Monday, February 4

In a game that lacked any sort of offensive flow, the Canaan Lady Eagles were able to hold off a scrappy Stratford Lions squad to win their third consecutive game. The pace of this game was slow and methodical as both teams struggled to find consistent scoring opportunities throughout. The Lions showed remarkable resiliency, battling back late to turn this one into a nail-biter. In the end, the Lady Eagles hit clutch free-throws to cement a 32-28 victory.

The Lady Eagles were forced to play with a smaller lineup, as starting center Nicole Flagg was out with an illness. The Lions looked to take advantage on the interior and sent a message on the opening tip. Brittany Ramsey corralled the tip off and promptly drove to the hoop for a quick score seconds into the game. A pair of baskets from Danielle and Vicky Harris gave the Lady Eagles an early two-point lead, but that is as big as the lead would get in the quarter. The Stratford defense held the Canaan offense in check, but the Lions still trailed 8-6 after eight minutes of play.

Miranda Havalotti came up big for the Lady Eagles in the first half. After scoring the final basket of the first quarter on an offensive rebound, Havalotti netted the first three points of the second quarter. Danielle Harris added a nice runner in the lane to cap a 7-0 run that put the Lady Eagles up 13-6. The Lions began settling for jumpers, and tallied only two points in the second quarter. Havalotti would give her team momentum in the final minute before halftime by snaring an offensive rebound on a missed free-throw and putting it in off the glass to increase the Canaan lead to 16-8, where it would stand at intermission.

The Lady Eagles came out of the gate strong, getting buckets from Vicky Harris and Paige Marchand to stretch the lead to double-digits. The Lions would not roll over, and responded with two quick baskets to cut the lead back to 7. The Canaan offense began to hit its stride, and the lead swelled back to 11 after Havalotti scored on a nice turnaround shot from the block with only two minutes remaining in the third quarter. However, the Lions would score the last 5 points of the quarter to get themselves back within striking distance heading into the final quarter. Ramsey connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key, and added a jumper as time expired to make the score 27-21 in Canaan's favor.

The Lions would stretch the 5-0 run that ended the third quarter into an 12-1 to tie the game 28-28 with 2:15 left on the clock. The Lady Eagles could not buy a basket in the final quarter, and failed to make a single shot from the field. Fortunately, the Lady Eagles were calm at the foul line, hitting 5 free throws in the final minutes. Havalotti regained the Canaan lead with a single free throw, and the Lions turned the ball over on their next possession. Marchand would draw a foul and sink two huge foul shots to increase the lead to 3. The Lions had their chances, missing three shots from long range in the final minute. Danielle Harris iced the game with a free throw to make it a two-possession game with only 15 seconds remaining.

The win was the tenth of the season for the Lady Eagles, who now stand at 10-7 overall.