Lyndonville, VT - After building a double digit lead early in the fourth quarter, Northern Vermont University-Lyndon was able to hold off a late Thomas College rally and escape with a 66-59 North Atlantic Conference victory on Saturday afternoon. The win was Lyndon's second over Thomas in two days and raised the Hornets' overall record to 9-8 on the season. The Hornets are 5-2 in North Atlantic Conference play. Thomas fell to 2-15 on the season and 1-7 in conference.
The two teams battled on nearly even terms through the opening minutes of the contest. After Thomas moved in front, 10-9, on a Hannah Coolen free throw, Lyndon closed the quarter with a Saleena Porter (St. Johnsbury, VT) layup and five straight points from Sage Smith (Colebrook, NH). That sent the Hornets into the second period with a 16-10 lead.
Lyndon held onto the lead in the first part of the second quarter. Kadienn Whitcomb's (West Burke, VT) three-pointer made it 23-14, Lyndon, with 5:21 to go in the half. Thomas battled back, however, and when Paige Lafrenaye connected from long range the Terriers regained the lead at 27-25. Thomas maintained the two-point advantage heading into halftime.
The Terriers extended their lead to four following Elena Alderman's basket and free throw to start the second half. Lyndon then responded with back to back threes from Smith and Ariez Pimentel (San Leandro, CA) to regain the lead. The teams played on even terms for the rest of the quarter, and the Hornets took a 45-42 lead into the final quarter.
Lyndon seemingly gained control of the game in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Smith drained a three to poen the period, then Kerigan Disorda's (Benson, VT) steal and layup and Whitcomb's three extended the Hornet lead into double figures at 53-42 with 8:20 to go. Thomas wasn't finished, however, and the Terriers rallied to back within one point following Emily Hagerty's jumper with 1:58 to go.
The Hornets failed to convert their initial shot on the next possession, but Marisa Schlegel (Nampa, ID) came up with a big offensive rebound and found Pimental, who drained the three-pointer to push the Lyndon lead back to four. Kiara Mack (Winooski, VT) and Porter both went 2/2 from the foul line in the final minute to preserve the win.
Smith led all scorers with 20 points and added nine rebounds. Whitcomb was the only other Hornet in double figures, scoring 11 points. Porter led Lyndon with ten rebounds and five assists to go with her eight points. Hagerty paced Thomas with 13 points. Coolen and Kristina Perry also finished in double figures with 11 and ten points respectively.
Lyndon will travel to Maine Maritime Academy for a pair of games next weekend. The Hornets and Mariners will tip off at 5:30 pm on Friday and follow that up with a 1:00 pm start on Saturday.
