Fairfield girls hold Albia to 13 points for first win

Losing the first four games in a season might make some teams a little impatient for their first win.

Not so for the Trojans, who used the patient approach en route to burying Albia and claiming their first victory of the 2011-12 season Tuesday in Fairfield. The Trojans blasted past Albia 44-13 in what was a scrappy battle throughout.

?I thought our girls did a really good job of working the basketball, getting it inside, getting it outside, and we had multiple people get really, really good looks,? said Fairfield head coach Mick Flattery. ?The first half with everybody we?ve been going about a zero to two pass offense, and we?re shooting in the 20th-percentile doing that. When we get to four passes or more, we?re now all of a sudden in the 40th-percentile.?

Good passes throughout the night added to good overall balance for the Trojans, with eight girls contributing to the final score and Sidney Baumann leading the way with four assists.

The Trojans led from the start as Tori Ogden nailed a shot from beyond the arc in the first minute. Fairfield quickly gained an 8-0 lead following a long jumper from Erin Thompson and the Trojans? second 3, this time from Serena Ward.

The Demons narrowed the deficit to 10-6 at the start of the second period, but the Trojans? pressure on defense forced a wealth of turnovers and kept Albia on the defensive throughout the contest. After holding Albia to just eight points in the first half, the Trojans one-upped themselves and allowed the Demons to score five more points the rest of the game.

?I really thought in the third quarter Taylor Neil?s energy on our press, she got a couple steals right there that really energized us when we needed it,? said Flattery.

Ward, a senior, led the Trojans with 14 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Ogden added nine points; Baumann had seven points, four assists and four boards; Erin Thompson scored six points and grabbed seven boards; and Taylor Neil had three points, two boards, two steals and two assists.

Also for Fairfield, junior Jessica Lamb added four points and four rebounds, junior Brittany Kurtz came down with two boards and sophomore Hanna Greiner chipped in one point and three boards.

?I don?t think there?s any question our schedule to date has really helped us,? added Flattery. ?Unfortunately, we?re 1-4 but yet the girls have stayed positive, they?ve worked their tails off, and really terrific to see on the stats only 10 turnovers.?

The Trojans look to continue their winning ways with a visit to Washington scheduled Friday.

FAIRFIELD ? Baumann 7, Ogden 9, Neil 3, Thompson 6, Ward 14, Lamb 4, Kurtz 2, Greiner 1, Totals 44

3-point goals ? Ward 2, Baumann 1, Ogden 1. Rebounds ? Thompson 7, Ward 6, Baumann 4, Lamb 4, Greiner 3. Assists ? Baumann 4, Neil 2. Steals ? Ward 2, Neil 2