Lyndonville, VT - Vermont State University Lyndon got off to a 10-1 lead, then held off the University of Maine at Farmington to come away with a 57-46 North Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory on Saturday afternoon. The Hornets improved to 6-13 on the season and earned their first conference win in ten outings. The Beavers fell to 7-13 overall and 4-6 in the NAC.
Sage Smith (Colebrook, VT) got the Hornets on the board first with a second chance basket. Riann Fortin (Newport, VT) followed with a score in the paint. After UMF's Jessica Dow converted one of two free throws, A Kiara Mack (Winooski, VT) second chance bucket, a Smith three-pointer, and a Fortin free throw staked Lyndon to a 10-1 lead five minutes into the contest. Five straight points from Dow cut the Hornet lead to four, but a Riley Webster (Upton, MA) three and a Fortin layup off of a Beaver turnover gave Lyndon a 15-6 lead after one quarter.
Back to back baskets from Emily Small and Dow and a Dow free throw to start the second quarter cut the Lyndon lead to four, but Saleena Porter's (St. Johnsbury, VT) three-pointer got Lyndon on the board, and the Hornets pushed the lead back to ten on a Kadienne Whitcomb (West Burke, VT) three-pointer at the 4:12 mark. The Beavers were able to cut that lead in half with a 7-2 run to close the quarter, sending Lyndon into intermission with a 25-20 lead.
UMF came out fast after halftime, as Dow scored inside, then connected on a three-pointer to tie the game. Sarah Poli scored inside on the next Beaver possession to give UMF their first and only lead at 27-25. Lyndon answered on their next possession, as Fortin scored inside and was fouled. She converted the free throw to put Lyndon back in front, then scored inside again to extend the lead to three. Lyndon built the lead from there, and when Smith connected from distance at the 4:06 mark, the Hornet lead was back in double figures at 39-28. The Hornet lead was 12 following a pair of Smith free throws, but Dow's three at the buzzer cut the Lyndon margin back to single digits, 44-35, heading into the final frame.
The Beavers weren't able to get any closer than within eight points in the final quarter, as Fortin went 9/9 from the free throw line over the final 6:33 to secure the win.
Fortin posted a double double of 23 points and ten rebounds to lead Lyndon. She was extremely efficient all afternoon, going 7/11 from the floor and 9/10 from the charity stripe. Smith finished with 16 points and Marisa Schlegel (Nampa, ID) grabbed a team best nine rebounds. Point guard Kerigan Disorda (Benson, VT) played all 40 minutes and finished with six assists.
Dow was the only Beaver to score more than four points in the contest. She scored 22 points and added seven rebounds and four assists. Poli grabbed a game high 13 rebounds and dished out five assists.
Lyndon will be on the road for a pair of NAC games with Lesley University next weekend. The Hornets and Lynx will play at 7:30 pm on Friday, then on 3:00 pm on Saturday. Both games will be played at Medford High School.
