Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LIBERTY TOWNSHIP — Before Versailles had a chance to blink, Saturday’s game was already over.
Fairland (21-5) was faster in transition, stronger in the post, smarter with the basketball, more active on the defensive end and completely shot the air out of the ball.
All of those elements added up to a third straight regional title for the Dragons as they pounded Versailles (18-9) with a resounding 73-38 win in a Division V regional final on Saturday.
“Our kids have been ultra-focused all week. It all started with the Waynesville game on Wednesday and it continued into today,” Fairland coach Jon Buchanan said. “Versailles has a great program with a rich history, and the last time we faced them, they beat us in the state semifinal. We knew this was going to be a physical game since they’re a really big team, and I thought our kids did a wonderful job of defensive rebounding and challenging every shot they took. It was a phenomenal performance.”
Red-Hot Russell
Bailey Russell missed her first shot from the field. She wasn’t going to miss her second, and true to her nature, she buried a triple followed by two free throws that put Fairland ahead 7-0 early.
It was her show throughout the rest of the frame.
“On a list of the most competitive kids we’ve had throughout the program, Bailey is definitely at the top of the list,” Buchanan said. “She’s such a gamer and you might not know it when you first see her because she is a girl’s girl. But you get her on the court and she’s an absolute dawg. She competes so hard, loves the game, takes on tough defensive assignments and when she’s open, we like our chances.”
Russell connected on another triple, then a third 3-ball and, somehow, Versailles let her get loose again as she splashed her fourth trey of the first quarter to put the Dragons ahead 22-5.
Fairland connected on five 3’s in the first eight minutes, and Russell was already at 16 points before ultimately finishing the night with 26 points and four rebounds.
“My teammates did such a great job of getting me those open shots by attacking and getting downhill for the kick-out pass,” Russell said. “When the first one goes in, everybody rises with every emotion and that excitement just carries throughout the whole team and it’s great.”
Bombs Away
While Russell had no issues letting the ball fly, neither did her teammates. And things only continued to get worse for Versailles.
The Dragons never took their foot off the gas and showed no mercy from distance.
“Versailles is a big team, but we figured that allowed us to touch the paint and get some kids open on the outside for some shots,” Buchanan said. “Last week at Waverly we shot the ball terribly. Bailey and Kam in the district semifinal were a combined 1-of-17 from 3, and as a team, we went 3-of-28. But watching today you would have never thought that was the case since we were hitting shots left and right.”
Russell, Addison Godby, Teagan Leep, Kam Barnitz and Addyson Cornell all connected on 3’s in the second, giving the team 10 triples in the first half alone as they extended the lead to 50-17 at halftime.
In the end, the Dragons finished 14-of-31 from distance and the Warriors were left in the dust.
“It makes a huge difference when we’re all hitting shots, compared to our district path at Waverly,” Barnitz said. “Our confidence wasn’t as high, but it’s a lot different when you see 10 3-pointers made in just the first half, you’re going to be more excited and everyone feels that confidence to just shoot the ball.”
Stat Book
Following Russell’s big night, Barnitz finished with 15 points for the Dragons. Godby stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, six assists and five rebounds, and Cornell added 11 points.
Up Next
Fairland advances to a Division V state semifinal. The time, date, opponent and location of that contest is to be announced this weekend.
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