In a matchup of state champions, the recipe that got both teams to those respective finish lines were cooking Tuesday at The Pit. Surviving a horrid shooting night, NorthWood turned up the offensive pressure to knock off Fairfield, 35-21, in girls hoops.
A potential sectional matchup saw NorthWood go just 1-14 from the three-point line through three quarters, but hit 3-7 in the fourth quarter. The game itself was just 18-17 Wood after three before the Panthers erupted for 18 points in the final eight minutes.
In a light scoreline for the Falcons, Eva Herbert had nine points and four rebounds while Kaylee Dillon added seven points and a pair of steals.
Fairfield shook off a slow start in the JV contest to rally back for a 39-30 win against NorthWood. Aubrey Wogomon and Maddy Miller combined for score 12 of their combined 23 points in the second-half comeback, which had Fairfield trailing by seven at the break. Gisel Lopez added seven second-half points in the win.
Fairfield had a major test right before the holiday break, hosting Class 2-A No. 14 Bluffton. After a hot start for Fairfield, Bluffton made it a game by the half, but it was all Falcons in the second half of a bookmark win, 42-25.
With former head coach Brodie Garber and members of last year’s state champs in the stands, Fairfield harkened back to its lockdown defensive ways with a fury in the second half. The Lady Falcons did not allow a basket in the final 16 minutes of the game, locking down Bluffton to just a mind-boggling two points in the second half. Dillon led the hosts (12-2) with 20 points, five rebounds, three assists and two steals, and Herbert had 14 points, three rebounds and three assists.
The JV moved to 11-2 overall after a 41-25 win. Fairfield held Bluffton without a basket for the first 5:57 of the second quarter, opening up a 24-4 lead and never looked back. Hayden Minder led the squad with 12 points and both Lopez and Miller finished at nine points.
At the Parkview Sports Medicine Holiday Shootout at Trine University, Fairfield swept its two games played Friday and Saturday, the latter a huge upset win.
In the first game against Fort Wayne Northrop, the Falcons roared to a 19-5 lead after a period to claim a 66-40 victory. Ten different Falcons scored, led by 14 points from Carson Smith and 11 by Tyson Frey.
In Saturday’s second game against Class 4-A No. 6 Fort Wayne North Side, Fairfield held Jaxson Fugate eight points under his average by allowing just 10 points to the senior guard, and kept fellow senior guard Eugene Young Jr. to 11 points, four below his average. The 54-43 win for the Falcons had Smith score 13 points and Brooks Custer scored seven of his nine points in the fourth quarter. Frey and Noah Mast each added eight points in the bookmark win for the Falcons, now 5-3 on the season.