WEST POINT – The Fairview Lady Aggies sit on top of the Class 5A, Area 12 basketball standings after a 46-32 victory Friday evening over the West Point Lady Warriors.
Closing out the third quarter on a 7-0 run was the difference maker for the Lady Aggies to go to 3-0 in the area and 12-3 on the season.
The strong finish in the third enabled Fairview to win the final period by a 13-3 margin and drop West Point to 2-1 in area play and 12-2 overall.
West Point led 3-0 to start the contest on a 3-pointer from sophomore Olivia Ball. Then Fairview used an eight-point first quarter by center Abbi Taylor and five points from point guard Taylor Yeager, getting the lead and moving it to 16-8 when time ran out.
The Lady Aggies were ahead by as many as 11 points in the opening half with West Point making a run in the second quarter by two important field goals from Micah Oldacre and a trey and a deuce from Ball to stay close at halftime, trailing 24-19.
A solid start in the third from the Lady Warriors featured two more field goals from Ball and two by Miriam Oldacre that enabled them to go on a 10-2 run and take a 29-26 lead late in the stanza.
Fairview fought back when McKinna Yearwood scored on a jumper at the foul line to get them within a point at 29-28. Yeager answered with a three from the left wing and Mary Hartline's Lady Aggies were never behind for the rest of the encounter. It was 33-29 Fairview after the third.
The Lady Aggies allowed West Point one field goal in the final 8:00 and held them to 1 of 3 at the line. Fairview got seven points in the period by Yeager who finished with 19 and was 3 of 5 from the line.
Taylor played only 45 seconds of the second half due to foul trouble, with Hartline taking a chance by keeping her on the bench in the third period, having a variety of guards battle West Point's perimeter attack.
Taylor produced 10 in a huge win against the No. 9 team in Class 5A with Yearwood scoring five, Daiyla Dean four, Jada Golden and Abby Schnittker three each and Maci Yeager two.
Ball played well for the Lady Warriors, collecting 17 points on seven field goals, three of them from long distance. Miriam Oldacre scored five, Lexi Shadix and Micah Oldacre had four each and Mackenzie Carter two.
Fairview continues to face highly-ranked opponents. The Lady Aggies host No. 9 Brewer from Class 6A Monday, then go to the Wills Valley Classic in Fort Payne on Wednesday to tangle with No. 8 Eufaula out of Class 5A in the opening round.
Fairview 51, West Point 37:
Fairview got the lead for keeps in the third quarter by a 12-3 margin after trailing at halftime to area rival West Point and improved to 2-1 in the area, evening their overall mark to 7-7.
In a see-saw affair, the Aggies led 12-10 following the first period with the Warriors getting the lead at the break at 24-22 thanks to six shots in the second quarter, two coming from 3-point range.
A Kolton Sapp trey was West Point's only tally for third-period scoring with Fairview taking advantage of numerous missed shots by the Warriors and getting in front by the score of 34-27 when the period came to a close.
The Aggies had a 17-point fourth period, shooting 7 of 9 from the foul line and scoring five field goals among four different players.
Sophomore Kennedy White had 14 for coach Eddie Groves' Aggies who are currently in third place in the county standings at 3-2. The Aggies are a half game behind Cold Springs, who are second in the county at 3-1 with Holly Pond on top by a 6-0 county record.
Bryson Fletcher netted 11, Lucas Yarbrough 10, Grant Howard seven, Sam Elrod five and Truman Boyd four.
Sapp led the Warriors with nine, Brandon Farley, Austin Dubberly and Rylan Jones scored six each, Trey Cunningham five, Alex Hernandez and Colby Sullins three each.
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