Boston, MA- The Lady Falcons took a trip across Boston to Emerson College tonight to face the Lions (10-6). Both teams were coming off wins from the weekend and were looking to add another to the win column. Emerson got a lead right off the bat and despite Fisher's comeback efforts throughout the game, they were able to hold off the Falcons and earned their 10th win of the season, 58-52.
The Lions started the first quarter with the first five points going up quickly 5-0 after two minutes. But the Falcons responded with a Vivian Lara (Norwalk, CA) 3-pointer to take back the early momentum. Emerson went up five again just minutes later, but another Lara jumpshot put the Falcons right back in 11-10. The last four minutes of the first quarter were quiet as only eight points were scored over that span, putting EC up 16-13 after the first ten minutes of play. The Falcons got the second quarter started with the first bucket as Choon-Hee Chae (Kyle, TX) hit her first points of the game making it 16-15 at the 9:01 mark. The first tie of the game came just a minute later as Lara hit another three to knot the game at 18 with 7:39 left before the half. Emerson fired back with an 8-0 run, capped by a Sam Boyle three-pointer, putting her team up 26-18 at the 4:23 mark. Another Lions 3-pointer just before the half put them up 29-23 heading into the break.
A 6-0 Emerson run to start the third gave the Lions their biggest lead of the game going up 35-23 at the 8:13 mark. Fisher responded with their own run, a 7-0 stretch getting them back to 35-30 after a pair of jumpers from Lara and another from Kellie Gaston (Tampa, FL). The Falcons kept on the pressure and Jenny-Lynn Eggers (Sonoma, CA) hit back-to-back lay-ups bringing the score to 38-36 with 3:15 remaining in the third. The Lions took back the momentum going back up by eight at 44-36 with two minutes remaining, but the Falcons would not back down as they scored the last five points of the quarter making it a three-point game with ten minutes left to play. Emerson looked to close the door in the fourth as they would get up by as many 10, but again the Falcons would not give in. Jocelyn Mendoza (Morgan Hill, CA) hit a jumper with :13 seconds left in the game making it 56-52, but Emerson's Quinn Madden hit her free throws to seal the 58-52 victory.
Lara led all scorers as she tallied 26 points while grabbing nine rebounds and seven steals in the losing effort. Gaston was the other Falcon who scored in double figures as she added 12 points and a pair of rebounds. Boyle led the way for the Lions as she dropped 22 points and five rebounds for her squad. Ashley Toner also contributed in double figures with 13 points and two baords.
The Falcons will look to get back on the winning track when they head to Simmons University on Saturday afternoon. The two teams square off at the Moore Gymnasium at 3pm.