DARTMOUTH, Mass. – The University of Southern Maine got a game-high 32 points from sophomore guard Lucy Wiles enroute to a 75-58 victory over UMass Dartmouth in Little East Conference action on Saturday at Tripp Gym. The nationally-ranked Huskies move to 22-2 overall and 14-1 in conference play, while the Corsairs are now 9-14 with a 6-8 mark in the LEC.
The Huskies opened the game's scoring on a dominant run, opening a 9-2 advantage through the first four minutes of the contest. A three-pointer from senior guard
Kasey Oliver helped cut the deficit for the Corsairs (9-5) and a trey from senior guard
Cristina Negron – coupled with a jumper by rookie guard
Amanda Ebenezer – saw the margin narrow to 11-10 with 2:38 to play.
Despite the momentum, UMD couldn't hold off the nationally-ranked Huskies as they closed out the frame on a 7-0 run – including five points from sophomore guard Lucy Wiles – for an 18-10 advantage heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Huskies kept up the pressure as a four-point swing saw the visitors open a 24-10 lead. Senior guard
Melanie DeMeo cut down the run with a jumper inside, but USM continued to press. DeMeo added a step back jumper with 4:48 to close the margin to 26-14, but successful makes at the charity stripe from graduate student Jaycie Christopher pushed the visitors out to a 29-16 lead with 1:35 to play.
DeMeo countered, dropping in a pair of free throws of her own, but Southern Maine got a three-pointer from Wiles and another two made shots at the line from Christopher to head into the halftime with a 34-19 advantage after 20 minutes of play.
Out of the intermission, the Huskies continued to gain momentum, going on a 4-0 run until a layup from Negron cut the advantage to 38-21 with 8:41 remaining. Southern Maine utilized a number of scoring runs to build up a solid lead, jumping out to a 48-23 margin with 6:18 to play.
The Corsairs countered with a pair of free throws from DeMeo seconds later, but a 10-2 run from the visitors saw the Huskies push the lead to 58-27 behind a three-pointer from Christopher at 3:40. UMass Dartmouth battled, as a jumper from Ebenezer – coupled with a shot from beyond the arc from grad student and forward
Kaila Pruitt – closed the gap to 58-32 with less than three minutes in the frame.
Southern Maine took a 62-38 lead into the final quarter of play, but the Corsairs continued to fight as Oliver connected on a driving layup while Ebenezer nailed a jumper to cut the margin to 62-42 with 8:10 on the clock.
The Corsairs looked to cut the margin further, but the Huskies offense proved too powerful as a jumper from Christopher and five straight points from Wiles made it a 71-47 contest with 3:50 remaining. UMD began to chip away as Ebenezer dropped in a jumper, while rookie guard
Jillian Doherty hit a three, but the Huskies continued to find the net to close out the victory.
UMass Dartmouth was paced by DeMeo, who posted a team-best 18 points, adding two boards, an assists, a block and three steals. Ebenezer completed her first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Pruitt added eight points with three boards. Oliver had a team-high three assists on the day.
Prior to the game, the Corsairs honored their four graduates for all their hard work and efforts with the squad. Recognized were DeMeo, Oliver, Negron and graduate student guard,
Yasmine Santos.
The Corsairs return to action on Wednesday, traveling to UMass Boston for a 5pm LEC showdown against the Beacons.
