Boston, MA - The Women's Basketball team captured their first ever Northeastern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title with a 70-48 win over the Green Mountain Eagles this afternoon at the Winsor School in Boston, MA. The Lady Falcons have now matched the school's record for wins as they are currently 17-10 with two contests remaining in the regular season.
The Eagles (6-17), looking for payback for the previous 72-41 loss earlier this season to the Falcons and a chance at the NIAC title, came out firing in the first quarter taking a 5-2 lead after the first 90 seconds. The Falcons quickly responded on the next three possessions with three straight three's from Piper Mali (Oro Valley, AZ) and two from Kellie Gaston (Tampa, FL) to take the lead back 11-7, a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the contest. Two more three-pointers from the Falcons put them up 17-11 after the first ten minutes of play. The Falcons shot 45% (5 for 11) on three's in the first to help gain the early advantage. GMC came out of the break looking to stay close and did so by scoring the first six points of the second to bring them back to within one at 17-16 at the 7:59 mark. Choon-Hee Chae (Kyle, TX) and Jenny-Lynn Eggers (Sonoma, CA) scored the next five points to give the Falcons a 22-16 edge, but the Eagles would continue to have an answer scoring the next two baskets making it 22-20. The two teams continued to exchange baskets and headed to the locker room with the Falcons up 29-26.
The third quarter and Eggers were the difference in the contest as the Falcons came out of the break eager to clinch the championship. A Fisher 16-3 run through the first seven minutes of the third put the Falcons up 48-32 at the 2:51 mark. The Falcons finished the third quarter outscoring the Eagles 26-13 while shooting 50% (4 for 8) from downtown, while forcing five GMC turnovers on four steals. Eggers was 4 for 5 from the floor in the quarter with 10 points to help put her team up 55-39 heading into the fourth. The Eagles made every effort to stay within reach as they opened up the fourth with a 6-1 run to bring the score to 56-45 at the 6:44 mark. A Vivian Lara (Norwalk, CA) three-pointer on the next possession gave the momentum right back to the Falcons with Gaston following up with another three-pointer of her own to put the Falcons back up 62-45. The Falcons finished with an 8-3 run to cap the victory and claim the team's first NIAC title.
Eggers led all players with a season-high 22 points to go along with 11 rebounds to give her a double-double in her last two contests. Lara also finished with a double-double with 13 points and 12 boards, her fifth of the season. Gaston and Mali also finished in double figures for the Falcons grabbing 12 and 10 points respectively. The Eagles were led by Mercedes Rideout who finished with 14 points, including four three-pointers. Sharena Armstrong also finished in double figures dropping 11 points while Taylor Hill led the way on the glass with 11 boards in the losing effort.
The Falcons honored senior Jocelyn Mendoza (Morgan Hill, CA) at halftime who is finishing her career as a Criminal Justice major at Fisher. The senior finished the game with five points, seven boards, while dishing out four assists. She was also 3 for 3 at the charity stripe.
Fisher is back to work tomorrow as the face the Pine Manor Gators at 1pm. Tip-off is slated for 1pm at the Winsor School in Boston, MA.