BOSTON – The Fisher College Falcons tipped off the New Year in unlucky fashion, with a defeat to the visiting Plymouth State Panthers in women's basketball action. The Panthers won the NAIA-NCAA crossover matchup, 83-70, and improved to 6-6 on the season. The Falcons dropped to 2-7.
It took a few minutes for each team overcome some holiday rust, as the game's first basket didn't come until the 8:20 mark in the 1st quarter on a Murphy Carroll (Methuen, MA/ Methuen) layup for Fisher. The offensive struggles continued throughout the 1st quarter as the teams combined for just 12 points leading up to the 1st stoppage in play with 4:59 remaining on the clock.
The contest began to find some rhythm over the next five minutes with the teams trading baskets in route to an 18-14 Panthers lead after the quarter.
The 2nd quarter started just as the 1st ended with Plymouth State's Ace Lawrence (Middletown, CT/ Middletown) #24 knocking down a pair of three pointers leading to a 24-14 PSU lead just 45 seconds into the frame. Fisher called a timeout in an effort to right the ship and the Falcons responded with Aliyanah McIntosh (Brooklyn, NY/Medgar Evers Prep) hitting a three from the left wing. The Falcons added another four points in succession, cutting PSU's lead to just three with 7:05 remaining in the half.
The next 2:39 went scoreless until PSU's Debra Morrill (Concord, NH/ Concord) knocked down a baseline jumper to extend their lead back to five. The Falcons would respond yet again as Madison Carroll (Methuen, MA/ Methuen) and McIntosh each hit layups to cut the deficit to one with just under two minutes left in the half.
Plymouth State would hold a 29-27 lead at the break.
McIntosh led all scorers with 11 first half points while the visiting Panthers were paced by Lawrence's nine points. Fisher's Christine Briggs (Rumford, ME/ Mountain Valley) ripped down nine rebounds while PSU's Cassidy Emerson (Concord, NH/ Concord) recorded six rebounds.
Both teams struggled from the field over the initial 20 minutes with PSU going 11-for-28 (28.9%). Fisher could only manage 23.3 percent from the field on 10-of-43 shooting.
The 3rd quarter got underway with Ma. Carroll knocking down an elbow jumper for a 29-29 tie. Fisher would take their first lead since the game's first basket on a layup from Mu. Carroll before Plymouth State quickly answered.
Plymouth then embarked on a 9-3 run to hold a 38-32 lead with five minutes left in the quarter. Fisher responded with five straight points on their own to cut the score to 38-37 in favor of PSU with 3:41 to go in the 3rd. A minute later Fisher would retake the lead on a Ma. Carroll jumper as the Falcons continued to force Panther turnovers.
The Panthers' offense would get back on track over the remaining three minutes of the 3rd quarter but Mu. Carroll was able to knock down a three pointer at the buzzer to tie the game at 46-46.
Plymouth State's Kayla Wyland (Melrose, MA/ Melrose) opened the 4th quarter with back-to-back layups to give the Panthers a 50-46 lead, forcing a Fisher College timeout. It was all PSU following the break in action as Lawrence added four more points to increase their lead to six.
Trailing 54-48 with 7:45 remaining in the game the Falcons looked to raise their defensive effort in hopes of sparking a comeback. The effort was there as the Falcons held the Panthers to just two points over the next four minutes before Fisher called a timeout with 3:48 left trailing 56-54.
Ma. Carroll finished in the lane following the timeout to tie things at 56 before Wyland's layup gave the lead back to PSU with 2:30 remaining. The teams traded baskets on their next respective possessions, giving PSU a 60-58 lead with 1:30 to go.
Fisher grabbed a late lead on a NaKeeya Bodie-Smith (Fitchburg, MA/ Fitchburg) three pointer from the top of key but Wyland continue her dominating second half on the other end and gave the Panthers the lead back with just over a minute to play.
The Falcons trailed 65-62 with: 09 seconds left before a timeout was called. In dramatic fashion out of the timeout Fisher's Ma. Carroll knocked down a game tying three point from the corner to send the game to overtime.
In overtime the Plymouth State's Perry drilled back-to-back three pointers from the corners as the Panthers raced out to a 73-65 lead. Perry added another layup before Fisher's Jillian Williams (Berlin, NH/ Berlin) got the Falcons on the board with a pair of free throws.
The final five minutes were all Plymouth State as they earned the hard-fought 83-70 victory.
Wyland led the way for Plymouth State, finishing with 22 points and 17 rebounds. Mu. Carroll finished with a game-high 25 points for the Falcons while McIntosh and Ma. Carroll had 15 and 11 points respectively.
The Falcons are back in action on Tuesday, January 12 when they travel to Vermont Tech to take on SUNY Canton in the VTC Classic. PSU returns to the court on January 9th when they host Little East rival Eastern Connecticut.