With the win, Southern Maine earns its third straight victory to improve to 17-7 overall and 9-4 in the Little East Conference.  UMass Boston falls to 13-11 and 4-9 in the conference.

McNamara was 6-for-15 from the field and 3-for-9 from three-point range to lead the Huskies. She added five assists, two steals and two blocked shots.  Sophomore Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) was 4-for-8 from the field for eight points, adding seven rebounds.  Senior Mariah Callender (Portland, Maine) added six points and four rebounds. 

Junior Kristen Morrison (North Reading, Mass.) led the Beacons with 18 points and six rebounds. Morrison was 6-for-9 from the field scoring all 18 of her points in the second half to spur the Beacons comeback attempt. Senior Andrea Suffredini (Milford, Mass.) added 13 points.

Trailing by eight, 11-3, in the opening five minutes of the first half, Southern Maine rallied to take a slim 21-19 lead at the break.  The Huskies struggled offensively in the opening stanza committing 10 turnovers while shooting just 9-for-25 from the field. McNamara scored 12 of her 19 points in the first half, making 5-of-8 from the field.  USM trailed Boston 19-15 with 4:34 to play, before the Huskies closed out the half on a 6-0 run.  Freshman Jordan Knowlton (Rockport, Maine/Camden) hit a jumper off of an assist from junior Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley). Knight then hit a jumper to pull the Huskies even at 19, before McNamara made a running jumper in the paint for the final field goal of the half and a 21-19 USM lead.

Leading the Beacons 25-24 in the opening minutes of the second half, the Huskies grabbed a 10-point, 34-24, advantage with a 9-0 run on three pointers from sophomore Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas), Callender and McNamara.  USM led the Beacons by 12, 39-27, after Knight found senior Hannah Fenwick (Topsham, Maine/Mt. Ararat) for a layup with 11:17 to play, before Morrison took over for the Beacons, scoring 13 of her team's next 20 points as part of a 20-4 run.  Morrison's layup with 2:52 remaining was her 18th point of the half and gave the Beacons a 47-43 lead.

Southern Maine responded however outscoring the Beacons 6-1 in the final moments. Knight sank a pair of free throws before the Huskies' forced a shot clock violation on the Beacons' next possession.  McNamara tied the game up with two free throws at the 1:35 mark for a 47-47 score.  Both teams squandered their next possessions, before McNamara was fouled with 27 second to play.  She hit one of two free throws for a 48-47 USM lead and the Beacons had the ball with 10 seconds to go before turning the ball over.  Forced to foul, McNamara again went to the line making one of two for a 49-47 Huskies' lead with seven second to play. With the game seemingly in hand, the Beacons were able to draw a foul with two-tenths of a second to play, but Suffredini was unable to convert both free throws as the Huskies held for the win.

Southern Maine hosts Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) in its regular season finale. It will also be Senior Day for the Huskies who will be honoring seniors McNamara, Callender and Fenwick. UMass Boston travels to Western Connecticut on Saturday (1:00 p.m.).

–cac–