The Lady Eagles head into Christmas break 6-0 after winning a dog fight over Central 56-55 Monday night.

The energy was high in the Central gymnasium. The Lady Dragons brought a roaring student section, and the gym was packed.

It wasn’t an easy win however. After losing a 12 point lead, it all came down to a routine fade-away jumper in the final minute by junior forward Alexis Cannistraci.

“When I put it up I thought it wasn’t going in.  I was scared.  Everything slowed down, but luckily the shot fell,” said Cannistraci.

But with 20 seconds left, the Lady Eagles still had to play defense.  Cannistraci came up big again with a defensive rebound to seal the victory with two seconds left.

“I got the rebound and thought, don’t pass, just cover it up!” said Cannistraci, who was able was able to do just that until the final buzzer sounded.

¨We didnt protect the ball in key situations, but our girls stepped up and hit big plays,¨ said Tyrone Head Coach Luke Rhoades.

In the first quarter, both teams struggled to get their offense going. At the end of the quarter, Cannistraci put back an offensive board to tie the game at ten. Seconds later, Central came down with a drive and a score closing the quarter at 12-10.

The Lady Eagles came alive in the second with Kasey Engle scoring 11 or her 17 points, 6 out of 7 coming from the free throw line. Christine added 11 of her 19 as well.

Tyrone pulled ahead for a 12 point lead but soon found themselves in a nail biter as Central hit a pair of key threes early in the fourth. However, Central was unable to make some easy layups which put the Lady Eagles in a good spot.

¨We did not make very well adjustments against Centrals defense, which allowed them to stay in the game with us. I am just happy that we came through; it was very tough,¨ Kasey Engle added.

The Lady Dragons hit another pair of threes to put them up by one, before Cannistraci hit the game winning jumper.

“It was such a great atmosphere and being able to pull out the win up there puts us in a great spot going into Christmas break,” added Christine.

Christine led all scorers with 19 points, Engle added 17, and Cannistraci connected on 11. Hannah Johnston led Central with 18 points and Cassie Mock added 12 for the Lady Dragons.

The Lady Eagles are off until December 28 when they head to Bishop Guilfoyle for the Lady Marauders holiday tournament.  The first game will be against Blairsville (5-2).

Box Score

Tyrone (56): Engle 3 7-8 17, Christine 8 5-7 19, Cannistraci 5 1-1 11, Sprankle 1 0-0 2, Lehman 1 2-3 4, Shaw 1 0-0 2. Totals– 18 15-19 56.

Central (55): Johnston 7 3-3 18, Mock 3 3-4 12, Kensinger 1 4-4 6, O. Smith 1 3-4 5, Boyles 2 0-0 4, Negley 1 2-2 2, Fernandes 1 2-2 5, Long 1 0-1 3. Totals– 15 17-20 55.

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Central                 12  14  11  18 — 55

Tyrone                  10  23 12  11 — 56

3-point goals: Central 4 (Johnston, Mock, Fernandes, Long) Tyrone 5 (Engle 2, Christine 2, Shaw).

Junior Varsity:  Tyrone lost 54-29. Cherah Mountz was the high scorer with nine points.