Lyndonville, VT - In a game that saw 15 lead changes, five ties, and no lead greater than seven points it was Northern Vermont University-Lyndon that made the final push to come away with a 52-49 non-conference women's basketball victory over Colby-Sawyer College on Sunday afternoon. With the win the Hornets improved to 5-6 on the season, while the Chargers fell to 2-10 on the campaign.
The two teams battled on even terms in the early going. Lyndon's Sage Smith (Colebrook, NH) connected on a three-point goal to give the Hornets a 10-7 lead at the 3:26 mark of the opening quarter. Colby-Sawyer responded with an 8-0 run capped by back to back three from Megan Molettieri and Marissa Holt to give the Chargers a five-point advantage. When Lyndon's Kiara Mack (Winooski, VT) converted inside, the Charger lead was cut to 15-12 after one quarter.
After Smith's second chance basket on Lyndon's first possession cut the Colby-Sawyer lead to one, back to back baskets from Courtney Brewster and an Elyza Mitchell layup gave the Chargers their biggest lead at 21-14. Mack's layup then capped an 8-0 Lyndon run which put the Hornets back in front by one. A Molettieri three-pointer then sent Colby-Sawyer into halftime with a 222 lead.
Colby-Sawyer maintained the slim lead coming out of halftime until Riann Fortin's (Derby, VT) layup pulled Lyndon even with 3:11 to go in the period. Another Fortin layup gave the Hornets the lead, but Mitchel countered with a layup of her own to give the Chargers a one-point lead heading into the final quarter.
Fortin scored the first basket of the final stanza to put Lyndon back in front, but Colby-Sawyer answered with a pair of Holt free throws. Lyndon took their biggest lead, 44-40, at the 5:36 mark when Kadienne Whitcomb connected from three-point range. Mitchell then scored five straight points to put the Chargers back in front. Lyndon countered with a Smith jumper followed by a Fortin layup to take a three-point lead, and the Hornets would maintain the slim lead the rest of the way. Colby-Sawyer had a chance to tie on the game's final possession, but Holt's three was off the mark.
Smith and Fortin paced Lyndon with 17 poitns apiece. Fortin also pulled down nine rebounds and blocked five shots, while Smith chipped in with eight rebounds. Mitchell led Colby-Sawyer with a game high 24 points and seven rebounds. Holt was the only other player to hit double figures, as she tallied 10 points.
The Hornets will return to North Atlantic Conference play on Tuesday afternoon when they travel to the University of Maine at Farmington for a 4:30 pm start.
