Falcons Knock Off Mohawk in Overtime

(London, Ontario) – The Falcons Women's Basketball team (8-7) took down Mohawk (11-5) in Glenn Johnston Athletic Centre on Wednesday night in thrilling comeback fashion, 68-63 in overtime.

The Falcons started the game off strong with hot shooting beyond the arc. Both Myra Ciccarelli (Hamilton, ON) and Layla Mackenzie (Camlachie, ON) knocked down two triples in the frame to fuel the Birds offence early. Mackenzie, who scored a team high 21 points on the night has been on fire in her previous four games, averaging 18.25 points and three triples per game over that span. Fanshawe was able to carry a 19-12 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter saw a strong response from Mohawk as they rumbled back to outscore Fanshawe 17-8 in the quarter. The scoring burst from the Mountaineers saw them take a 29-27 lead into halftime.

The third quarter was the same story as the second as Mohawk continued to control what was a physical game between the two squads. Despite the Birds best efforts, Mohawk outscored them 19-8 in the quarter, taking a 48-35 lead into the final frame.

Hollywood couldn't write a better script than the fourth quarter fans witnessed Wednesday as the Falcons weren't going down without a fight. Joanna Smith (Simcoe, ON) was a catalyst to the Falcons comeback effort in the fourth quarter as she scored multiple key buckets to spark a Fanshawe run. Smith was also a thorn in the Mountaineers side defensively racking up seven steals on the night. After battling all the way back from their deficit the Falcons found themselves down by three points with 14 seconds left on the clock. The Birds put the ball in the hands of Layla Mackenzie to create a shot and she delivered with an ankle breaking step-back three to tie the game and send it into overtime.

Overtime was all Falcons with senior guard Keren Hasebenebi (London, ON) leading the way. Hasebenebi put a slick move in the post on her defender to score and give Fanshawe a 62-61 lead and moments later came down and nailed a three to extend the lead to 65-61. The Birds never looked back and closed out the game 68-63.

The Falcons will travel to take on Sheridan (2-13) on the road in their final game of the regular season on Saturday February 8^th at 1:00 p.m. The Birds will be hungry for another win as one would secure them a home playoff game. Ashlyn Anderson (Latchford, ON), who is now the single-season record holder for blocks in a season with 33, will be looking to break the single-season rebound record as she sits at 172 for the season, just six away from breaking the record.

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