WAVERLY – There were just too many trees in the forest.

Thursday, February 28, 2002

WAVERLY – There were just too many trees in the forest.

Utilizing its depth advantage, the Oak Hill lady Oaks pulled away late to beat the Fairland Lady Dragons 80-68 Tuesday night in the Division III district championship.

"Their depth hurt us. We knew going into the game that they were deeper than us," Fairland coach Nathan Speed said. "We made some mistakes and missed some shots, and they dominated the boards and turned steals into baskets and put back up a lot of missed shots."

Oak Hill (23-0) held a 40-25 rebounds adantage including 19-13 on offense. However, the Lady Oaks were guilty of 33 turnovers while Fairland was guilty of 28.

"When they made their runs, they crashed the boards," said Speed.

Alyssa Hammond scored 24 points and had seven rebounds to lead the Oaks. Randi Gilliland scored 15 oints, Andrea McNeal 14, and Anna Ramey 12. Whitney Hale pulled down 10 rebounds.

Jeana Diamond scored 24 points and had nine rebounds for the Lady Dragons. Brooke Fisher added 15 points and six rebounds, and Jennifer Jones scored 17 points.

The game was close throughout the first half. Oak Hill led 19-13 at the end of the first quarter, then went up 28-20 on a follow up shot by Hammond. Fairland came right back to within 34-30 on a baseline jumper by Jones, but Hale’s layup with :24 seconds left made it 36-30 at the half.

Fairland went on a 7-0 run to begin the second half and took its first lead of the game at 37-36 when Brooke Fisher sank two foul shots at the 6:50 mark.

Hammond’s rebound basket put the Oaks back on top, but Jones’ helped the Dragons take the lead for the final time at 43-41 with 2:57 left in the quarter.

Oak Hill scored nine unanswered points to regain the lead and it led 50-46 at the end of the quarter.

Two foul shots by Gilliland started the quarter, and then Diamond and Hale traded layups. Hammond converted a three-point play and Gilliland scored inside as the lead quickly ballooned to 59-48.

Back-to-back baskets by Moore cut the deficit to 67-62 with 2:15 remaining. Godby’s baseline jumper had it at 70-64 with 1:59 left, but the Lady Oaks made 10 of 14 and seal the victory.

Fairland finished the season 16-7 and district runners-up. Seniors Jeana Diamond, Brooke Godby, Allison McConnell, and Brook Fisher won two Ohio Valley Conference titles and two sectionals during their careers.

"I’m so proud of this team and the seniors. The seniors have had a great run," said Speed.

Fairland 13 17 16 22 – 68

Oak Hill 19 17 14 30 – 80

FAIRLAND (16-7): Brooke Godby 2-11 (0-1) 2-2 6, Megan Fisher 1-3 (0-0) 3-5 5, Jennifer Jones 8-15 (0-1) 1-2 17, Brooke Fisher 3-13 (0-0) 9-11 15, Jeana Diamond 11-14 (1-2) 1-3 24, Allison McConnell 0-1 (0-0) 1-2 1, Kristen Brumfield 0-1 (0-0) 0-0 0, Courtney Walburn 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0. Totals: 25-58 (1-4) 17-25 68. Fouls: 24. Fouled out: Godby, M. Fisher, McConnell, Jones. Rebounds: 13-12=25 (Diamond 9, B. Fisher 6, Jones 4). Team/deadball rebounds: 4. Assists: 10 (Godby 5, B. Fisher 4). Steals: 13 (Diamond 4, M. Fisher 3, B. Fisher 3). Turnovers: 28. FG% – 43.1. FT% – 68. 3pt% – 25.

OAK HILL (23-0): Andrea McNeal 5-12 (1-5) 3-3 14, Megan Moses 1-3 (0-0) 0-2 2, Anna Ramey 3-7 (0-0) 6-9 12, Randi Gilliland 3-7 (0-0) 9-12 15, Whitney Hale 4-9 (0-0) 0-0 8, Alyssa Hammond 10-14 (0-1) 4-7 24, Jo Davis 0-4 (0-1) 1-2 1, Jamie Slone 1-4 (1-3) 1-2 4, Devon Carter 0-0 (0-0) 0-0 0. Totals: 27-60 (2-10) 24-37 80. Fouls: 21. Fouled out: McNeal. Rebounds: 19-21=40 (Hale 10, Gilliland 7, Ramey 7, Hammond 7). Team/deadball rebounds: 1. Assists: 14 (Ramey 4). Steals: 22 (Ramey 7, Hammond 5, McNeal 4). Turnovers: 33. FG% – 45. FT% – 64.9. 3pt% – 20.