WINNSBORO – The Fairfield Lady Griffins came into Tuesday night’s game with the Camden Bulldogs in search of their first Region 4-3A win on the year, and it was not an easy game for the Griffins. Camden led a majority of the game, including holding a 10-point lead at the beginning of the fourth, but Fairfield stormed back in the closing in minutes and prevailed with 49-46 victory.
Jamaria Sampson stops and pops from the corner. | Joe Seibles
“It shows our resiliency,” Griffins head coach Amelia Miller said. “That whole starting five showed up for me. Defense won this game tonight. It shows what kind of team we are, and we are tough. It’s good to get hit early in the season, now we know as long as we play defense nobody can beat us.”
The Lady Bulldogs had the hot hand in the first quarter. Joyce Edwards and Tiyana Peterson combined for 13 points in the first, and Camden led 17-8 at the conclusion of the period. Kristen Gray kept the Griffins in the game early with her six-point performance in the first.
Fairfield covered a bit of ground before halftime, but the smothering Bulldogs’ defense kept the Griffins at bay. The Bulldogs’ offense slowed a bit but did enough to hold onto a 25-18 lead at the halftime break.
Camden started the second half on a 7-0 run and looked the dominant team. They opened the lead up to 10 points before the beginning of the fourth quarter. Lakeyn Boyd, who had a slow first half, woke up in the fourth quarter. Thirteen of Boyd’s 16 points came in the second half.
“That’s our leader,” Miller said of Boyd. “When she’s going, and it doesn’t have to be just offensively, defensively when she got it going and understood that she didn’t want to lose and the team followed her. She put the team on her back.”
Jamaria Sampson gave the Griffins their first lead since the first quarter with five minutes to left to go in the game. The game was knotted up at 46 apiece with 1:34 left to go on the clock, but Sampson put the Griffins back up 48-46. Zariah Rice knocked down a late free throw to help the Griffins lock up the game.
FCHS: 8-10-10-21-49
CHS: 17-8-12-8-46
FCHS: Lakeyn Boyd – 16, Jamaria Sampson – 16, Kristen Gray – 14, Zariah Rice – 3.
CHS: Joyce Edwards – 15, Tiyana Peterson – 11, La’Tarya Brisbon – 11, Zyaja Cook – 3Nyla Jackson – 2, Kendra White – 2, Carleigh Vaughan – 2.