Box Score BANGOR, Maine – Senior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) led three players in double figures with a game-high 23 points as the University of Southern Maine Huskies rolled to an 82-60 win over the Husson University Eagles in a non-conference women's basketball game Tuesday night at Newman Gymnasium in Bangor, Maine.
The win is the fifth straight for the Huskies who improve to 9-3 on the season. Husson slips to 3-6 overall suffering its second straight loss.
Cochran was 9-for-10 from the field and 5-for-8 from the free throw line to lead the Huskies. The 6-1 forward added eight rebounds and an assist in 25 minutes of action. Junior forward Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) added 19 points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals and sophomore guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) added 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting form the floor, including a 2-for-3 mark from three-point territory, and had a team-high five assists. Junior forward Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) tossed in nine points and four steals.
Senior guard Amanda Gifford (Lee, Maine/Lee Academy) led the Eagles with 14 points and five rebounds. Senior forward Brianna Hanscom (Mattawamkeag, Maine/Mattanawcook Academy) was the only other Husson player in double-figures with 11 points.
Holding a modest 15-10 lead with 15:47 remaining in the first half, the Huskies outscored Husson 28-6 over the next 10 minutes and 27 seconds to blow the game open and take a controlling 43-16 lead with 5:20 to play. Six different players figured in the scoring for the Huskies led by 10 points from Cochran, eight points from Jordan and four points from Grant. Husson was able to trim the USM advantage to 48-29 at the half outscoring the Huskies 13-5 over the final five minutes of the half.
Led by eight points from Jordan, Southern Maine opened the second half on an 11-2 run in the first three minutes and grabbed a 28-point lead, 59-31, 16:44 on the clock. The Huskies led by 29, 69-40,following a steal and a lay-up from senior guard Renee Nicholas (Sebago, Maine/Lake Region), with 13:09 to play before Husson used a 7-0 run to pull to within 22 of the Huskies, 69-47, with 11:08 remaining, but it was as close as they would get the rest of the way as USM cruised to the victory.
The Huskies scored 36 of their 80 points off of Husson turnovers forcing the Eagles into 27 turnovers. Southern Maine finished the game shooting 58.5 percent (31-for-53) from the field. Husson shot 42.2 percent (19-for-45) from the floor. The Huskies held a decisive 34-18 advantage in rebounding and the Huskies scored 19 points off of second chance buckets.
Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (6:00 p.m.) when it hosts Little East Conference opponent Keene State College. Husson University hosts New England College on Friday (7:30 p.m.) in a North Atlantic Conference match up.
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