Falcon women hang on for narrow win

A rematch of Saturday night's tussle in Santa Rosa was even closer on Tuesday, but returned the same result as the host Falcons held on for a heart-stopping 4-point win over Santa Rosa, 51-47 at Falcon Gym.  The Falcon defense set the tone in the first half, holding the Bear Cubs to just 16 points for a 29-16 advantage.  The teams reversed roles in the third quarter as the Falcons managed to score just 4 points in the quarter.  The final 10 minutes had no shortage of drama, but in the end the Falcon defense made the stops they needed to hang on for the win.  With two players knocked out of the game by injuries, the Falcons had to rely on post players Eva Graf and Megan Williams to step up, and they responded with authority.  Graf finished with a game-high (and season best) 12 points, while Williams hit three key buckets in the paint during the fourth quarter to finish with 6 points.  Macie Purbaugh again orchestrated the offense while scoring 11 points and Delaney Keddie added 10 points.

With the win, the Falcons (8-13 overall, 3-6 in Big 8) are just one game behind Santa Rosa for fourth place.  They'll play at American River (0-5, 2-11) on Friday night.