(London Ontario) - The Fanshawe Women's Basketball team (3-3) welcomed the top ranked Women's team in the province, Lambton Lions (4-1) into the nest Wednesday evening and delivered them their first loss of the season in dominating fashion in front of a packed crowd.
The Falcons made a statement with their defence in the first quarter, holding the Lions to only seven points. It was a point emphasis early for the Birds to attack on defence as they stayed tight to Lambton ball handlers and closed out on shooters all night long. Shauntee Centen (London, ON) provided a spark off the bench in the opening quarter as she drove inside for two layups moments after entering the game. A hard-fought quarter saw the Falcons take an early 13-7 lead heading into the second.
The second quarter saw more good play by Fanshawe as they moved the ball around with a purpose, generating lots of easy looks. Layla Mackenzie (Camalchie, ON) caught fire in the quarter as she drilled two shots from beyond the arc to help the Birds extend their lead. However, a strong Lambton squad kept things close as Fanshawe closed the half with a 25-18 lead.
The halftime break did little to cool down Mackenzie as she continued to knock down shots from long range, hitting two more threes in the frame. Local guard Keren Hasebenebi also contributed to the Fanshawe offense, hitting two shots for five points in the quarter. The hot hand was contagious, as Myra Ciccarelli (Hamilton, ON) chimed in with two three pointers of her own to help the Falcons outscore Lambton in the third quarter 26-12. The hot shooting combined with clamping defence saw Fanshawe head to the fourth quarter up 51-30.
In the fourth quarter Fanshawe looked to slow the pace of the game and control the lead, which is exactly what they did. Their stifling defence from the first quarter never stopped and it proved overwhelming for Lambton's offence. The Falcons showed their depth, as 12 different players scored in the game and the team notched 19 assists. Sidney Deleary (Chippewas of the Thames) and Jaimie Stahlbaum (Aylmer, ON) would knock down shots from the charity stripe to help Fanshawe seal the game by a comfortable score of 62-42.
Tonight was Fanshawe's 519Pursuit Sock game and we would like to thank everyone who flocked the nest and donated to this great initiative. Together, we surpassed our goal of 519 and collected 689 pairs of socks to support the cause.
The Birds will be back in action as they travel to Windsor to take on St. Clair (2-2) Saturday November 16th at 1:00pm.
-30-