LADY EAGLE VARSITY player Kiresten Cox goes in for a shot in a win over the Westwood Lady Panthers that moves Fairfield into a tie for second in district standings. The Fairfield high school Lady Eagles varsity basketball team did what it had to do last week, claim two District 20-AAA victories to get a shot at advancing to the post season playoffs.

With road victories over the Athens Lady Hornets and Palestine Westwood Lady Panthers, the FHS quintet improved its district record to 6-3, tied for second with Athens and Brownsboro.

Crockett is leading district standings with a 7-2 mark and was scheduled to face the Lady Eagles in Fairfield early this week. Athens and Brownsboro were slated to play each other.

With four teams bunched near the top of standings, a district playoff game most likely will be required to determine which teams, and in what order, will advance to the Class AAA playoffs.

FHS head coach Tommy Fadal is positive about the outcome, noting that with four consecutive victories the Lady Eagles hold the longest winning streak in district.

"Of all those teams, the only one who has won on the road in the second half of district is us," Fadal says.

The Lady Eagles were sitting at 2-3 after the first half of district play, then won four in a row to improve to 6-3 and vie for a championship crown.

"We are the hottest team right now," the coach reports.

Fairfield won the district basketball championship the past two years, under a different alignment in District 19-AAA, and has advanced to the post season playoffs the past 10 years.

In the Athens game last week, the Lady Eagles started a bit slowly, trailing 9-11 the first period, then hit for 16 second period points to take a 25-19 lead at half-time.

The FHS quintet scored 11 points in the third period and 14 in the fourth, giving up nine and 10, to take win by a 50-38 margin.

"I thought it was a great performance by our kids. We were exceptionally focused and played very well," Fadal says.

"We weren't the favorite going in, so I have to credit the girls," he adds.

A combination of rebounding, defense and balanced scoring provided the victory.

Three Lady Eagles had double digit scoring nights- --Joye McElroy led with 12 points and teammates Kiresten Cox and Denise Brown tallied 10 each.

Others scoring were: Barvion Wyatt, 9; Courtney Morton, 8; and Sierra Henry, 1.

In the rebounding department, Miss Cox grabbed 18, including seven on offense, and Miss Morton grabbed 10, with three of those on offense. The team got a total of 42 rebounds in the game.

"We are rebounding the ball so much better than last year," Fadal reports.

Free throw shooting, which has plagued the team this year, improved to 76 percent against Athens, with the Lady Eagles making 16 of 21 attempts.

Misses Morton and Brown were 100 percent on two attempts each from the charity stripe, and each canned a pair of treys.

"I thought Joye McElroy and Kiresten Cox played great games. They did a great job leading us," Fadal says.

Friday night at Westwood, the Lady Eagles took a slim 18-17 lead the first period and turned up the heat with 23 second period points to take a 41- 28 advantage into intermission.

Fairfield scored 21 points the third period and 16 in the fourth, giving up 11 in each, to claim a 78-50 win.

"Again, we had balanced scoring," Fadal says.

In spite of being double teamed much of the night, Miss Morton scored 20 points, as did teammate Miss Brown.

"Denise Brown shot the ball extremely well outside. She had her best game of the season," the coach reports.

On the night, Miss Brown shot 75 percent from the field and 66.7 percent from 3-point range and from the free throw line. She made four treys against Westwood.

Miss Cox was an amazing 100 percent in field goal shooting, making all six of her attempts, and had 13 points on the night, while Miss McElroy counted a pair of 3-pointers toward her 12-point performance.

Others scoring were: Wyatt, 8; Sarah Linton, 2; Kristie Brewer, 2; and Kalyn Caffey, 1.

As a team, the Lady Eagles shot 50.8 percent from the field, 55.6 percent from the charity stripe and 40 percent from 3-point range.

"We aren't afraid to shoot those threes," Fadal notes.

Helping to set up shots were Miss McElroy, six assists, and Misses Brown and White, five each.

Fadal reports that shooting percentages have improved the second half of district. For example, Miss Morton shot 47 percent from the field in the first five games and averaged 20 points, and shot 57 percent the next four games and averaged 15 points.

Averaging 11 points per game are Miss Wyatt, improving her shooting percentage from 22 percent to 43 percent, and Miss Cox, improving from 13.8 percent to 54.3 percent.

With 10-point per game averages, Miss Brown improved from 29 percent to 46 percent in field goal accuracy, and Miss McElroy improved from 28.6 percent to 40 percent.

"Our team is just better as a team, not just one person," Fadal says. "It was just a matter of them finding their way, and they did."

The junior varsity Lady Eagles also notched a pair of wins over Athens and Westwood.

In the Athens game early last week, the Fairfield jv matched the Lady Hornets 11 first period points, then were out scored a bit in the second period to trail 19-21 at half-time.

The Lady Eagles were out scored 7-11 in the third period to trail 26-32, but turned up the heat with 14 points in the final stanza and overtime to take a close 40-39 win.

"The girls focused in the fourth quarter, fought their way back and sent the game into overtime," coach Julie Biezenski reports. "Markeisha Cox hit a big shot and made a big free throw to put us ahead and win the game."

Scoring in double digits, 11 points, was Andrea Griffin.

Others scoring were: Kathleen Chappell, 8; Jermaca Brown, 7; Mia Mayo, 7; Cox, 5; and Krystal Rischer, 2.

The Fairfield jv had a much easier time at Westwood, taking a 7-2 lead the first period and holding a 19-3 advantage at intermission.

The Lady Eagles won the third period 12-4 and the fourth 14-7, to claim a 45- 17 victory.

"The girls played very well as a group. Guards were looking in at the posts and we ran the floor very well," coach Biezenski says.

The coach points out that post players Misses Griffin and Rischer dominated at their positions.

Leading scorer with 12 points was Miss Griffin, while teammate Miss Rischer tallied 10.

Others scoring were: Olivia Gallegos, 8; Denise Washington, 5; Chappell, 4; Trilandria Titus, 4; and Mayo, 2.