Lyndon, VT- The Women's Basketball have now three straight as they defeated the NVU-Lyndon Hornets in the NVU Tip-Off Classic 53-47 to claim the tournament championship on Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons faced a much tougher Hornets opponent on Saturday afternoon, as the game was a seesaw battle from the jump. Each team led by as many six points and there were 11 lead changes throughout the contest. Fisher jumped out to an early 13-6 lead in the first quarter, but the Hornets responded with a 5-0 run to end the first to make it 13-11 after the first ten minutes. The second quarter was back and forth action with the Hornets re-claiming the lead at 26-22 heading into the break. Jenny-Lynn Eggers (Sonoma, CA) led the way in the first half for the Falcons, collecting seven points and seven boards.
Down by six with 7:57 on the clock in the third, the Falcons went on a 10-0 run over the next five minutes of play to pull back ahead 34-30, capped by a pair of Vivian Lara (Norwalk, CA) free throws. A Shaniah Hazard (Providence, RI) three-pointer and two free throws from Meghan Case (Sacramento, CA) closed out the third with the Falcons owning a 39-36 lead. The Hornets answered with a 6-2 run to start the fourth giving the home team a 42-41 lead with 7:50 remaining in the game. Fisher again had the answer as Lara hit back-to-back jump shots to take back the lead, a lead they would not relinquish for the remainder of the contest. NVU got to within three at 50-47, but the Falcons held on for the 53-47 victory.
Lara led all scorers with 14 points, five rebounds, three assists, and four steals and was named the Tournament MVP. Sophomore Misha O'Neal (Tampa, FL) finished with eight points, three boards, a pair of blocks and a pair of steals and was named to the All-Tournament Team for her play over the weekend. Eggers was one point shy of her first double-double of the season as she contributed with nine points and 10 rebounds in the win. Angel Bernardi (Cloverdale, CA) also had a strong game for the Falcons, adding 10 points, eight boards, and four steals in the win. Alissa Mitchell led the way for the Hornets, collecting 13 points and six steals while Alisha Celley nabbed 12 rebounds in the losing effort.
The Falcons will head back to Vermont on Tuesday when they travel to Vermont Tech for a 6:30pm start.