HANCEVILLE – Fairview enjoyed a great deal of success Monday afternoon in a 59-46 victory over Lawrence County to advance to the AHSAA Class 5A Northwest Regional championship game.
Now comes the biggest challenge for the Lady Aggies, a battle against defending state champion and currently No. 2 ranked Wenonah. A win and the Lady Aggies will be bound for Birmingham for the first time in school history.
Fairview played well in the third quarter to turn a 26-17 halftime lead into a comfortable 44-24 advantage at the conclusion of the period.
A drive to the basket by Abby Schnittker on their first possession of the fourth gave the Lady Aggies their largest cushion at 46-24.
After that, Lawrence County made a game of it by scoring four times from three-point range and producing 22 points against the Cullman County champion.
"They (Lawrence County) were able to hit a couple of three pointers on us," Fairview coach Mary Lauren Hartline said in the news conference after the game. "We began to play their game, not ours. They put some pressure on us. It showed."
But the Lady Aggies weathered the storm after Lawrence County closed the 22-point deficit down to nine in the closing moments. Fairview shot a respectable 70 percent from the line in the final period with Schnittker going 4-of-4 late in the contest to help protect the advantage.
Fairview was 9-of-14 at the line in the final half and 12-of-20 for the afternoon. The Lady Aggies enjoyed a good day shooting at Tom Drake Coliseum, connecting on 21-of-36 attempts for 58 percent, going 11-of-17 in the final half.
Center Abbi Taylor set the tone on shooting by connecting on 7-of-11 and leading the team with 17 points. Taylor also gathered eight rebounds and blocked two shots.
Taylor Yeager was next with 16, delivering seven assists. Schnittker tossed in 10 with her four crucial free throws late. Jada Golden scored nine with McKinna Yearwood hitting six and grabbing six rebounds. Daylia Dean had one.
Lawrence County was led by Sadie Thompson scoring 15, hitting 3-of-6 treys. Chloe Orr scored 10 and Megan Hill added nine.
Lawrence County was 5-of-12 from long distance in the second half and 9-of-20 for the day shooting the 3-pointers.
Fairview had only 12 turnovers for the game, 10 in the second half after turning the ball over only twice during the first two quarters. Lawrence County protected the ball well, with only eight turnovers for 32 minutes.
The Lady Aggies take a 14-game winning streak and 28-6 record into the title game Wednesday with Wenonah, who is 27-3 after romping past Mae Jemison 59-47 to start Monday's regional schedule.
The game will be at 4 p.m. at Wallace State.
Copyright 2017 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
