WINNSBORO – Amelia Miller and her Fairfield Central Lady Griffins began their bid for a 3A State Title Monday night at home against the Powdersville Lady Patriots. The game began on a rough note for the Griffins, but they controlled the second half and escaped their first-round matchup with a 38-31 win.
Zariah Rice (12) shoots under pressure in the lane. | Joe Seibles
“It was just a matter of settling down,” Miller said. “We had a rough first quarter, but they understood what it took to actually get that win, and after they settled down we were good to go.”
A slew of turnovers and missed buckets allowed Powdersville to jump out early on the Griffins. The Patriots opened the game up on a 7-0 run, and it took Fairfield five minutes to put an end to their scoreless drought. Powdersville led 13-4 after a quarter, and Cristin Gray had both of the Griffins’ two first-quarter baskets.
Jamaria Sampson nailed a pair of trifectas in the second quarter, and from there the Griffins did not look back. They had sliced the lead down to five points by halftime, and the second half belonged all to Fairfield.
Gray knocked down the first bucket of the second half, and later in the quarter, La’keyn Boyd gave the Griffins their first lead. Powdersville only scored a single field goal in the third and they did not lead again for the remainder of the contest.
“I thought in the second quarter we had it turning around a little bit,” Miller said. “But going into that third we used some defensive strategies to basically cut the court in half. We got them a little rattled and I thought it took them out of the game.”
The Patriots got back within two in the fourth quarter, but they were held scoreless for the final two and a half minutes.
“Defense and rebounding – we knew that was going to win us the game and it definitely did,” Miller said. “My whole starting five was awesome. La’keyn had a double-double, Cristin did what she does best and Zariah Rice came through for us, making free throws and getting steals. A team effort defensively won that game.”
The Griffins’ have a second-round date with Emerald on Thursday.
FCHS: 4-14-13-7-38
PHS: 13-10-2-6-31
FCHS: La’keyn Boyd – 11, Cristin Gray – 10, Jamaria Sampson – 8, Zariah Rice – 12, Madisen Belton – 2.
PHS: Kara Harrison- 10, Julia Jaminet – 6,Mikaela McDaniel – 5, Mayci Irby – 4, Jeanette Campbell – 2, Madison Lance – 2, Anna Leigh Bostic – 2.
