Two women successfully fight off knife attack

On Sunday morning while hiking west of Fort Collins, CO, 2 women were attacked by a man with a knife. The women were able to fight off the attacker using a walking stick. One of the women sustained some wounds on her hands and arms (defensive wounds, no doubt).
This story is awesome. Stories of successful defenses against a knife attack are hard to come by. Think about how it transpired and the situation and environment...in the wilderness, no witnesses, not hiding his identity, very willing to use the knife, 2 victims. This would almost certainly have ended badly for these girls had they not fought back! Using the stick was probably instinctive but a great choice nonetheless. The stick gives you reach, which can nullify the advantage of an edged weapon. The only way this could've ended even better than it did is if the 2nd girl had a gun, then the predator would not now likely be able to attack anyone again.
When using a stick to defend your self against an edged weapon, use both hands and strike for whatever is nearest to you to start. Don't 'over commit' in case you miss you don't want your back turned. keep moving laterally as you strike, making yourself a hard, moving target. If you are trained, use the stick in conjunction with your legs to keep distance and do extra damage.
Good guys 2, bad guy 0.