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Rams back to basics in win

Badin’s defense forces 40 miscues by Fairfield; Gerbus scores 19 points.

Badin's Victoria Heflin (left) gets a hand on the shot of Fairfield's Adrianna Stewart during Wednesday's game at Badin. Staff photo by Greg Lynch

Greg Lynch Badin's Victoria Heflin (left) gets a hand on the shot of Fairfield's Adrianna Stewart during Wednesday's game at Badin. Staff photo by Greg Lynch

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By Jay Morrison, Staff Writer Updated 9:32 AM Thursday, January 19, 2012

HAMILTON — The Fairfield High School girls basketball team played without Raeshaun Gaffney, and the Badin Rams played without sympathy.

Determined to get back to what coach Tom Sunderman called “defense with attitude,” Badin relentlessly attacked an Indians squad still reeling from losing its All-Ohio senior leader to a stress fracture three games ago.

The end result was a 66-27 blowout Wednesday night that lifted the host Rams to their fifth consecutive victory and put a hint of a satisfied smile on their coach’s face.

“I think defensively, that’s as good as we’ve played all year,” Sunderman said. “That’s the style we need to play. We need to play in your shorts, we’ve got to be in every passing lane and we’re got to trap everything on the outside.”

Badin (9-3) forced the Indians (4-9) into 40 turnovers and limited them to just eight field goals, half of which came in the final 8 minutes and 37 seconds of the game.

“In the second half we still kept our focus and our intensity on defense,” said Badin senior Abby Fritsch, a Fairfield resident who finished with 13 points. “That’s one of the things we’ve really been working on in practice, having the same intensity off the bench that we do at the beginning of the game. Every sub that came in did that tonight.”

Badin senior Kara Gerbus led all players with 19 points, leaving her 22 shy of the 1,000-point milestone. Junior Ashley Bell, a Fairfield transfer, tied her career highs with 10 points and three steals, all of which was just too much for an Indians team scrambling to find people to replace everything that Gaffney brings to the offense.

“That’s 10 rebounds and 26 points we’re without,” FHS coach David Loper said. “The big challenge is that your other kids have to step up and make good decisions, and we’re still a work in progress with respect to that.

“But these kids don’t quit,” he continued. “They’re not playing well, that’s for sure. But they keep working hard.”

After scoring 56 points against Hughes in their first game without Gaffney, the Indians managed just 19 Saturday against Oak Hills and 27 Wednesday night, 13 of which came in the final nine minutes.

Jordyn Butler led the team with six points, while junior Caitlin James and sophomore Sarah Reed added four each.

“We’ve had a tough couple of games here,” Loper said. “But Badin’s a good team. They really pressure you, and when you’re young and inexperienced, that leads to a lot of turnovers.”

Junior Taryn Stang and sophomore Torey Stang each had four steals for the Rams, with Torey adding four assists and six points.

Badin returns to action Monday at home against North College Hill, while Fairfield will get back at it Saturday at Lakota West.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2193 or jmorrison@coxohio.com.

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