS a 19-6 advantage. The run was completed with a free throw by Haley Bobb, for a four-point lead with 4:34 left in the opening half.

From that point on, the Lady Lions never relinquished the lead. By the time the second frame ended, the Lady Lions led by six points at 27-21.

In the third, FHS led the quarter 13-11, starting with a 3-pointer by Evans. Gilliland answered with a layup to bring the Lady 'Cats within seven points of tying the score.

Cox eventually put FHS ahead by 10 points with 3:19 left in the third, and points by Smithson added to the Lady Lions' lead at 40-28, leaving 2:33 on the clock. The final points of the quarter were scored by Gilliland.

Coach Cooper spoke about his two seniors, Gilliland and Bohl.

"They have been outstanding all year," Cooper said. "They play as hard as any two players I've coached in 12 years. Everything we do goes through them, and my only regret is I wish I could have coached them for four years."

The loss sends WHS to 1-12 in the SHL and 1-18 overall. The lone WHS win came against West Union. WHS will play again on Tuesday, Feb. 7 in a non-league game against Felicity-Franklin to wrap up the regular season.

FHS improves to 3-15 overall, with a SHL record of 2-10. FHS will play again on Monday as they travel to Paint Valley, a non-league game. Their final regular season game will be on Thursday, Feb. 9 when they host Manchester.

In JV play (two quarters), WHS won over FHS 25-12. Morgan Campbell led WHS with nine points, followed by Courtney Cummings with eight points. Haley Bobb led FHS with four points.

BOX SCORE
SCORE BY QUARTERS
FHS
     11 16 13 13 — 55
WHS   16 05 11 12 — 44

INDIVIDUAL STATS
FHS
(55)
K.Evans 2 (1) 4-7 11
H.Bobb 2 (0) 1-4 5
H.Cox 6 (0) 3-4 15
C.Sova-Davy 2 (0) 1-4 5
S.Smithson 7 (0) 5-5 19
TOTALS: 19 (1) 14-24 55

WHS (44)
J.Gilliland 8 (1) 0-0 19
E.Stratton 0 (0) 0-2 0
M.Bohl 0 (0) 1-2 1
B.Luman 3 (0) 4-10 10
C.Johnson 2 (1) 1-7 8
M.Campbell 1 (0) 0-0 2
A.Gorman 2 (0) 0-2 4
TOTALS: 16 (2) 6-23 44

Add new comment

This is not for publication.
This is not for publication.

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it. Note: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number and email address is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment.