Battle for SEC lead goes FM

FAIRFIELD - High school sports are full of surprises. Two teams - Fairfield and Fort Madison - with one loss each met Monday for the Southeast Conference lead in girls basketball.

Fairfield owned a 20-point win over Mt. Pleasant, while Fort Madison went 1-1 to Mt. Pleasant, losing in overtime and winning by five.

Advantage Fairfield? Not when the Bloodhounds go 13-for-17 at the foul line to the Trojans' 6-for-12. Not when Molly Knipe scores 10 points for Fort Madison, eight more than her average. Not when Camille Kruse doubles her average of eight. Not when Fairfield's Delaney Breen gets her third foul with 7 minutes, 11 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

Fort Madison threw up a seemingly impenetrable zone and weathered a third-quarter 10-0 Trojan run to secure a 42-36 league win. The Bloodhounds are 11-1 overall and 4-1 in the loop. Fairfield falls to 5-2, 3-1.

'You can't compare scores because the matchups are different,” Fairfield head coach Pat Pacha said. 'I thought we played well, we just did not shoot well.”

Breen canned a 3-pointer 25 seconds into the game to boost the Trojans to a 6-2 lead, but it was tied at 7-7, then a 10-9 deficit at the end of the quarter and 20-14 at halftime. Breen took just 10 seconds of the clock to sink a trey to start the second half and Danielle breen followed with a two. Then a loud female voice said something that offended a referee and Fort Madison was assessed a technical. Delaney Breen made both free throws then canned another triple and Fairfield led 24-20.

The Bloodhounds' Malarie Ross averages almost 22 points a game, but only scored 11. Six of those were huge however.

'I thought we did a good job on her,” Pacha said. 'She didn't get to the rim as much as she wanted to.”

Fairfield's 24-20 lead lasted for: 07, then the 24-23 lead lasted even less. Ross dribbled downcourt without looking for a teammate and swished a 3-pointer, then did the same thing on the next possession. Danielle Breen banked home a triple and Mallory Lyon scored on a nice pass from Olivia Jones, but the ‘Hounds scored the last six points of the quarter. Despite the 10-0 run, Fairfield trailed 32-29 to start the fourth.

Hannah Simpson, who finished with nine points for the Trojans, made it 32-31 with a drive down the lane. Kruse scored a field goal and Delaney Breen was whistled for her fourth foul with 5:56 left.

'That's part of the game,” Pacha said. ”Fouls are going to be called. Delaney and Danielle just played great defense. They all did. We just have to do a better job.”

A triple by Knipe and another Simpson basket inside prompted the Hounds to play keep-away for the next 2 minutes ahead 37-33. Free throws and a field goal by Jones made the final score.

'We decided to hold the ball because we had a little bit of a cushion and they are a very dangerous team,” FM head coach Tony Sargent said. 'That big girl for them is hard to handle.”

Simpson finished with nine. Delaney Breen had 11 and Danielle Breen five. Mallory Lyon and Jones had four each and Brynley Allison three.

'It took a game from a couple girls that they haven't had one yet this year to get the win,” Sargent said. 'Camille played a lot better and Molly really stepped it up for the first time.”

'They played good defense against us and we just did not get the shots,” Pacha said. 'They are an impressive team and that's why they have the record they have.”