Fairfield’s Grace Shope turned the game around with a 3-point shot in the first quarter, bringing the Lady Lions to a 5-4 lead. Fairfield took that 1-point lead and turned it into a 58-43 win at home Thursday night thanks to Shope’s shooting and a strong defense against the Peebles High School Indians girls team.
Carly Arnold started things off right with a 2-pointer in the first few seconds, but Peebles took the lead after converting two free throws and smashing a 2-point shot before the clock hit five minutes.
Shope put a stop to Peebles’ lead with 5:15 on the clock, and kept scoring right through the end of the quarter with two free throws and two 2-pointers. A 2-pointer from Alexis Tate and a free throw from Blake Adams took the Lady Lions to a 14-9 lead when the clock ran out.
Tate started the second quarter with a successful conversion, and Shope made a 3-point swoosh in the first minute of gameplay. The Lions kept Peebles at a 6-point gain for the quarter while scoring 19 for themselves thanks to Adams, Abigail Newkirk, Brianna Barnes and Ashley Sowards, who made a 3-point swoosh with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
Fairfield was still on top at the half with 33-15 on the scoreboard.
The Lions climbed to a 20-point lead in the first three minutes of the second half with a 2-pointer from Arnold and another 3-point shot from Shope, and kept it for most of the quarter. Barnes finished the quarter off by converting two free throws, taking Fairfield to a 46-26 lead.
Peebles put up a fight with a 2-pointer and two 3-point shots in the last four and a half minutes, but even with a quick 2-pointer in the last 12 seconds, it wasn’t enough to cage the Lions.
Fairfield ran away with a 58-43 win.
Shope led the Lady Lions with 30 points, scoring 8/8 from the free-throw line.
“Tonight was a big game in determining how the league is going to go for us,” said Fairfield head coach Chad Hamilton. “I’m really happy with the way we shot, our defense was good; we have a few girls that traditionally are in foul trouble that weren’t in foul trouble tonight, and that’s big for us. Shope shot well tonight — hopefully that will continue.”
The Fairfield Lady Lions will challenge the Cedarville Indians girls team at Cedarville High School Monday, Dec. 12 at 7:30 p.m.
Summary
Peebles — 9 6 11 17 — 43
Fairfield — 14 19 13 12 — 58
PHS – Sowards: 3(1)-4/6-13, Ryan: 1(2)3/4-11, Nichols: 2(1)-7, Arey: 2-4, Toller: 2(1)-1/2-8
TOTALS: 10(5)-8/12-43
FHS – Newkirk: 2-4, Shope: 5(4)-8/8-30, Arnold: 3-6, Barber: 1(1)5, Tate: 1-1/2-3, Sowards: (1)-3, Adams: 1-1/2-3, Barnes: 1-2/2-4
TOTALS: 14(6)-12/14-58
Reach David Wright at 937-402-2570 or on Twitter @SportsWrighter.
Grace Shope takes a shot against Peebles at Fairfield High School Thursday night.