Jada Martin (10) and Patrice Jeter tie up the ball under the net.
The Lady Griffins were dealt their first region loss of the season Friday night, falling on the road to red-hot Keenan, 55-44.
The Lady Raiders jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in the opening quarter with an offense that threaded its way through the Fairfield press with relative ease. The Lady Griffins rallied late, however, to end the quarter down 17-13. But in the second period, the Lady Raiders flexed their muscles. Keira Robinson banged out a pair of key 3-pointers while the Lady Griffins went cold from the floor and struggled with ball handling against a tenacious Keenan defense. Robinson, who ended the night with 33 total points, led Keenan into the locker room with a 34-20 lead, having out-shot Fairfield in the second quarter 17-7.
Playing catch-up in the third, the Lady Griffins’ defense clamped down with the press, forcing turnover after turnover, but their offense was unable to convert the Keenan errors into points on the back end. The Griffin defense held the Lady Raiders to just 9 third quarter points; however, the Fairfield offense netted but 8 points of their own.
Trailing 43-28 going into the final frame, the Lady Griffins saw brief flashes of life, closing the gap to 49-35 at the 4:54 mark. But the Lady Raiders found the accelerator in the closing minutes, clinching the key region win.
FC—Christian Thompson: 3, Chyna Moore: 11, Chelsea Seibles: 3, Jada Martin: 19, Tiea Quanna Pearson: 2, Tanise Davis: 2, Patrice Jeter: 1.
KHS—Jada Reaves: 2, Clarissa Isaac: 4, Valencia Perry: 2, Demrya Rudder: 1, Keira Robinson: 33, Leon Hill: 3, Bria Jackson: 7, Kayla Butler: 6.
Tuesday night, the Lady Griffins returned to the friendly confines of home and routed the Lady Panthers of Pelion, 47-16, boosting their region record to 3-1. Chelsea Seibles and Jada Martin dropped a dime apiece on the Panthers, while the Fairfield defense kept all Pelion shooters in single digits.
The Lady Griffins host North Central Friday at 6 p.m.
FC–Chelsea Seibles: 10, Jada Martin: 10, Pearson: 8, Davis: 8, Jeter: 4, Cook: 3, Cloud: 2, Thompson: 2.
PHS—King: 4, Williamson: 4, Goodwin: 2, Phillips: 2, Ennis: 2, Jackson: 2.
FC 12-3, 3-1 Pelion 8-7, 1-3
