Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PEDRO — Raise another banner.

The Fairland Lady Dragons racked up a second straight Ohio Valley Conference championship as they clinched a share of the title by beating the Rock Hill Redwomen 69-36 on Thursday.

“It was a big game for us. Any time you can clinch a league title you have to be happy,” said Fairland coach Jon Buchanan.

“We didn’t shoot well, but we never seem to shoot well here. But we did a pretty good job with our half-court defense and we got out in transition well.”

Fairland — ranked 8th in the Associated Press Division III poll — is now 14-0 on the season and 7-0 in the conference.

Terra Stapleton led the Lady Dragons with a game-high 21 points. Kayla Swiger scored 11 points as 11 of Fairland’s 15 players scored.

The Lady Dragons have won 38 regular season games in a row and 21 straight in the league.

“Congratulations to them for winning another championship,” said Rock Hill coach Greg Damron. “They’ve got a nice team. They play good defense.”

Brook Knipp scored 11 points — she was 7 of 9 at the foul line — to lead the Redwomen (6-10, 4-4).

Fairland took a 16-8 first quarter lead and extended the spread to 37-17 by the half as Stapleton scored 15 of her points.

The Lady Dragons outscored Rock Hill 22-5 in the third quarter and the lead became an insurmountable 59-22.

Fairland 16 21 22 10 = 69

Rock Hill 8 9 5 14 = 36

FAIRLAND (14-0, 7-0): Haley Woodall 0 0 0-0 0, Terra Stapleton 8 0 5-8 21, Kayla Swiger 1 2 3-4 11, Mollie Morris 1 0 0-0 2, Briana Dickess 0 0 0-0 0, Chandler Fulks 0 2 2-4 8, Mackenzie Riley 2 0 3-7 7, Mariah Chaffin 0 0 2-2 2, Kelsey Riley 0 2 0-0 6, Caitlyn Stone 1 0 2-4 4, Taylor Perry 1 0 0-0 2, Pieper Lewis 0 0 0-0 0, Jenna Fulks 0 0 1-2 1, Tiffany Christian 1 0 3-3 5, Taylor Staten 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 15 6 21-34 69. Fouls: 20. Fouled out: None.

ROCK HILL (6-10, 4-4): Brook Knipp 2 0 7-9 11, Katie Johnson 2 0 0-1 4, Lindy Simpson 1 1 0-0 5, Kaci Russell 1 1 2-2 7, Madison Damron 0 0 0-0 0, Kelsey Blagg 0 0 6-6 6, Tommi Butler 1 0 0-2 2, Brooklyn Massie 0 0 0-0 0, Sarah Travis 0 0 1-2 1, Sabrina Henderson 0 0 0-0 0, Sami Dillon 0 0 0-0 0, Ashton Neal 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 7 2 16-22 36. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: None.