Plymouth, NH - Vermont State University Lyndon made the plays down the stretch and held off Plymouth State University for a 60-57 non-conference women's basketball victory on Tuesday evening. The Hornets improved to 4-2 on the season with the win, while the Panthers fell to 3-2.
Lyndon jumped on Plymouth right out of the gate. The Hornets took a 9-2 lead just over four minutes into the contest and increased it to 22-10 when Kerigan Disorda (Benson, VT) drained a three-pointer just before the end of the opening quarter.
A Riley Webster (Upton, MA) three-pointer on the first possession of the second quarter extended the Hornet advantage to 15 points. After Ashley Stephens scored for Plymouth, Sage Smith (Colebrook, NH) connected from distance and Disorda converted a pair of free throws to give Lyndon its biggest lead at 30-12. The Panthers then started to chip away, and after Sabrina Vlahovic made two free throws four seconds before intermission, the lead had been trimmed to 33-23 at the break.
Plymouth came all the way back to start the second half, holding Lyndon scoreless for nearly seven minutes. The Panthers regained the lead on a Vlahovic three ball at the 5:05 mark and nursed a two-point advantage into the final quarter.
The final quarter was tightly contested throughout. A Kadienne Whitcomb (West Burke, VT) three-pointer at the 2:26 mark gave the Hornets a 56-53 advantage. The Panthers' Brianna Wilcox then made one of two free throws to cut the margin to two. After the teams exchanged turnovers, Riann Fortin (Newport, VT) scored at the rim to make it a four-point game with 50 seconds remaining. Plymouth came right back on the next trip down the floor and cut the Hornet lead to one on Allison Ingalls' three-pointer with 23 seconds to go. Lyndon then got a pair of defensive stops and single made free throws from Fortin and Saleena Porter (St. Johnsbury, VT) sealed the win.
Smith paced the Hornets with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Fortin was a perfect 5/5 from the floor and finished with 15 points. Disorda added 13 points. Lea Crompton led Plymouth with 17 points and Vlahovic added 13.
Lyndon opens North Atlantic Conference play on Friday evening when they host Husson University. Tip-off in Stannard Gymnasium is scheduled for 7:30 pm.
