CENTERBURG – Fairbanks picked up 16 steals, dished out 14 assists and connected on 9-of-19 attempts from 3-point land as the Panthers closed out their girls varsity basketball season regular season with flair and a 47–32 to win over host Centerburg Tuesday.
The win over Centerburg ends the regular season for Fairbanks and a fine year it was for the Panthers. Just three years ago, the Panthers were a team that won just two games; this year the Panthers went 16–5 overall and finished behind only powerful Mechanicsburg (which is 19-3 on the year and 15-1 in the Ohio Heritage Conference North standings) with a 12-4 conference record. For their efforts they received a home game in the first round of the OHSAA girls basketball tourney.
As for Tuesday’s regular-season ending game, the Panthers had a subpar shooting night from the floor, going 16-of-52 overall for 30 percent, but they did manage to sink three more 2-point buckets and seven more 3-pointer baskets than did Centerburg.
Carly Lehman went 3-of-4 from downtown, pulled in five rebounds and doled out five assists, finishing with the team-high 15 points. Elaina Lahmers just missed recording a double-double for the Panthers as she scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds while Ellie Carter and Elizabeth Reinhard also made it into double figures in scoring with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Carter also had six rebounds and four steals in the game.
The win over Centerburg ends the regular season for Fairbanks and the next step for the Panthers is the Division III, Region 12, Columbus 2 district sectionals of the OHSAA girls basketball tournament. As Fairbanks had a much finer than fair year, the Panthers picked up a #5-seed and will host its first round game Saturday against #10-seed Johnstown Saturday at 1 p.m. at Fairbanks High School. The winner will earn a sectional title and will meet the winner of #3-seed Cardington-Lincoln and Grandview Heights in the district semifinals Feb. 22 at a site to be determined.
For the complete OHSAA statewide basketball tournament brackets for both the boys and girls, click here.
