Fairbanks junior Elaina Lahmers drives for a layup against two Lady Golden Eagles. Lahmers tallied 12 points in the team’s win Saturday night. (Journal-Tribune photo by Aleksei Pavloff)
Fairbanks’ girls basketball squad won its eighth grade in nine outings on Saturday.
The Lady Panthers took down Madison Plains by a 42-29 verdict.
“I told the girls that Madison Plains is a dangerous team because they have the ability to put a lot of points on the board,” assistant coach Tyler Alexander said. “They have a tendency to go to a 2-3 [defense] which slows down teams like us.”
Alexander served as acting coach in the absence of head coach Landon Fraker, who was ill.
The Lady Panthers were firing on all cylinders Saturday night, taking a 10-point lead over the Lady Golden Eagles in the first quarter.
During the opening minutes, Fairbanks’ Anna Poling poked the ball out of an opponent’s hands and turned the steal into points.
As a result, FHS took an early 6-2 lead with 5:16 left in the first quarter.
On another occasion, with roughly two minutes until the second period, Elaina Lahmers found some room beyond the arc.
Her triple pushed FHS out to a 10-4 margin.
Lahmers claimed half (seven) of the Lady Panthers’ points in the first quarter of play, hitting two layups and the trifecta.
The Golden Eagles tried to get momentum going during the ensuing stanza.
They were halted once again by a steal which turned into points. Junior Carly Lehman stripped the ball, which was passed to Lahmers and then to Poling, who scored another layup for a 23-11 Panther advantage.
“Thank goodness we shot very well in the first half,” Alexander said, adding if FHS hadn’t, the game would have been much closer.
The shots did not stop pouring as Reese Poling scored from the three-point line as FHS’ lead elevated to 28-11.
Fairbanks finished with 22 points during the second quarter, en route to a 36-13 halftime margin.
More of the same continued with the Lady Golden Eagles struggling to put points on the board once play resumed after the break.
The second half saw other Lady Panthers get minutes on the court. Madison Plains continued to claw back, but Fairbanks’ defense sealed any hope of a comeback.
Spreading the defense thin, Fairbanks kept moving the ball vigorously, making the defense respect all players on the court.
Madison Plains struggled to adjust against the strategy.
“When you are playing a 2-3, you have to shift it,” Alexander said. “If you get it to shift enough times, the holes open up.”
During the week leading up the match against the Lady Golden Eagles, Fairbanks drilled Madison Plains’ 2-3 defense, making sure it had all their bases covered.
In junior varsity action, both squads performed equally after only playing two quarters this past weekend. Fairbanks’ Rachael Hoover scored six points, off two three-point goals, in the match’s 14-14 tie.
The Lady Panthers are slated to face-off against North Union tonight.
Fairbanks
Reese Poling 3-0-7, Miller 5-1-11, Anna Poling 3-0-6, Carter 2-0-4, Ruff 0-0-0, Carly Lehman 1-0-2, Lahmers 5-0-12, Vollrath 0-0-0. Three-point goals: Reese Poling, Lahmers 2.
Madison Plains
Hall 1-1-4, Kelly 4-1-9, Cordell 0-0-0, Owens 2-0-4, Devis 5-0-12, Berber 0-0-0. Three-point goals: Hall, Devis 2.