Box Score GORHAM, Maine – Senior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) led three players in double figures with 18 points and eight rebounds as the University of Southern Maine Huskies earned a 67-55 Little East Conference win over a pesky UMass Boston Beacons squad Tuesday night at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine.
The win improves the Huskies' record to 17-5 overall and 8-3 in the Little East. UMass Boston drops to 6-16 and 2-9 in the conference.
Cochran was 8-for-13 from the floor for her team-high total. Senior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering) added 14 points, four steals and two assists, while junior forward Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) tossed in 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Senior guard Renee Nicholas (Sebago, Maine/Lake Region) had five points, eight rebounds, a career-high eight assists and six steals.
UMass Boston freshman forward Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) recorded a double-double on 25 points and 13 rebounds. Morrison was 11-for-18 from the floor and added three steals. Junior guard Teresa Pina (Boston, Mass./Charlestown) added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.
After a slow start by both squads in the opening five minutes of the game, the Beacons trailed the Huskies 13-8 following a three from Pinna with 14:23 on the clock. The Huskies outscored the Beacons 18-8 over the next ten minutes to lead by 15, 31-16, with 6:16 remaining in the half. Five different players scored during that stretch for the Huskies, led by seven points from Cochran.
The Beacons hung around and outscored the Huskies 15-4 over the next six minutes and Southern Maine's lead to five points 36-31 with 13 seconds left in the half. The Huskies were able to extend their lead to seven points when Nicholas found junior forward Meredith Reid (York, Maine) for a buzzer-beating layup and a 38-31 USM lead at the break.
In the second half USM kept a comfortable three-to-four possession lead over UMB and the Huskies led 49-40 following a jumper from junior forward Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) with 12:30 on the clock. However USM quickly found itself in a two-possession game with the Beacons. During a stretch in which the Huskies were 0-for-2 from the field and 1-for-4 from the free throw line with a turnover, the Beacons' Morrison kept her teams chances for an upset within reach. Capitalizing on USM's uneven play, Morrison hit back-to-back layups to sandwich a lone free throw for the Huskies for a 50-44 USM lead with 9:44 to play.
After Morrison's second layup, the Huskies' were able to pull away from the Beacons with an 11-4 run, including five points from Garland and four from Cochran for a comfortable 61-48 lead with 6:23 remaining.
The Beacons continued to battled and pulled with within eight of the Huskies 61-53 after a three-point play from Morrison with 4:05 to play, but USM outscored the Beacons 6-2 down the stretch for the win.
Southern Maine hosts Rhode Island College on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) UMass Boston travels to Plymouth State University on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).
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