Box Score PROVIDENCE – Senior Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass.) and sophomore Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) combined to score 38 points to lead the second-seeded University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 58-49 win over the third-seeded Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors in the second semifinal of the 2014 Little East Conference Women's Basketball Championship Friday night at the Murray Center.
With the win Southern Maine improves to 20-8 on the season and advances to the 2014 Little East Conference Championship game. The Huskies will face Rhode Island College in the championship game on Saturday (4:00 p.m.). Rhode Island College, the top-seed in the tourney, advanced to the championship game with a 56-46 win over fourth-seeded Western Connecticut in the first semifinal. Eastern Connecticut falls to 18-9 with the loss.
Pelletier was 5-for-7 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line for her 19 points. Pelletier added a game-high nine rebounds. McNamara was 3-for-7 from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 from the free throw line. Junior Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) added seven points, six rebounds.
Freshman Jordyn Nappi (Southington, Conn./Mercy) led the Warriors with 16 points, while classmate Julia DePoi (Brookfield, Conn.) added 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Both Nappi and DePoi each knocked down three three-pointers. Sophomore Jill Ritrosky (Pittsfield, Mass.) added 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
The Huskies trailed the Warriors for a majority of the game and did not take the lead until there was 7:52 remaining on the clock in the second half. USM trailed the Warriors 38-35 with 11:33 to play after a jumper from Shannon McCourt before putting together a 6-0 spurt to assume control of the game. After McCourt's jumper, USM's Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the put-back in the paint to kick start the run. Pelletier knocked down two free throws to put USM up 39-38 with 7:52 to play, before Knight made a strong move in the paint for the Huskies' sixth unanswered point and a 41-38 lead with 5:56 to go.
DePoi answered for the Warriors on their next possession, making it a 41-40 game with 5:34 to play. Huskies' senior Mariah Callender (Portland, Maine) answered right with a big momentum play driving to the basket and getting the "and one" to extend the Huskies' lead to 44-40, before McNamara converted another pair of free throws for a 46-40 USM lead with 4:33 to play.
The Huskies clung to a two-possession lead and led the Warriors 48-43 with 2:10 left before sealing the victory with a late 6-1 spurt to lead 54-44 with 36 seconds to play. Pelletier, Callender and McNamara each scored two points for the Huskies in the run. With the Warriors forced to put the Huskies on the line, USM closed out the game making 4-for-4 down the stretch.
In the opening half, Eastern Connecticut came out hot from beyond the arc sinking 4-of-9 from deep. DePoi was 3-for-4 from three-point range for the Warriors scoring 11 points in the first half. With Eastern Connecticut hot from the three and the Huskies committing 10 first-half turnovers, USM trailed by as many as eight points in the opening stanza before rallying late in the period. The Huskies' Pelletier paced USM with 13 first-half points on a 4-for-5 effort from the field and a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the free throw line.
Southern Maine finished the game shooting 44.4 percent (16-for-36) from the floor and 80.6 percent (25-for-31) from the free throw line. The Warriors shot 29.1 percent (16-for-55) from the field and 6-for-17 from three-point range.
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