Boston, MA - The Women's Basketball team is gearing up for a playoff run and trying to chase the Fisher women's basketball record of 17 wins in a season. The Falcons currently sit at 15-9, and have five more regular season contests to go, while they patiently wait for the announcement of the A.I.I. tournament schedule. This week they hit the road for two contests against the Fighting Saints of The College of Saint Joseph on Tuesday evening, and then the Wheaton College Lyons on Thursday evening. In their most recent contest, the Falcons defeated the Thomas Terriers 64-46 in which junior Kellie Gaston (Tampa, FL) led the way with 24 points, her second game in a row scoring in double digits.
The Falcons are led offensively by both Gaston and Vivian Lara (Norwalk, CA) who both sit in the Top 10 in A.I.I. scoring at 7th and 2nd respectively. Lara's 18.0 points per game is just shy of the conference leader, while her 2.79 steals per game is good enough for first in the conference. She also leads the Falcons in four categories including points per game (18.0), rebounds per game (7.6), steals (67) and assists (61). Gaston's 14.8 points per game is good for second on the team, while Jenny-Lynn Eggers (Sonoma, CA) rounds out the top three with 10.4 points per game. Eggers also sits in the Top 10 in the conference in offensive rebounds averaging 2.83 per game. Choon-Hee Chae (Kyle, TX) has come on strong averaging 10.0 points per game in her last four contests, while leading the Falcons in shooting with a 42% shooting percentage and 33% from behind the arc. Senior Jocelyn Mendoza (Morgan Hill, CA) continues to play well under the hoop as she is second on the team in rebounds, grabbing 6.3 per game. Point guard Piper Mali (Oro Valley, AZ) is second on the team in assists (56), and is currently ranked 8th in the conference in assists to turnover ratio with a ratio of 1.60 per game.
Tuesday, February 5th - College of Saint Joseph Fighting Saints
The Fighting Saints are currently 8-11 this season, with a 1-0 conference record. They will be looking to avoid the season sweep as the Saints have already faced off against the Falcons this season when Fisher defeated CSJ 88-49 back on November 28th. The Saints have not played since January 26th when they fell to the Central Maine Community College Mustangs 75-51. Prior to the loss though, the Saints were on a five-game winning streak in which they faced two common Fisher opponents; University of Maine-Machias and the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. In that span the Saints averaged 76.8 points per game while allowing just 45.6 points to their opponents. Overall the team averages 66.6 ppg while holding their opponents to 64.9 ppg. CSJ is led offensively by sophomore newcomer Alayah Sweeney (Springfield, MA) who averages 17.7 points per game in her three games on the squad. Junior Daija Black (Germantown, MD) was their leading scorer prior to Sweeney's arrival, averaging 11.8 ppg while grabbing 5.4 rpg. Black led the way for her team with 12 points and six boards in the previous loss to the Falcons. Sabrena Eye (Tampa, FL) is the third Saint to average in double figures with 11.5 points per game. As a team the Saints are shooting 36% from the floor while forcing their opponents to turn the ball over 18 times per contest.
Tip-off is slated for 5pm on Tuesday evening at the CSJ Athletic Center in Rutland, VT. Live stats can be found here.
Thursday, February 7th - Wheaton College Lyons
The Wheaton Lyons are currently 9-12 on the season, while holding a 4-9 record in the competitive NEWMAC conference. They are 3-7 since returning from winter break, with their most recent loss coming at the hands of Smith College 83-39 over the weekend. Despite the losing record since break, over that 10-game span the Lyons have averaged 57.6 points per game, while their opponents averaged 57.2 ppg so their defeats have come in small margins. Wheaton currently averages 61.3 points per game overall, while their opponents are scoring 63.5 points per game. Fisher and Wheaton have two common opponents this season; Pine Manor and Emerson with both teams defeating the Gators, and both teams falling to the Lions. The Lyons are led offensively by Sophomore Mikayla Pucci (Hopkinton, MA) who is the only Lyon averaging double figures with 15.3 ppg. She has had six games in which she has scored 20+ points and has collected two double-doubles this season. She is also second on the Lyons squad in rebounding with 5.3 rpg. Natalie Wind (New Canaan, CT) is second on the team in scoring with 8.5 ppg, while Sadie Shore (Portsmouth, NH) leads the way on the glass with 5.4 rpg. As a team the Lyons are shooting 38.6% from the floor while forcing their opponents to turn the ball over 16 times per contest.
Tip-off is slated for 7pm on Thursday evening in the Emerson Gymnasium in the Haas Athletic Center in Norton, MA. Fans can watch the game live here.