(London, Ontario) – The No. 8 nationally ranked Fanshawe Women's Basketball team (12-1) hosted No. 3 Humber (12-1) at Fanshawe Athletics annual Falcons Fest event on Saturday evening. It was a milestone night for Falcons shooting guard Mikhaila Wright (London, ON), who is the first ever Women's Basketball player to score 1000 OCAA league points in a Falcons jersey. In an outstanding game between two of the best teams in the country in front of a packed house, Fanshawe came away with a 101-98 overtime victory.
The Falcons came out flying, taking a 16-2 lead in the opening quarter with jumpers from London natives Mikhaila Wright and Chuot Angou. Alison Cotton (London, ON) then scored on a put-back, one of her six offensive rebounds in her first home appearance of the season. The Hawks were able to chip away at the lead but Natalie Warren (London, ON) scored four points to end the first quarter. The red and white held a 29-20 advantage after the opening frame.
Humber showed why they are number three in the nation in the second quarter. The Hawks outscored the Falcons 31-10 to take a 12-point lead into the locker room at half time.
The third quarter saw the crowd go crazy on a Wright layup, which was her 1000th career point. The Falcons also stepped it up on the defensive end, holding the Hawks to 13 points in the frame. At the end of the third quarter the score was 64-59 for the visitors.
Humber's Jahnae Gyles scored back-to-back buckets in the final frame to keep the Hawks on top. With less than four minutes remaining, the Falcons found themselves down 11. Backed by outstanding crowd support in a wild Glenn Johnston Athletics Centre, Fanshawe was able to claw their way back with defensive pressure and a pair of deep triples from Angou. Sydney Kendellen (London, ON) tied the game at 84 with two clutch free throws to force overtime.
The high-energy offense of both teams continued in the extra frame, as Kendellen hit two 3-pointers for the Falcons. Second year guard Jessica Jordan (Chatham, ON) came up big in overtime with a strong take to the rim, followed by a shot to give the home squad the lead. Wright would close out the game with free throws to give Fanshawe the 101-98 victory. All five Fanshawe starters recorded double-digit scoring in the win, led by Wright who had an incredible 31 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals. She is first in Fanshawe Women's Basketball all-time scoring with 1016 career points, all-time rebounds with 582 and blocks with 92.
The Falcons will travel to Sarnia for their next game against the Lambton Lions (9-4) on Wednesday, January 29.