GREENWOOD – The Fairfield Lady Griffins had a bumpy first quarter in their playoff debut against Powdersville, but a strong-second half propelled the Griffins to the win, and set-up a second round match against the number one-seed, Emerald. The Lady Vikings were dominant in the regular season. They racked up a 20-4 regular-season record and went 9-1 in region play.
Jamaria Sampson and La’keyn Boyd were explosive in the post-season contest, and combined for 40 of the Griffins’ 50 points. The sharp-shooting pair also combined for all nine of the Griffins’ trifectas. Emerald only hit six shots from deep.
Their efforts were not enough. The Lady Vikings made a crucial defensive stand in the fourth quarter that wrapped up a 60-50 win, and dashed the Griffins aspirations for a 3A state title. Lauren Livingston led the Vikings in scoring with 16 and Quadijah Moore tallied 15.
Fairfield led 13-9 after the first quarter, but the second quarter belonged to the Vikings. Emerald knocked down four shots from beyond the arc in the second, and Emerald led by seven at the half. The Vikings’ dominance continued into the second half. Fairfield was outscored by a combined 34-23 in the second and third quarter.
The Griffins had to eat away at a double-digit lead in the fourth and fought back within a basket in the final two minutes.
Emerald’s defense put the brakes on the comeback. Fairfield only scored a pair in the final two minutes, and the Vikings’ came up clutch from the charity stripe.
FCHS – 13-10-11-16 – 50
EHS – 9-21-13-17 – 60
FCHS: Sampson – 21, Boyd – 19, Gray – 6, Belton – 4.
EHS: Lauren Livingston – 16, Quadijah Moore – 15, Destiny Collier 8, Aniyah Goode – 8, Kiana Hankinson – 7 Tamara Durant – 6,