Waterville, ME - Northern Vermont University-Lyndon led from start to finish in defeating Thomas College, 63-55, in Saturday afternoon's North Atlantic Conference women's basketball quarter-final matchup.  The fifth seeded Hornets avenge two regular season defeats at the hands of the #4 seeded Terriers and advance to face top seed and regular season NAC champion Husson University.  Lyndon improves to 11-14 overall on the season while Thomas finishes at 11-15.

Lea Crompton (Dunbarton, NH) put back her own miss on Lyndon's first possession of the game and the Hornets never looked back.  Another Crompton layup made it 4-0 before Karli Stubbs converted a pair of free throws to get Thomas on the board.  After an Alisha Celley (Concord, VT) free throw, Rylee Moore (Livermore, ME) connected on back to back jumpers and the Hornets had a 9-2 lead less than five minutes into the game.  The two teams competed on nearly even terms the rest of the quarter, with the Hornets holding a 19-14 advantage at the horn.

Alissa Mitchell (Milton, NH) opened the second quarter scoring, and Crompton followed with another layup to push the Hornet advantage to double figures, 24-24, at the 7:27 mark of the second quarter.  The Hornets would continue to ectend their lead, growing it to 16 following a Moore three-pointer with 3:17 left in the half.  The Terriers' Addie Brinkman would then score six straight Thomas points on a free throw, a three ball, and a jumper, answered only by a Crompton layup, as Lyndon would take a 36-24 lead into halftime.

Thomas would go on a quick 6-0 run to start the third quarter, and Brinkman's layup would cut the Lyndon lead to 36-30 just over two minutes into the second half.  Crompton would put an end to the run with a jumper, then a Faith Poirier (Portsmouth, NH) three-pointer pushed the Hornet lead back into double figures.  A Celley putback made it 43-30, Lyndon, at the 5:20 mark.  Thomas responded by scoring the next seven points, with Brinkman's free throw cutting the Lyndon lead to 43-37 with just over two minutes to go in the quarter.  Another Poirier three and a Mitchell layup stemmed the tide, and the Hornets were able to hold onto a 50-39 lead through three quarters.

Thomas was able to chip away again in the early minutes of the final period.  When Shala Davis scored on a rebound basket, the Lyndon lead was down to 53-47 with just over six minutes to go.  Celley was fouled following an offensive rebound on Lyndon's next possession and converted both free throws.  Mitchell then forced a Thomas turnover and found Celley for a layup and the lead was back to ten.  Thomas made one more run, as Kaylee Ravagli knocked down a three and Davis followed with a free throw to make it a six point game again.  That was as close as the Terriers would get, however, as the Hornets held them off for the win.

Crompton led the Hornets with a game high 19 points on 9/16 shooting.  She also dished out four assists.  Celley posted a double double with 14 points and 12 rebounds while Mitchell had a strong all-around game with nine points, six assists, and six steals.  Brinkman paced the Terriers with 17 points and ten rebounds.  Malorie Weaver also recorded a double double with 14 points and ten rebounds and Nikki Broadstreat chipped in 11 points.

The Hornets and Husson will tip off at 5:30 pm Friday at Husson in the first of two semi-final contests.  Second seeded Maine Maritime Academy and third seeded University of Maine at Farmington will then square off in Friday's second semi-final, also at Husson.  Friday's two winners will tip off next Saturday at 2:00 pm for the NAC championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship Tournament.