FAIRMONT —
It hasn’t always been pretty or maybe what you’d expect from a team picked to win the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in preseason, but Fairmont State’s women’s basketball team has found a way.
The Lady Falcons, who returned all five starters this season and the league’s reigning Player of the Year in senior guard Kaitlin Snyder, started the season 1-2 after games with Pennsylvania schools IUP, Clarion and California.
Since then, FSU has rebounded in a big way and sits at 4-2 and an unbeaten 3-0 in conference play.
In each WVIAC victory, something different has keyed the Lady Falcons.
Against Shepherd, it was a strong defense that led to transition chances and easy baskets on the other end.
In the team’s first road win of the year last week over Pitt-Johnstown, FSU bounced back after an eight-day layoff to end the game on an 11-5 run.
And in last Saturday’s 81-69 comeback victory at home against Bluefield State, the Lady Falcons overcame poor shooting night and a 10-2 deficit to begin the contest.
Putting the ball in the basket has been a season-long issue for FSU.
Through six games this year, the Lady Falcons are shooting a collective 39.4 percent from the field and 26.2 percent from the 3-point stripe. Even free throws, which have traditionally been a strong suit for the program, haven’t gone down, as FSU is shooting 65.4 percent.
Last Saturday was no different, as the team hit just 24 of 63 field goals (38.1 percent) and went 30-of-44 (68.2 percent) on free throws. They also missed a slew of layups on the afternoon.
At the same time, they were also were missing some key players. Junior forward Kendra Holmes was out with a shoulder injury. and then 2:20 into the game starter Emily Lohr tweaked her right knee.
That forced Hanna Gunnoe into action, and the Lady Falcons barely missed a beat, as the redshirt freshman had a career-high 11 points and eight rebounds.
That resolve and the ability to adjust on the fly has been one of the reasons for FSU’s recent surge, and was certainly a big part of Saturday’s comeback.
“I think a key for us was where maybe I personally or some other players may have lacked at times we had teammates who picked us up and played well,” FSU forward Hailey Garrett said.
“I’m very proud of Hanna (Gunnoe) for the way she played. She came in when Emily went down, and we really didn’t miss a beat. We still were able to run our plays with her. She rebounded, scored, defended and really provided a spark for us.”
“For us to win by 12 after being down 10-2 to start the game is great,” veteran FSU coach Steve McDonald said. “I really liked the way our team responded after our first timeout when it was 10-2.”
Despite hitting just 33.3 percent of her shots so far, Snyder again leads the way in the scoring department at 16.8 points per game, off about five points from last season’s average. She’s added a team-best 26 assists, 3.8 rebounds per game and leads the team in 3-pointers made at 11.
Garrett, a North Marion grad and the current WVIAC women’s Player of the Week, is second on the team in scoring (14.0) and leads in rebounding (7.8).
Fellow former Husky Tiffany Nicholson averages 8.8 points, and has added 19 assists and a team-best 21 steals. Lohr is scoring at a 8.5 points per game clip, and Briana Welch averages 6.7. Holmes has averaged 7.5 points and 6.5 boards off the bench.
Fairmont State returns to action Saturday with a 2 p.m. non-conference home game at the Joe Retton Arena against Virginia-Wise. FSU closes the calendar year with a road game at Charleston Dec. 15 before getting back to work on Jan. 3 when it visits Wheeling Jesuit.
Email Nick Cammuso at ncammuso@timeswv.com or follow him on Twitter@NickCammusoTWV.
Sports
Lady Falcons rebound after slow start
- Sports
-
-
Gallagher making a name for himself in racing world
Thornville, Ohio, native Patrick Gallagher has been putting the pedal to the metal since he was a child.
-
HERTZEL COLUMN- Bailey, Austin turning heads in St. Louis
This will not surprise you if you’ve been in this neck of the woods the past three years, but it sure got those good folks in St. Louis fired up.
-
Pirates end Latos’ streak, beat Reds, 4-0
Pedro Alvarez singled home a pair of runs in the first inning, and the Pittsburgh Pirates ended Mat Latos’ streak of 21 regular-season starts without a loss, beating the Cincinnati Reds 4-0 on Tuesday night.
-
FURFARI COLUMN- Are Clements and Luck fair to media and jobs?
This column is going to be strictly a “think piece” — mine! I feel it’s one none of the younger columnists could or would undertake.
-
‘Heisman curse’ may come to an end
When you hear the term “Heisman Trophy,” you think of Desmond Howard striking the pose in the end zone against Ohio State in the 1991 football season. You think of Tim Tebow’s speech following the loss to Ole Miss. You think of the hail mary from Doug Flutie to Gerard Phelan that gave Boston College the win over the Miami Hurricanes.
-
Pirates give up 4 solo homers, lose to Reds, 4-1
A hanging a slider, a fastball that strayed right down the middle. With no margin for error, left-hander Francisco Liriano made two of them that went a long way and decided a close game.
-
Local lineman commits to WVU
Morgantown High offensive lineman Amanii Brown has committed to West Virginia’s 2014 recruiting class.
Brown grew up in Clarksburg before moving to Morgantown during his sophomore year of high school. -
EFHS’s Ronnie Mills battles back from season-ending shoulder injury
All Ronnie Mills felt was numb.
The quarterback of East Fairmont’s football team, Mills was playing at Preston County on a freezing Friday night last season. -
HERTZEL COLUMN- Nehlen talks evolution of football
In many ways, Don Nehlen spent the last football season feeling like a child from the ’50s who had been dropped into our modern society.
-
Underclassmen Richardson, Ferrell and Latocha captains of All-Mon Valley team
Every year, the Times West Virginian evaluates stats and performances of softball players in the area in order to select its All-Mon Valley team.
- More Sports Headlines
-
