MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – The Lynn Fighting Knights pulled off an impressive victory over the Barry Buccaneers, Saturday afternoon, 70-68. Lynn trailed by as much as nine points with less than five minutes remaining before sparking a game-changing 9-0 run. Ella Fiore and Danielle Montelbano combined for 39 in the winning effort.
The victory marks the fifth straight for the Fighting Knights. They are now 7-4 in the SSC and 12-7 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- Fiore opened the scoring for the Fighting Knights with a jump shot to put Lynn ahead 2-0
- Rachel Romich drained a three-pointer following a steal by Montelbano
- A layup from Fiore pushed the Fighting Knights lead to 11 with 4:35 left in the first, the largest lead of the night for Lynn
- Makayla Hemingway drained her first shot from beyond the arc to keep the lead at 11, 22-11, with 3:13 showing in the first
- A Montelbano free throw closed out the first quarter with Lynn leading 27-16
- Barry managed to cut the lead to one in the second quarter
- The Fighting Knights closed the half ahead by three points following a layup from Montelbano
- Barry stormed back in the third quarter, taking its first lead with 7:14 left in the third quarter
- Carly Stroemel tied the game at 44 a piece following a layup with 6:54 left in the quarter
- The Buccaneers pieced together an 8-0 run to go ahead by six with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter
- Montelbano once again was the final scorer of the quarter following her second free throw to put the Fighting Knights down by five headed into the fourth
- The first half of the fourth quarter saw the Buccaneers begin to pull away from the Fighting Knights by stretching their lead to nine, their largest of the night
- Fiore scored back-to-back layups to cut the lead to five with less than three minutes in the game
- Hemingway forced a turnover and a steal, leading to a fast break bucket for Montelbano to cut the lead to three with less than two minutes on the clock
- Fiore raced down the floor and scored two after a game changing block on the other end of the court
- Montelbano converted the traditional and-one play to put the Fighting Knights back ahead at two with 0:12 left on the clock
- Barry tied the game with seconds remaining
- Montelbano converted her two free throws to seal the victory for the Fighting Knights with seconds left in the match
FIGHTING KNIGHT STATS:
- The match had six ties and six lead changes
- The Fighting Knights outscored the Buccaneers inside the paint by 20 (38-18)
- Montelbano has now scored in double figures in each of her last 12 games
- Fiore led the Fighting Knights with 22 points, adding seven rebounds and five assists
- Romich contributed five "stocks" (three steals and two blocks)
- Montelbano had a team-high eight rebounds while also adding 17 points
- 11 of Montelbano's 17 points came from the free throw line and she ranks second in the SSC with 84 foul shots made
- Lynn outscored Barry 23-16 in the fourth quarter
- The Fighting Knights committed a season-low eight turnovers and have just 17 turnovers in their last two games
- Lynn held its opponent under 40% shooting for the sixth straight game
UP NEXT:
- Lynn is back at home on Wednesday, January 31, as they get set to take on the No. 17 Nova Southeastern Sharks. Tip-Off is set for 5:30 pm.
