Fairfield suffers second-half collapse

KEOKUK - The Fairfield girls basketball team came to play on Saturday night, and the Trojans made that apparent with a fierce first-half run in the regional semifinals at No. 11 Keokuk. The Chiefs came storming back in the second half, however, and beat the Trojans for the third time this season, knocking Fairfield out 51-41.

The Trojan girls spread the ball around well in the first quarter, as six different Fairfield players scored in the first eight minutes. Olivia Jones led the way with six first-quarter points, and the two teams were tied 18-18 going into the second quarter.

The Fairfield defense held Keokuk to just five points in the second quarter. The trio of the Breen twins and Shay Drish combined for 12 Trojan points and Fairfield led 30-23 at halftime.

After two periods of play, Keokuk's leading scorer Abby Wolter hadn't scored, and Keokuk as a team couldn't get out and run the floor, putting themselves in danger of their first loss to an SEC team this season. Fairfield's momentum didn't last after the halftime break, however, and Keokuk quickly flipped the game on its head in the third quarter.

The third quarter was the only period Keokuk won, but they dominated it. The Chiefs outscored the Trojans 23-4 in the third quarter and Fairfield found themselves in a 46-34 hole after three quarters.

The Trojan defense woke back up in the fourth, allowing just five Keokuk points. The Trojans stayed cold, however, scoring just seven points in the fourth period and 11 total points in the second half.

'Before halftime, we had high intensity and we were playing as a team,” Fairfield head coach Jeff Miller said. 'We were giving up a ton of rebounds in the first half, and that continued in the second half, but in the first half we were able to get away with it, simply because down at the other end, we were doing some really good things.”

Danielle Breen had 10 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Jones and Drish co-led the squad in scoring with 10 points apiece as well. DelaneY Breen had six points. Darby Kaska scored four, and Destiny Gridley had one.

Fairfield finished the season at 14-9 overall and 7-3 in SEC play. Keokuk will play at No. 1 North Scott in Tuesday's regional final.