Friday, February 25, 2000
Princeton holds off Fairfield
BY CAREY HOFFMAN
Enquirer contributor
Princeton opened a 17-point halftime lead, then survived a Fairfield charge that got as close as four points in the final 1:30 to score a 54-45 victory in the girls Division I upper-bracket sectional title game at Lakota East Thursday night.
Both teams, who were playing for the third time this season, changed styles Thursday and got their best results with pressure defense. For Princeton, that came in the first half, when the Vikings were aggressors and forced Fairfield into 20 turnovers. In the second half, Fairfield put the pressure on, and Princeton lost the ball 19 times.
“We just kept turning the ball over,” said Princeton forward Kim Lancaster, who had game highs with 20 points and nine rebounds. “I guess we didn't handle their pressure very well.”
“We tried to make the point with the girls (at halftime) that they just didn't give their best effort in the first half,” Fairfield coach Steve Termeer said. “They were going to have to give their best effort if we were going to get back in this game.”
Fairfield showed its inten tions by opening the second half with a 10-2 run, with eight of the points coming from senior forward Natalie Thompson. The Indians got to within 47-43 on a Thompson layup with 1:19 to play, but a pair of foul shots and then a fast-break layup by Princeton's Brie Bradshaw sealed the win.
Thompson had 14 points to lead Fairfield (12-10), which had its first winning season since 1986. Despite losing eight players from a year ago, Princeton (18-5) still managed to win its third straight sectional title. The Vikings have been in the regional tournament the last two years.
“That's why this is kind of sweet,” Princeton coach Jerry Stein said. “We were 44-4 the last two years, and a lot of people thought we were done.”
Princeton will play the Beav ercreek-Piqua winner at 3:15p.m. March 4 at Wilmington College in a district title game.
PRINCETON (54) - McNamara 2 1 6, Hervas 2 0 4, Noble 1 3 5, Lancaster 10 0 20, Bradshaw 2 5 9, Simons 4 0 8, Smith 1 0 2. Totals: 22-38 9-16 54.
FAIRFIELD (45) - K. Carty 1 0 2, J. Carty 3 0 6, T. Johnson 3 1 8, K. Johnson 2 0 5, Buczek 2 2 6, Thompson 7 0 14, Staudt 2 0 4. Totals: 20-49 3-9 45.
Princeton ....... 16 16 10 12—54
Fairfield ....... 10 5 18 12—45
3-pointers: P 1-5 (McNamara), F 2-12 (T. Johnson, K. Johnson). Records: P 18-5, F 12-10.
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