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by Tom Coombe
Fourth quarters were difficult for the Vermilion Ironhawks this week at Fergus Falls.
With only six players suited up each day, the community college women’s basketball team was competitive for three quarters but faded in the fourth during back-toback defeats at the Spartan Classic.
Host Fergus Falls outscored Vermilion 20-9 in the fourth to pull out a 63-53 win on Tuesday, while the day before St. Cloud Tech broke a 41-all deadlock through three quarters and won 65-49.
The losses also ended a long layoff for Vermilion, which fell to 2-13 on the season in advance of the start of Northern Division play this weekend.
Vermilion had some highglights, including the emergence of freshman guard Lyric Hull-Chiplin.
The Mississippi native poured in a team-high 23 points with 10 rebounds and seven assists against Fergus Falls.
Vermilion racked up 21 third-quarter points to take a 44-43 lead against the Spartans, but the final 10 minutes belonged to the hosts.
Another freshman, Tamia Cahee, added 15 points with rebounds for Vermilion while Amyia Yunker scored five points.
Kharman Wells paced Fergus Falls with 23 points.
Vermilion overcame a 28 percent shooting performance to stay close in the contest.
• In Monday’s opening game, St. Cloud took over in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Ironhawks.
Four Cyclones scored in double figures and they maintained a slight edge on the boards.
Cahee had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Ironhawks, and Hull-Chiplin notched 11 points.
Freshman Angie Schuchardt added six points with nine rebounds for Vermilion.
• The Ironhawks open division play with a long road trip to Thief River Falls on Saturday. They host Itasca Jan. 11.
