With the win Southern Maine stands at 1-0 and advances to the championship game of the tournament.  The Huskies will face Bridgewater State at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday for the title.  Bridgewater State defeated Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) 75-71 this afternoon.  RPI will face UMaine Farmington in the consolation game on Sunday (1:00 p.m.). 

            Knight was 6-for-11 from the field for her game-high 12 points, grabbing six rebounds and passing off two assists.  Senior Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) and juniors Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) and Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) each scored 10 points.  Pelletier notched her first double-double of the season grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds. 

            Senior Bianca Soutamyer (Madison, Maine/Morse) led UMF with eight points as no player reached double-digits for the Beavers.  Freshman Kelly Pomerleau (Turner, Maine/St. Dominic Academy) and sophomore Bridget Humphrey (Jefferson, Maine/Erskine Academy) each had six points.

            Both teams struggled from the field in the early going and the Huskies help a slim three point advantage midway through the half.  A layup from Soutamyer at the 9:34 mark made it 15-12, keeping the Beavers within a possession of the Huskies, before USM closed out the half outscoring UMF 19-6 to take control of the game. Gallagher ignited the run, sinking a three at the nine-minute mark and Husky junior Jill Madden (North Andover, Mass.) capped it with a three.

            Stoutamyer scored the first bucket of the second half pulling UMF to within 13, 34-21, but the Huskies' countered with a 14-0 run to grab a 48-21 lead with 13:18 to play. Pelletier scored USM's first four points of the run, followed by a three-ball from Gallagher.  Ahead 41-21 with 15:50 showing, senior Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) scored five consecutive points on a running layup and a three-pointer before Knight finished a Rousseau assist for a 27-point USM lead. Rousseau finished the game with nine points and three assists.

            After the decisive run, UMF was unable to get closer than 25 points the rest of the way and trailed by as many as 40 points as the Huskies' cruised to the win.

             Southern Maine finished the game shooting 45.6 percent (31-for-68) from the field.  UMaine Farmington shot 23.7 percent (14-for-59) from the field. 

Game Two: Bridgewater 75, RPI 71

            Sophomore Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) scored 20 points to lead three players in double-figures as the Bridgewater State University Bears held of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers 75-71 in the second game of the USM Tip Off Classic.

            Melton was 8-for-13 from the field and 4-for-8 from the free throw line for her team-high total.  Senior Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) added 16 points, on a quartet of three-pointers, while sophomore Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass./Martha's Vineyard Regional) added 14.

            RPI junior Ashley Clough (West Chesterfield, N.H./Keene) led all scorers with 21 points.  Clough also registered a game-high 10 rebounds for her first double-double of the season.  Senior Amanda Lynch (Middletown, N.Y./John S. Burke Catholic) was the only other Engineer in double-figures with 17 points and eight rebounds.

            After a nip and tuck first half, Bridgewater State's late 6-0 in the closing minutes proved to be decisive.  Holding a narrow 28-27 lead with 2:06 to play in the opening stanza, the Bears used a pair of free throws from Kusz, a short jumper from Lindland and a tough jumper in the paint from Melton to create some separation from the Engineers, grabbing a 34-27 lead with 1:26 to play. 

However, the momentum swung into RPI's favor in the final minute of play as the Engineers' Lynch single-handily outscored the Bears 5-2 in the closing moments to trail 36-32 at the break.  The Engineers had possession of the ball as the buzzer sounded after forcing a Bears' turnover but were unable to get off the shot.

BSU came out strong in the first five minutes of the second half and led by a comfortable 48-38 margin following a three from Kusz at the 15:09 mark.  The Bears maintained their advantage and continued to hold a 10-point lead, 56-46, with 8:51 to play following a jumper from junior guard Vanesa Conceicao (New Bedford, Mass./Greater New Bedford Vocational), before the Engineers began a surge.  RPI pulled to within three, 56-53, of BSU on a 7-0 run. Sophomore Jackie Sortor (Colchester, Vt.) capped the Engineer rally with a jumper, but RPI was unable to get over the hump. With its lead dwindling, Bridgewater State responded with a 10-3 run to return to a ten-point, 66-56, advantage with 2:27 remaining. Four different players scored for the Bears in the run, led by four points from Lindland. The Engineers did not go quietly, however, and twice made it a one-possession game in the final 11 seconds of the game, but the Bears close out the game from the line for the 75-71 final.

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