Tuesday, December 18

It was a tale of two halves for the Canaan Lady Eagles Tuesday night against the Alexander Galt Pipers. Defense dominated the first half, as only 22 combined points total were scored. However, the Lady Eagles' offense was able to find their groove in the second half and leave the Pipers in the dust, winning by a score of 48-26.

Sluggish movement and sloppy offensive execution ruled the opening half. The Pipers jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead, but would only score 2 additional points in the entire half. The Lady Eagles were not downtrodden by an early deficit, and began slowly chipping away at the Pipers lead. When the first quarter ended, the Lady Eagles had drawn the score even at 8-8.

The Lady Eagles outscored the Pipers twofold in the second quarter. Unfortunately, only 6 points were scored in the entire quarter: 4 from the Lady Eagles, and 2 from the Pipers. At halftime, Canaan held a slim lead at 12-10.

Coach Eric Hurlbert must have tweaked something just right during halftime, because the Lady Eagles came out of the break with much more intensity and precision. The offense found the holes in the Pipers' defense, and converted open shots. Nicole Flagg and Miranda Havalotti controlled the paint in the second half on both ends of the floor. The Pipers struggled mightily to find open shots amidst the stingy Canaan defense, turning the ball over and giving the Lady Eagles crucial extra possessions.

The Pipers had no answer for the balanced Canaan attack. The strong third quarter had put this game out of reach for the Pipers and their floundering offense. Miranda Havalottiwas the high-scorer with 12 points. Danielle Harris and Nicole Flagg added 11 each, and Paige Marchand chipped in with and 10.

The Lady Eagles climbed over .500 (3-2) with the win and are now riding a three-game winning streak after dropping their first two games of the season.