FAIRMONT —
No arrests were made Friday afternoon at the Joe Retton Arena, but perhaps one should have been.
That’s because Fairmont State’s women’s basketball team literally stole a victory away from visiting Clarion (Pa.) University in the opening round of the WVIAC/PSAC Challenge.
FSU’s 70-68 win in the season opener for both schools was thrilling to say the least and the outcome definitely wasn’t decided until the final horn had sounded.
Full final statistics of the game were not available after the contest due to a computer error, but it certainly didn’t take a mathematician to conclude that the Lady Falcons overcame an absolute horrible afternoon of shooting both from the field and at the free throw line to record the win.
“I learned a long time ago if you win by two or 42 it doesn’t matter,” said FSU coach Steve McDonald. “I also learned a long time ago that I’d
rather learn from winning than losing. As a result, we’re thrilled. We executed a few things very well down the stretch both offensively and defensively. We learned a lot about our team today and we learned it in a win.”
FSU All-American senior point guard Kaitlin Snyder endured arguably her worst shooting performance from both 3-point range and the foul line in the win, but with the outcome still in question Snyder, who was 0-of-11 from long range until the final four minutes, drained her only two threes of the contest and they were huge. Her first came with 3:50 remaining and gave Fairmont a 64-60 lead. The last one came with 1:12 left to play and the shot clock dangerously close to running out and gave FSU a 69-68 advantage it never lost.
“I’m happy we won. That’s the most important thing — we won,” said Snyder, who still finished with a game-high 26 points and was visibly upset following the contest. “I didn’t shoot well. It happens. I don’t know why, but I just kept shooting. That’s what shooters do.”
Fairmont got Clarion to turn the basketball over three times in the final minute, but couldn’t put the game away because of missed free throws. As a team Fairmont was just 18-of-32 from the foul line in the win. Snyder missed the front end of a one-and-one with 22 seconds left and then Hailey Garrett connected on just one-of-two free throws with 11 seconds remaining to give FSU its 70-68 lead.
“I really wanted that second one,” said Garrett, who finished with 13 points, including nine in the second half and also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. “I’d have felt a lot better if it had gone down, still though we found a way to win today. It certainly wasn’t pretty by any means. We struggled shooting, but at the end of the day we got the victory which is the most important thing.”
Clarion never got a good look at a shot in the final 11 seconds. Tania Holmes got off an off-balance one-handed shot in the waning seconds which was partially blocked by the Lady Falcons and rolled out of bounds with three-tenths of a second remaining giving the Lady Golden Eagles one last chance. On the ensuing inbounds play, Clarion got the ball into Aleya Miller in the paint but she never handled it cleanly and was unable to get off a quick shot attempt before the final buzzer sounded.
Snyder’s 26-point performance put her over the 1,500-point mark for her career. She currently has 1,518 career points which ranks her eighth in school history.
FSU, which improved to 1-0, also got 14 points and five rebounds from Emily Lohr and eight points and five rebounds off the bench from backup forward Kendra Holmes.
Clarion, which fell to 0-1, was led by Ann Deibert’s 14 points and five rebounds. The Lady Golden Eagles also got 12 points apiece from both Holmes and Lauren Savulchak. Savulchak also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
Fairmont State will tangle with Indiana (Pa.) University today in the final round of the challenge at 4 p.m. IUP (1-0) rolled past Concord University (0-1) in the first round of the challenge Friday, 72-44.
“It was good for us to get that first one under our belts,” said Snyder. “It wasn’t very pretty, but we won. Now we have to quickly put it behind us and get ready for a really good IUP team. We watched them play Concord and they’re very, very good. We’re going to have to play a lot better (today).”
Clarion and Concord will open the day’s action at 2 p.m.
Fairmont State University’s men’s basketball team will close out the day’s festivities at 7:30 p.m. when they battle Ohio-Eastern University in their season opener at the Joe Retton Arena.
Fairmont State Sports
Related Photos
-
Fairmont State’s Kaitlin Snyder (right) gathers a loose ball in front of Clarion’s Tania Holmes during the second half Friday.
-
Fairmont State's Tiffany Nicholson looks for two as she heads to the basket as Clarion’s Emma Fickel looks for the steal.
-
Fairmont State's Kendra Holmes (14) and Briana Welch (20) guard Clarion’s Mariah Gador.
-
Fairmont State's Hailey Garrett dribbles around Clarion’s Ann Deibert.
-
Fairmont State's Emily Lohr looks for an open teammate as Clarion’s Aleya Miller guards.
-
Fairmont State’s Briana Welch (right) tries to go around Clarion’s Ann Deibert during Friday’s season opener.
Stealing a win: PHOTOS
Lady Falcons struggle but prevail, 70-68
- Fairmont State Sports
-
-
FSU, MVB team up for successful tournament
The Falcons and MVB paired to complete th 21st annual MVB-Fairmont State Athletic Association Golf Tournament at the Bridgeport Country Club on Friday.
Fairmont State’s mission during the event was to sell out, so thar FSU could raise as much money as possible for the athletic department. -
Cobb named Atlantic Player of the Year
Fairmont State’s Chelsea Cobb was named the Daktronics Atlantic Region Player of the Year and outfielder Holly Frampton was a first team all-region selection. Freshman Courtney Iacobacci was a second team all-region selection.
-
Three Falcons earn All-WVIAC honors
Thee Fairmont State University baseball players earned All-West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference honors, the league announced Wednesday.
-
FSU sweeps major WVIAC softball honors
Fairmont State University’s softball program took home all four major postseason awards given out by the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
-
Caridi challenges FSU to ‘be brave’
Tony Caridi’s message Saturday evening to Fairmont State University’s student athletes, coaches, administration, alumni and friends was simple, yet very compelling, especially during this time of change in Falcon athletics.
-
Falcons fall short in tourney championship
West Virginia State defeated Fairmont State, 3-1, in game two of the WVIAC Tournament Finals to clinch the WVIAC Tournament Championship. FSU picked up a 4-1 victory early in the day to force a second game.
-
Falcons, State to clash for softball title
Fairmont State University and West Virginia State softball teams will clash today for the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament Championship.
-
COLUMN: Davis, Monroe set to lead FSU
As early impressions go, Garrett Davis could not have made more of a favorable one in the eyes of Jason Woodman.
Woodman, Fairmont State’s first-year head football coach and a Marion County native, certainly knew about the senior middle linebacker before he even took the gig last December. -
Falcon ‘D’ shines in 40-18 win: PHOTOS
As spring games go, Fairmont State University’s annual Maroon-White contest Thursday evening at Duvall-Rosier Field ran pretty much to form.
Using a modified scoring system that awarded points to the defense for turnovers and stops, the Falcons’ Maroon (defensive unit) came up with three turnovers and a number of stops to roll to a 40-18 victory over the White (offensive unit) in front of more than 500 fans eager to get their first glimpse of the new-look Falcons. -
N.C. point guard signs with Falcons
Fairmont State might have its point guard of the future.
Second-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun announced his first signing for the 2013-14 season on Thursday, as the program welcomed North Carolina standout Caleb Davis into the Falcon family. - More Fairmont State Sports Headlines
-
