Box Score DANBURY, Conn. – Senior Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) had 14 points and 10 rebounds to lead three players in double figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies opened their Little East Conference women's basketball schedule with a 52-40 road win over the Western Connecticut State University Colonials Saturday afternoon at Feldman Arena.
With the win, Southern Maine is 1-0 in the Little East and improves to 4-3 overall. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Colonials who stand at 5-2 overall and 0-1 in the conference.
Knight posted her second double-double of the season notching her game-high 14 points on 5-for-13 shooting and a perfect 4-for-4 mark from the charity stripe. Knight added three assists. Junior Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) continued her strong start to the season scoring 10 points and grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Senior Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) tossed in 10 points, while junior Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) added eight points and seven rebounds.
Senior Caroline Brasa (East Hartford, Conn./East Catholic) led the Colonials with 11 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Colleen Cosker (East Hartford, Conn./Cheney Tech) and freshman Kayla Briere (Wolcott, Conn.) each had seven points for WSCU, which shot 26.7 percent (12-for-45) from the field.
In a low-scoring game, Southern Maine led from the start, but did not take its 2-0 lead until senior Taylor Flood (Sanford, Maine) connected on a jumper 2:05 into the game. The Huskies' never trailed in the first half and led by as many as 12, 19-7 with 6:34 to play, before the Colonials charged back with a 9-0 run to trail 19-16 with 4:09 on the clock.
Ramonas, who was fouled attempting a three-pointer, sank three consecutive free throws for the Huskies' 19-7 lead. WSCU's Briere and junior Kerri Stolle (Warren, Conn./Wamogo) each hit jumpers before Brasa canned a three for a 7-0 swing. Briere closed the run with a pair of free throws. With its lead trimmed to one possession, the Huskies' narrowly outscored the Colonials 8-6 to close out the half for a 27-22 lead.
USM opened the second half with a 6-2 run on baskets from Pelletier, Knight and Ramonas to lead 33-24 with 18:09. WCSU responded with an 8-0 run to again pull to within a basket of the Huskies 33-32. Cosker scored five points in the run, which was capped by a jumper from Briere.
After a 30-second time out, the Huskies' stemmed the WCSU run as Gallagher connected on a layup for a 35-32 lead before the game settled into a back-and-forth affair. A pair of free throws from Knight gave USM a 37-34 lead with 9:32 to play before sophomore Emily Dobson (Westerly, R.I./Westerly) and Stolle each made jumpers to give the Colonials their first lead of the game 38-37 lead with 5:47.
Trailing for the first time in the game, Knight fed Gallagher for a jumper and Flood came up with a steal and sank to free throws to return to scoreboard to the Huskies' favor 41-38. Brasa made two free throws in the Colonials next possession to make it a one-point game, 41-40 with 3:45 to play, but the Huskies rattled off the next 11 points to seal the win.
Gallagher keyed the run, sinking a layup off of a feed from Flood and Knight hit a jumper for a 45-40 lead with 2:01 to play. After a pair of missed possessions, Flood cleared the defensive boards with just over a minute to play. Flood finished the game with six points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Forced to foul, WCSU putt Gallagher on the line for two and she hit both while Pelletier and Ramonas combined for the final three points.
Southern Maine hosts Salem State on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) in a non-conference game. Western Connecticut travels to Anna Maria on Tuesday (7:00 p.m.).
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