XML Box Score Reading, PA - The women's basketball team put together two solid halves of play to beat Albright College 65-59 Monday evening. The Falcons held a slight lead for most of the game but were challenged in the second half by the Lions. Despite the pressure, strong foul shooting in the final minutes propelled the Falcons to victory.
"Everyone who played tonight really contributed," head coach
Mike Miller said. "We executed through the final minutes of the game and made key foul shots. This was a big win for us."
In the early minutes of play, the Falcons (6-5, 2-2) and Lions (7-3, 2-2) seemed very evenly matched. Neither team took more than a two point lead until back-to-back buckets by
Libby Timmer and
Hannah Nichols put the Falcons ahead by six (17-11) with 12:01 left in the half. Moments later, the Falcons pushed their lead to 21-14, their largest lead of the half, but the Lions were still in the fight. Albright worked their way back to tie the game 25-25 with 4:24 left in the half.
At the 2:30 mark, the Falcons were ahead again by six (31-25) after a big three from Nichols and two free throws by
Chelsea Danel. Despite the lead the Falcons were unable to post any points in the final minutes of the half, giving the Lions the opportunity to equalize the score 31-31.
In the second half, Danel started the scoring with her only three of the game to put the Falcons back on top 34-31. The offense continued to click as the Falcons went on a 15-7 run to take an eight point lead with under 15 minutes to play.
Once again, the Lions chipped away at their deficit and worked within a single point three seperate times before tying things up at 51-51. Moments later, Albright took the lead 56-55 - their only lead of the second half - with 3:42 to play. But their advantage wouldn't last.
The Falcons used the next two minutes to score six unanswered points - all free throws - to push ahead 61-56. Even though the Lions followed up with three points of their own, both Miller and Danel hit clutch free throws to seal the 65-59 victory.
"We had a lot of energy in the final minutes," Miller said. "We handled the ball well and rebounded well. Hannah [Nichols], Taylor [Miller], and Chelsea [Danel] really stepped up for us."
In fact,
Taylor Miller led the Falcons with 18 points, shooting 7-of-9 from the field. Nichols contributed 16 points and had eight rebounds, while Danel scored 15 points and had three steals.
The Falcons return to action on Wednesday when they host Lycoming College at 6 p.m.
