Jim Walker
jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WAVERLY — There’s a big reason the Fairland Lady Dragons were in the Division II district semifinals.
It’s the same reason the Lady Dragons are now in the district finals.
Senior guard Emily Chapman scored 26 points to lead the Lady Dragons 61-34 win over the Wheelersburg Lady Pirates on Saturday.
“Emily was lights out. She made all the right moves,” said Fairland coach Jon Buchanan. “We were making all the right plays out of their double (team). Emily sets the tone. She’s hard to guard.
“Emily is so good with the basketball, so smart. At one point in the game I thought we have Emily and they don’t. We’re going to win the game.”
Taylar Wilson also had a big game for the Lady Dragons as she scored 14 points — 12 in the second half — and pulled down 12 rebounds.
Fairland (22-2) was missing starting center Alesha Simpson with an injury. Starting guard Kelsie Warnock went down with an ankle injury with 3:13 left in the third quarter.
Harlie Lyons filled in and hit a pair of 3-pointers as she scored eight points and Brittany Thompson had five pints including 3-of-4 from the foul line in the fourth quarter.
“Harlie Lyons played a tone and Brittany Thompson came right in and played. When called on they stepped up. That’s a sign of maturity,” said Buchanan.
The Lady Pirates tied 14-all at the end of the first quarter thanks to 3-pointers by Abbie Kallner, Leann Spradlin and Ellie Kallner. There were four lead changes in the quarter.
Chapman had seven points in the quarter.
Abbie Kallner’s 3-pointer put the Lady Pirates up 17-14 but a 3-pointer by Lyons gave Fairland a 21-18 lead.
The game was tied 23-23 with 1:25 left in the half on a 15-footer by Spradlin, but a layup by Allie Marshall, a 3-poiner by Warnock and another trifecta by Chapman with two seconds on the clock and Fairland led 31-23 at the half.
Wheelersburg was 5-of-12 from 3-point line in the first half.
“We were tied at 23. I was kind of thinking in my head we’re going to get to halftime and it’s going to be about even. We made some shots but we made those shots off hustle plays,” said Buchanan.
“(Wheelersburg) can really shoot the ball and we knew that. They can put five shooters on the court and spread you out and that’s hard to guard. The best thing our kids did was play through that initial shock. We stuck with our defense and we began to understood how they were trying to attack us.”
Chapman made a free throw and a 3-pointer to start the second half and it was 35-23.
Wheelersburg got within 37-29 on a pair of 3-pointers by Kaylee Darnell, but Wilson had a layup and basline shots and it was 41-29 at the end of the quarter.
Chapman’s three-point play put the lead at 46-32 and her third 3-pointer of the game put the spread at 49-32 with 4:28 left.
“I just knew that since we lost a starter in Alesha I was going to have to come out and play as hard as I could and the same with all the other girls. I thought everyone stepped up and played really good,” said Chapman.
“(Ellie Ruby) was all over me. She is a really good defender. I honestly like playing against people like her. It gives me motivation to play harder.”
Fairland plays North Adams at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, March 3, at the Waverly downtown arena.
“Our kids just don’t want to go home. They want to battle. They got 32 minutes next Saturday and they want another 32 minutes,” said Buchanan.
Wheelersburg    14    9    6    5    =    34
Fairland    14    17    10    20    =    61
WHEELERSBURG (18-6): Kaylee Darnell 0 2 0-5, Ellie Ruby 1 1 1-4 6, Abbie Kallner 1 3 0-0 11, Mallory Bergan 0 0 0-0 0, Leann Spradlin 2 1 0-2 7, Ellie Kallner 0 1 1-2 4, Bella Williams 0 0 0-0 0, Paige Emnett 0 0 0-0 0, Addi Collins 0 0 0-0 0, Lani Irwin 0 0 00-2 0, Karli Estep 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-55 2-15 34. 3-pt goals: 8-27. Rebounds: 16-O, 17-D = 33 (Bergan 5, Spradlin 5, E. Kallner 5). Team rebounds: 6. Assists: 6 (Ruby 3). Steals: 14 (Ruby 5, Bergan 3, E. Kallner 3). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.
FAIRLAND (22-2): Taylar Wilson 7 0 0-2 14, Emily Chapman 7 3 3-4 26, Harlie Lyons 1 2 0-0 8, Allie Marshall 1 0 1-6 3, Kelsie Warnock 0 1 0-0 3, Brittany Thompson 1 0 3-4 5, Jenna Stone 1 0 0-0 2, Emma Marshall 0 0 0-0 0, Katie Brumfield 0 0 0-0 0, Mia Howard 0 0 0-0 0, Kirsten Orsbon 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-44 7-16 61. 3-pt goals: 6-13. Rebounds: 7-O, 32-D = 39 (Wilson 12, A. Marshall 9). Assists: 8 (Chapman 2, A. Marshall 2, Warnock 2). Steals: 9 (Chapman 4, A. Marshall 2). Blocks: 2 (Wilson 2). Turnovers: 18. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.