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GORHAM, Maine -- Junior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead five players in double figures as the University of Southern Maine rolled past the Plymouth State University Panthers, 96-61, in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Tuesday night at the Warren Hill Gymnasium.
With the win, Southern Maine moves to 10-1 in the Little East and 15-7 overall. The loss is the third straight for Plymouth State, which fell to 8-13 overall and 1-10 in the LEC.
Cochran was 5-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free throw line for her game-high point total. The 6-foot-1 forward also had two assists, a blocked shot and a steal in 26 minutes.
Junior guard Renee Nicholas (Sebago, Maine/Lake Region) added 14 points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals, while senior forward Becky Dixon (Gardiner, Maine) chipped in with 13 points and five rebounds coming off the bench. Sophomore forward Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) and junior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering) contributed 11 and 10 points respectively.
Senior forward Amanda Kania (Manchester, N.H./West) and junior forward Alicia Doucet (Manchester, N.H./Central) each scored 12 points to pace the Panthers. Sophomore guard Kellie Walsh (Londonderry, N.H.) and junior guard Michaela Galvin (Windham, N.H./Salem) scored seven points apiece.
With the score tied at 14-14 with 13:39 to play in the first half, Southern Maine pulled away on the strength of a 15-0 run. Back-to-back three pointers from senior guard Kaylie DeMillo (Jay, Maine) and Garland sparked the run, and was followed by seven straight points from Dixon. Nicholas closed the outburst with a layup after a steal by Cochran. DeMillo finished the game with eight points, five assists and two steals in limited minutes.
Plymouth State cut the lead to six, 32-26, following a three-pointer from Galvin with 6:35 to play, but USM closed out the half outscoring PSU, 18-8, for a 50-34 lead at the break.
In the first five minutes of the second half, Southern Maine increased its advantage to 65-39, outscoring the Panthers 15-5. Five different players scored in the run, led by five points from freshman guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional). McNamara finished with eight points, four assists and a blocked shot.
Southern Maine led by as many as 37 points (81-44) with 8:41 to play and the Panthers never got any closer than 28 points the rest of the way.
The Huskies shot 45.8 percent (33-of-72) from the field, and a solid 79.2 percent (19-for-24) from the free throw line, en route to a season-high total of 96 points. Plymouth State was 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the field and was hampered by 27 turnovers.
Both teams are back in action on Saturday (1:00 p.m.). Southern Maine travels to Rhode Island College and Plymouth State travels to the University of Massachusetts Boston.
-cac-
