Carley Lehman of Fairbanks attempts to save the ball from going out of bounds in this file photo. The Lady Panthers fell to Madison Plains, 35-34. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Fairbanks’ girls basketball team dropped a 35-34 heartbreaker against Madison Plains on Tuesday.
Neither team could gain much of an advantage throughout the contest.
Madison Plains took a 10-8 edge into the second quarter and a 19-15 margin at the halftime break.
FHS (10-11) trailed 29-26 as the fourth quarter got under way.
The contest became even more tense during the final minute.
Fairbanks’ Macy Miller scored on a stickback with 50 seconds left to tie the score at 32-32.
Plains ran down the timer to 15 seconds before Riley Davis swished a three-pointer for a 35-32 lead.
Elaina Lahmers sank a pair of free throws for the Lady Panthers with 2.1 seconds to play.
Time, however, ran out on FHS.
The Lady Panthers (who will travel to Columbus Bishop Ready on Thursday) had a difficult job shooting the ball.
FHS hit only 29 percent from the field, while the Eagles connected on 37 percent.
Carley Lehman led Fairbanks with 15 points, while Miller joined her in double figures with 11.
Also scoring for the Lady Panthers were Lahmers-four, Megan Rausch-two, Gracie Pyers-one and Lillian Miller-one.
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Cardinal squads split
The Triad eighth-grade boys advanced to the second round of the Ohio Heritage Conference North Division tournament with a 33-27 win over Mechanicsburg.
Kane Bailey led Triad with nine points, while Griffin Ross added seven.
The Cardinals will play at Fairbanks on Thursday.
The Triad seventh-graders saw their season come to an end with a 45-37 setback at the hands of West Liberty-Salem.
Caleb Thomas tallied 18 points for the Cardinals and Holden LeVan finished with 12.