BREVARD, N.C. – The Brevard College women's lacrosse team (4-4) defeated Warren Wilson (4-5) by a final of 16-6 to retain the Ridge Rivalry trophy for the fourth-consecutive season on Tuesday evening at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
 
Over the four-year course of the rivalry matchup, BC has been able to outscore WWC by a staggering 79-35 margin.
 
Brevard's well-balanced attack featured seven goals by junior Xan Hill, as the Fort Mill, South Carolina product led all scorers with seven goals while adding an assist for eight total points. Hill's seven goals is a season-high, and matches her career-high set last season at Warren Wilson (Feb. 29). Senior midfielder Emily Denaga added five goals and two assists, while also winning eight draw controls, causing three turnovers, and grabbing three ground balls in an all-around effort for the Buford, Georgia native.
 
Sophomore attacker Arianna Casertano sparked the Tornado offense with three second-quarter goals, while dishing two dimes out for five total points. Kelsey Hamrick also scored and dished an assist out, while Madi Norris distributed two assists alongside four ground balls and two caused turnovers on the defensive end. Senior defender Grace Blanton controlled a career-high nine ground balls while also totaling three caused turnovers and an assist. Audrey Hanson and Sofia Hardin also distributed assists in the game.
 
Kyla Smith-Fondall (2-4) was once again formidable in goal, totaling seven saves and five ground balls. In front of her, the defensive charge was led by senior defender Alyse Moore. The fourth-year Tornado from Pickens, South Carolina caused a game-high five turnovers and added four ground balls to her ledger.
 
Warren Wilson was paced by the efforts of Sydney Webber who scored three times and won 12 draw controls. Callie Aerni added two goals and two assists, while Taylor Smith also scored for the Owls.
 
BC totaled a season-best 27 points as a team on 16 goals and 11 assists, while the defense secured 35 ground balls.
 
Brevard kicked things off in high gear as Denaga controlled the opening draw and found Hill for a goal nine seconds into action. Hill scored her second goal of the period at the 8:39 mark off a Norris assist, and forced a WWC timeout after her third-straight goal with 3:28 left in the stanza off Hamrick's dime. Hill's fourth and final goal of the first quarter came with 1:10 left on the clock, as Hanson found the cutting attacker. BC took a four-goal lead into the second quarter of play.
 
Warren Wilson was able to respond with four goals of its own in the second period, matching BC's output in the quarter. Smith scored off Aerni's assist just 28 seconds into the stanza to trim the deficit to a 4-1 margin. Brevard responded as Casertano scored two goals in a row off assists by Hardin and Denaga (power play), with Brevard opening up a 6-1 lead. Weber scored two goals sandwiched around a Denaga strike off a Hill assist, making the score 7-3 in favor of the home side with 6:15 to go in the second period. WWC trimmed the deficit to three on Weber's third goal of the quarter, but Casertano matched it with her third goal of the period, lifting the Tornados to an 8-4 advantage at the break.
 
Hill led all goal-scorers with four goals at the break, adding an assist for five points. Casertano added three goals, with Denaga contributing a goal and two assists. BC led the battle for draw controls at halftime, 9-6, with Denaga and Weber controlling six apiece.
 
Defensively, Smith-Fondall registered five saves, while Grace Blanton recorded a team-high five ground balls. Blanton, Casertano, Denaga, and Moore all caused two turnovers apiece in the first half of action, as the Tornados pressured WWC into 15 total turnovers (11 caused) through the first 30 minutes of play.
 
Much like the start of the first quarter, BC came out of the intermission surging with three-straight goals in the first nine minutes of action. Denaga scored off a Norris dime at the 13:32 mark, and after five scoreless minutes, Hill went coast-to-coast to extend BC's lead to six. Finally, Denaga put in an assist by Casertano at 6:19, forcing an Owl timeout.
 
Brevard kept rolling out of the timeout, as Casertano found a cutting Hill to balloon BC's lead up even further, 12-4. Denaga then put in a free-position shot, and after another Aerni score, Hamrick controlled the draw and sliced through the defense for her first goal of the day – putting BC up 14-5 as the third quarter drew to a close.
 
Two free-position goals by Denaga and Hill extended BC's lead to an 11-goal margin, 16-5, with just over six minutes left to go in the game. Warren Wilson found the back of the net once down the stretch, but BC iced it from there as the Tornados retained the trophy for the fourth year in a row.
 
Overall, the Tornados outshot Warren Wilson 36-16 and forced the Owls into 30 total turnovers (19 caused). Brevard converted 19 clear attempts, secured 35 ground balls, and won 13 draw controls while scoring three of its goals off the free position.
 
The Tornados return to their home turf for Senior Day on Sunday at 2 p.m. as Brevard welcomes Greensboro to town. A special Senior Day ceremony will commence before the contest at approx. 1:45 p.m.
 
To follow the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Athletics, follow the Tornados on Twitter/Instagram @BCTornados, subscribe to 'Brevard College Tornados' on YouTube and SoundCloud, and follow 'Brevard College Tornado Athletics' on Facebook.  In addition, follow 'brevardcollege' on Flickr for photos from BC events.