By MICHAEL KELLY

For the Express

CANAJOHARIE — The visiting Northville Lady Falcons fell Tuesday night to Mackenzie Stahler, Alicia Stetin and the rest of the Canajoharie Lady Cougars, 53-36, for the third time this season.

Stahler paced the Lady Cougars for most of the first half, with Stetin taking over in the third quarter. In the stanza following halftime, Stetin registered a dozen points and led the Lady Cougars in pushing their lead from 11 to 19 points heading into the final quarter.

“We were working the ball very nicely that quarter and [Stetin] was catching the ball down low and scoring,” said Canajoharie head coach Marie Stahler. “She was doing a really nice job.”

The undersized Lady Falcons had no answer for the 5-foot-11-inch senior center.

“It’s tough,” said Northville head coach David Bush. “She’s tall, she’s talented, and with the lack of size we have, they just threw it over the top of us.

“With the size she has, it’s just tremendous for them,” continued Bush. “She knocked down her shots and there’s nothing we can do except foul her.”

For the game, Stetin finished with a career-high 20 points, as well as nine rebounds.

Northville (6-5, 3-4 Western Athletic Conference North Division) was able to make a run to start the fourth quarter, cutting Canajoharie’s (9-2, 7-0) lead to 11 points with a few minutes to play.

“We put a box-and-one on (Mackenzie) Stahler and that helped a lot,” said Bush. “She’s fantastic; she’s one of the best I’ve seen around. We were able to get the ball out of her hands and make the rest of their team have to do some work.”

Mackenzie Stahler had her usual all-around effort, recording 13 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists.

Allison Wadsworth led Northville with 18 points, five rebounds and four steals.

For most of the first half, Northville struggled to beat Canajoharie’s 1-2-2 full-court zone press, turning the ball over almost 20 times in the first half. The result was the Lady Falcons only registering 19 shots in the first half, a number dwarfed by Canajoharie’s 35 attempts in the first two quarters.

“We just didn’t take care of the ball at the beginning,” said Bush. “In the second half, we did, and, combined with the (better) spacing we had, we were good to go.”

Marie Stahler said the fourth quarter was the best she had seen the Lady Falcons play this season.

“They’re improving each time and it’s nice to see that for them,” the coach said.

The contest marked the beginning of the second trip through the WAC North for both teams. Bush said his goal for his team for the rest of the season is to take advantage of its remaining schedule to move up the ranks of the division; Marie Stahler said she just wants her less experienced team members to keep logging minutes, hoping the playing time will help the group of players around her daughter and Stetin.

“I really just want us to look crisper and be more relaxed out there,” said Marie Stahler. “I want them to feel comfortable out there with what they’re doing. I think they mostly are, but sometimes they still get nervous.”