Hornets hold off Beavers for NAC win

LYNDON CENTER, Vt. -- Lyndon State College stormed out to a double-digit first-half lead and held off the University of Maine at Farmington for a 62-55 North Atlantic Conference women's basketball victory at Stannard Gymnasium this evening.

The Beavers (8-13 overall, 7-8 NAC) are scheduled to visit Johnson State College Saturday at 1 p.m., while the Hornets improved to 8-13 (6-8).

Kenni Norton (Strong, Maine) had 13 points to lead the Beavers and teammate Paige Saunders (Surry, Maine) chipped in 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Rachel Clement (Gray, Maine) collected nine points and five steals for the Beavers and Lindsay Ranquist (Owls Head, Maine) had nine points and four assists.

Donna Lawson (Irasburg, Vt.) scored 24 points – including the 1,000th of her collegiate career – to propel Lyndon. Needing only 13 points to reach the prestigious mark, Lawson went on the offensive early collecting 13 points thus far in the first half  before connecting on a 3-pointer from the left wing to give her 1,000 for her Lyndon career.

Lawson also collected 24 rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in the contest while Chelsea Watson (Eliot, Maine) added 14 points and two steals. Naomi White (Danville, Vt.) had 11 points for the Hornets.

On the strength of 16 points by Lawson, the Hornets were able to lead by as many as 14 points in the opening. Seven straight points from Lawson gave Lyndon a 33-19 advantage with 2:15 until intermission. The Hornets led 33-24 at the break.

The Beavers, who scored the final five points of the first, opened the second half with six straight points, capped by a Clement 3-pointer, making it 33-30 with 18:53 remaining. Lyndon followed with the next five points to quell UMF's 11-0 streak.

The Hornets kept the Beavers at a distance throughout the half with a pair of Lawson foul shots making it 58-49 with 4:25 to go. Holly Oliver (Belgrade Lakes, Maine) converted a three-point play to knock the lead to 58-52 with 3:55 remaining.

After three minutes of offensive dormancy from both teams, UMF cut the lead down to 58-55 on a Bianca Stoutamyer (Madison, Maine) three with 56 seconds left in the contest, but the Hornets connected on four of six free throws down the stretch to finish off the 62-55 win.