Machias, ME - The Women's Basketball team headed into tonight's contest riding a three-game winning streak, and previously defeated the Machias Clippers (6-5) on November 7th by a score of 81-55. Tonight the Falcons made it four in a row despite being down by as many 13 in the first half of the contest, with a win over UMM, 94-69. Tonight's 94 points was the highest scoring output of the season for the Falcons as they completed the season sweep of Machias.
Despite the early season loss to the Falcons, the Clippers were not intimated and came out of the gate hard. Machias went on a 10-0 run to take an early 18-9 lead at the 3:18 mark capped by a Raegene Womack 3-point play. Machias would maintain the nine point lead after the first quarter, 26-17. The Clippers kept the pressure on the Falcons at the start of the second quarter as they led 39-26 with 4:41 remaining in the second, capped by a three-pointer from Caitlyn Lyons, three of her 15 points of the first half. Fisher responded with their own 14-4 run to close out the quarter and would head to the locker room down 43-40.
The Falcons came out of the break rested and battled back to tie the game at 46 a piece at the 7:11 mark after two Jocelyn Mendoza (Morgan Hill, CA) free throws. Piper Mali (Oro Valley, AZ) gave the Falcons their first lead with a 3-pointer just seconds later to put her team up 49-46. The rest of the third quarter was a seesaw battle as neither team could pull away. The Falcons went up by as many as seven with a minute left in the third, but the Clippers responded with two buckets of their own to pull back within three at 62-59. A Kellie Gaston (Tampa, FL) 3-pointer at the buzzer gave her team a 65-59 lead heading into the fourth.
The fourth quarter was the turning point for the Falcons as they were able to outscore the home team 29-10 to close out the victory. Gaston stayed hot in the 4th as she added another 11 points in the last frame to help her team secure the win. The Falcons took care of the ball well in the victory as they only had five turnovers as a team, while forcing 17 Machias mistakes.
Five Falcons scored in double figures in the win tonight with Gaston leading the way with a season high 29 points. Shaniah Hazard (Providence, RI) continued to play well off the bench contributing with 15 points, six rebounds and six steals. Vivian Lara (Norwalk, CA), Jenny-Lynn Eggers (Sonoma, CA) and Mendoza all tallied double figures as well with 13, 12, and 11 points, respectively. Lyons led the way for the Clippers in the losing effort with 22 points, while Womack, Tate Dolley and Abbey Allen all scored in double figures in the loss.
The Falcons will come home for their last game before Christmas this Saturday as they take on the University of Maine-Fort Kent at 3pm.