CAMDEN – The Fairfield Central Lady Griffins hit the road Tuesday night for a regional clash with the Camden Bulldogs. Fairfield staved off a furious fourth quarter comeback to lock up a 45-36 win. The win bumped the Griffins to 2-0 in Region 3-4A play.
“Defense is what won this game for us,” Griffins’ head coach Amelia Miller said. “Offensively we wasn’t all the way there. I thought we executed big in the third quarter. It was a collective defensive effort that won this game tonight.”
Lakeyn Boyd (5) fights off the contact to get positioning near the hoop. | DeAnna Robinson
Fairfield’s Tahalia Colier scored the game’s first bucket off of a Bulldog turnover, but the Griffins’ offense skidded early. Camden leaped ahead 4-2 at the 3:13 minute mark, and at the end of a defensive first quarter, the Bulldogs led 6-5.
Tameshia Woodard sparked the Griffin offense with an early second-quarter jumper from the corner. After Woodard’s bucket, Fairfield snapped off an 11-2 run to snatch an 18-10 lead. Fittingly, the scoring streak ended with a Woodard three-point play.
The Griffins carried the momentum from their strong second quarter over to the third. Cristin Gray dominated Camden in the post all quarter long, racking up eight points in the period. Gray’s masterful quarter helped Fairfield carry a seven-point lead into the fourth.
However, the Bulldogs were not prepared to just give up. Camden ripped off the first six points of the quarter to draw within one. Senior Venus Sumpter put Camden ahead 31-30, their first lead since early in the second. But it did not last long.
“I told the girls you got keep your composure,” Miller said. “I knew they was going to go on a run but we just had to sustain it. That’s what we’re getting better with. We have to learn how to finish these games even when you turn the ball over you have to go to the next play.”
Woodard tied the game up and then gave the Griffins the lead at the free-throw line. Camden reclaimed the lead after cashing in on a Fairfield turnover, but Lakeyn Boyd came up with a pivotal three-point play for the Griffins.
Woodard sealed the Bulldog’s fate with a dagger of a three-pointer.
“Lakeyn Boyd stepped up defensively and got that three point play for us,” Miller said. “Tameshia, she knocked that one down. I didn’t know if I wanted it, but I wanted it after it went in. But she definitely played like a senior tonight, and that got us over the hump.”
The Griffins are back at home next Tuesday to take on Rock Hill High.
Fairfield Central – 45, Camden – 36
CHS – 6-5-10-15 – 36
FCHS – 5-13-10-17 – 45
CHS – Tiyana Peterson – 14, Venus Sumpter – 12, Kiasia Hayes – 4, Kenra White – 3, Whitley Kahler – 3.
FCHS – Tameshia Woodard – 12, Cristin Gray – 9, Lakeyn Boyd – 8, Tahalia Collier – 8, Deasia Feaster – 6, Zariah Rice – 2,