Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

PEDRO — Feel the pressure.

It was all about defensive pressure for the Fairland Lady Dragons as they forced 30 turnovers and dominated the Minford Lady Falcons 56-19 Saturday in the Division III sectional finals.

“We were really aggressive. We were really aggressive to the ball,” said Fairland coach Jon Buchanan.

“We felt like they had some good shooters and we didn’t want to let them get their feet set. We wanted to make them rush their shots.”

Minford was just 6-of-38 from the field for the game while Fairland was 25-of-66. The Lady Dragons controlled the glass 22-27 including 20 offensive rebounds.

Terra Stapleton led a balanced off with 11 points and grabbed a season-high 17 rebounds. Mackenzie Riley had 11 points, Chandler Fulks scored 10 and Caitlin Stone added eight points and four assists.

“We wanted to limit their shots and we did that. We weren’t real short on offense, but we I a good job on the offensive glass and got a lot of second shot opportunities,” said Buchanan.

Fairland took control from the start by scoring the first 16 points including 14-0 in the first quarter.

Stapleton scored seven points and Fulks had five as the Lady Dragons got off to the fast start fueled by their defensive pressure that forced seven turnovers in the quarter and 16 in the first half.

Minford did not score until Carrie Wynn hit a 3-pointer at the 6:17 mark of the second quarter.

A foul shot by Gabby Grose had Minford down 18-7 with 4:14 left in the half, but Fairland went on a 7-0 run capped by Caitlin Stone’s 3-pointer and it was 25-7 at the break.

The second half began just like the first half ended with Stone hitting a 3-pointer. The goal ignited a 19-0 run that extended the lead to 44-7 after a layup by JennaFulks at the 2:10 mark.

A baseline shot by Gabby Grose at the 1:51 mark was Minford’s only goal of the quarter.

Fairland’s biggest lead came in the fourth quarter on a basket by Bri Dickess that make it 54-14.

Fairland will play the district tournament next Saturday at noon in the Waverly downtown arena.

Minford 0 7 2 10 = 19

Fairland 14 11 21 10 = 56

MINFORD (xx): Kelsey Conkey 1 0 0-0 2, Emma Shepard 0 0 0-0 0, Broooklyn Yeley 0 1 3-4 6, Kylie Berry 0 0 0-2 0, Carrie Wynn 0 1 -0 3, Olivia Thoroughman 1 0 0-2 2, Abby Fuhrmann 1 0 0-0 2, Gabby Grose 1 0 2-2 4, Abby Grasso 0 0 0-2 0, Lakin Smith 0 0 0-0 0, Mary Pica 0 0 0-0 0, Ali Hammond 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 6-38 5-10 19. 3-point goals: 2-11. Rebounds: 12-O, 15-D = 27 (Berry 5, Wynn 4, Grasso 4). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 1 (Fuhrmann). Steals: 7 (Grose 3Yeley 2). Turnovers: 30. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None.

FAIRLAND (17-3): Terra Stapleton 5 0 1-2 11, Chandler Fulks 3 1 1-2 10, Kelsey Riley 2 0 0-0 4, Caitlin Stone 1 2 0-0 8, Taylor Perry 1 0 0-2 2, Mackenzie Riley 5 0 1-1 11, Tiffani Christian 0 0 0-0 0, Taylor Staten 1 0 0-0 2, Bri Dickess 2 0 0-0 4, Jenna Fulks 2 0 0-0 4, Morgan Manns 0 0 0-0 0, Maddy Kazee 0 0 0-0 0, Mollie Morris 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-66 3-7 56. 3-point goals: 3-16. Rebounds: 20-O, 24-D = 44 (Stapleton 17, M. Riley 9). Team/deadball rebounds: 6. Assists: 11 (Stone 4) Steals: 14 (Perry 4). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 11. Fouled out: None