y JIM WALKER

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

WAVERLY — The OHSAA went from four divisions in basketball to seven this season. The Fairland Lady Dragons went from Division 3 to Division 5.

As far as any more changes, the Lady Dragons haven’t found many. They still won the district championship and are headed to the regional tournament.

The Lady Dragons routed the North Adams Lady Green Devils 77-44 on Saturday in hopes of making a third straight trip to the state Final Four.

Fairland (19-5) will travel to Lakota High School for the regional semifinals to face Waynesville who beat Cincinnati Reading 78-41. The game will be Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The first game at 6 p.m. matches Versailles against Brookville (19-7).

The Lady Dragons had eight different players score led by Addyson Cornell who scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.

Bailey Russell scored 17 points and Kamryn Barnitz had 11 points for Fairland. Russell also had 7 rebounds and 5 assists while Barnitz had 4 assists and 6 steals.

Emma Pistole topped North Adams (18-7) with 10 points.

North Adams hung close most of the first quarter and pulled to within 13-9 on a layup by Pistole with 1:55 left in the quarter. Cornell sank two free throws to go up 17-10 but a cutback by Karlie Kennedy made it 17-12. Russell’s free throw with three seconds on the clock made it 18-12 to end the quarter.

The Lady Green Devils got a layup by Katelynn Boerger to start the second quarter to trail 18-14, but Fairland scored 8 straight including a 3-pointer and a foul shot by Russell and it was 26-14 with 4:43 left in the half.

Back-to-back layups by Cornell opened up a 35-20 lead only to have Kennedy hit a 3-pointer to make it 35-23. But Isa Taliaferro and Russell made layups and Cornell hit a free throw and it was 40-23 at the half.

The Lady Dragons used a layup by Addison Godby to make it 50-28 but North Adams went on an 8-4 run to end the quarter and it was 54-36.

Fairland continued to pull away in the fourth quarter and took its biggest lead at 73-43 on a putback by Stella Whitley with 1:54 to play.

North Adams    12 11 13 8 = 44

Fairland        18 22 14 23 = 77

NORTH ADAMS (18-7): Makenna Shelton 1 0 1-2 3, Haylee Arthur 0 0 0-0 0, Tatum Grooms 3 0 0-0 6, Karlie Kennedy 2 1 1-2 8, Katelynn Boerger 3 0 2-4 8, Emma Pistole 4 0 2-5 10, Jake Davis 1 0 0-2 2, Aly McCann 0 1 0-0 3, Ava Pistole 0 0 0-0 0, Jaida Harrison 0 0 2-4 2, Elizabeth Raines 1 0 0-0 2. Totals: 15 2 8-19 44. Fouls: 13. Fouled out: None.

FAIRLAND (19-5): Taegan Leep 3 1 0-0 9, Isa Taliaferro 3 0 0-0 6, Ava Layne 2 0 4-4 8, Addison Godby 3 0 2-2 8, Haleigh Miller 0 0 0-0 0, Sierra Pemberton 0 0 0-0 0, Addyson Cornell 6 0 4-7 16, Stella Whitley 1 0 0-0 2, Khloe Walters 0 0 0-0 0, Kamryn Barnitz 4 1 0-0 11, Bailey Russell 3 3 2-4 17. Totals: 30-73 12-17 77. 3-pt goals: 5-29. Rebounds: 49 (Cornell 8, Taliaferro 7, Layne 6, Russell 7) Assists: 20 (Taliaferro 5, Russell 5, Barnitz 4, Layne 3). Steals: 20 (Barnitz 6, ). Turnovers: 11. Fouls: 17. Fouled out: Godby (4th 2;19).