The win is the third straight for the Huskies who improve to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in the Little East.  UMass Boston falls to 11-7 with the loss and 3-5 in the LEC.

Knight was 4-for-9 from the field with seven rebounds, two assists and a steal, while Pelletier was 5-for-13 form the floord with five rebounds, an assist, a block and two steals.  Senior guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) chipped in with eight points and six rebounds and senior forward Hannah Fenwick (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat) added eight points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal in a strong performance off of the bench.  Junior guard Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) also had a solid performance in a reserve role scoring seven clutch points in the second half. 

Sophomore forward Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) led the Beacons with a 13-point, 15-rebound double-double.  Junior center Kirsten Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) added 12 points and nine rebounds.  Freshman guard Mallory Nelson (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat) added eight points and eight rebounds.

Despite a sub-par shooting effort, Southern Maine led the Beacons 29-21 at the half.  Fenwick helped post the Huskies' lead scoring all eight of her points in the opening half on a 4-for-5 shooting performance while grabbing five rebounds.  The Huskies' collected 13 offensive boards in the first half, and Fenwick's offensive rebound and a put-back with seconds remaining their eight-point lead at the break. Knight and Pelletier each had six points in the opening stanza.

The Beacons roared back, opening the second half with a 9-0 run to take first lead of the game 30-29 with 14:38 on the clock.  Murphy and Morrison scored all nine of the Beacons' points in the run led by six points from Murphy.  Southern Maine was 0-for-7 during the stretch with a pair of turnovers. 

After Murphy's jumper put the Beacons ahead, the Huskies responded with a 12-2 run.  A pair of free throws from sophomore Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine/St. Thomas Acquinas) ignited the Huskies' outburst while Gallagher scored back-to-back buckets on a jumper and a three-pointer to close the run and give USM a 41-32 lead with 7:10 to play.

Southern Maine led by 10, 47-37, with 5:31 to play after a jumper from Knight in the paint , before the Beacons again rallied to make it a two-possession game 47-42 with 3:59 on the clock with a 5-0 run.  Nelson scored four of the Beacons five points.  With the Beacons pushing, Gallagher again hit a clutch basket knocking down a jumper on a feed from McNamara for a 49-42 lead.  Both teams battled over the next few possessions and an offensive rebound and a put-back from Murphy had the Beacons down by six, 51-45, with 1:51 to play, but McNamara sealed the win for the Huskies scoring her team's final four points on a driving layup and a pair of free throws in the closing minutes. 

Southern Maine finished the game shooting just 33.8 percent (22-for-65) from the field, but scored 19 of its points off of second-chance buckets and 15 of its points off of the Beacons' 15 turnovers. Southern Maine had 18 offensive rebounds in the game and held a narrow 45-42 edge on the boards. UMass Boston shot 32.1 percent (17-for-53) from the field.

Southern Maine travels to Keene State on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).  UMass Boston hosts Rhode Island College on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).

–cac–