Monday, February 25

The Canaan Lady Eagles put out their best effort Monday night in West Rutland, but it was not enough. The 8th-seeded Golden Horde combined solid defense with timely offense to knock off the 9th-seeded Lady Eagles in the opening round of the playoffs. Attempting to play the role of spoiler, the Lady Eagles hung tough through the first half, but saw their chances of pulling off an upset come to a shattering halt when junior forward Paige Marchand was carried off the floor with a broken bone in her ankle. Without one of their best scorers and defenders in Marchand, the Lady Eagles' lack of depth was exposed. The Golden Horde took advantage and clamped down on defense to earn the 52-33 victory.

The first quarter could be easily broken into two big runs from each team. Canaan jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead and held that advantage until midway through the quarter. West Rutland, fueled by the shooting of Katie Lincoln, would respond by ending the quarter of an 8-0 run to retake the lead. Lincoln accounted for all 10 of her team's points in the opening eight minutes. The outside shooting from Lincoln stretched the Canaan defense, opening up lanes to the basket. The Golden Horde began establishing a presence in the paint through constant dribble penetration, and extended their lead at the free throw line.

The Horde quelled any hopes of a comeback from the Lady Eagles in the third quarter, increasing their lead to 17. Solid contributions off the bench in addition to Lincoln's big night spelled doom for Canaan. The Lady Eagles could not gain any ground in the fourth quarter, and saw their season slowly coming to an end.

Freshman Annick Marquis was the high scorer for the Lady Eagles with 11 points. Nicole Flagg added 9 of her own.

This loss marked the final game for Canaan seniors Danielle Harris and Miranda Havalotti.