Box Score GORHAM, Maine – Junior forward Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebound to lead a balanced effort as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Colby College Mules 55-32 in a non-conference women's basketball game Tuesday evening at Hill Gymnasium.
With the win, Southern Maine improves its record 14-6. The loss is the fourth straight for the Mules who fall to 6-15 on the season.
Knight was an efficient 5-for-8 from the field for her team-high total. Her seven rebounds, a game-high, helped stake USM to a commanding 42-29 edge on the class. Sophomore forward Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) added nine points and five rebounds, while senior guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) added seven points, four assists and a pair of rebounds. Ten Huskies' factored in the scoring as USM received 20 of its points off of the bench.
Sophomore Carylanne Wolfington (Hallowell, Maine/Hall-Dale) led all scorers with 13 points. Sophomore guard Desi Smith (Watertown, Wis.) added eight points. Senior Gabe Donahue (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) chipped in with five points, and a team-high six rebounds.
Despite the final outcome the game was close midway through the first half, after Pelletier and Smith each exchanged baskets the Huskies held a modest 14-12 lead with 9:23 to play before creating distance with a game-changing 17-5 run to close out the half.
Junior guard Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) sandwiched a pair of three pointers after feeding Pelletier on a pick-and-roll for a quick eight-point swing and a 22-13 USM lead with 4:49 on the clock. Junior forward Abby Hasson (South Portland, Maine) knocked down a jumper on a feed from Knight and Knight followed with an offensive board and a layup to give the Huskies nine unanswered points and a 26-13 lead. Smith and McNamara then exchanged baskets, before Smith cut the Colby deficit to 28-17 with less than a minute to play, but the Huskies' closed out the run on a buzzer-beating three from junior guard Taylor Flood (Sanford, Maine) for the 31-17 halftime lead.
In the opening two minutes of the second half, Knight and McNamara scored the first four points of the half with strong moves in the paint to push the Huskies' lead to 18, 35-17, with 18:05 on the clock. Colby was unable to get closer than 15 points the rest of the game and USM led by as many as 27 points late in the contest to cruise for the win.
USM held the Mules to just 21.8 percent (12-for-55) shooting for the game, including a 5-for-29 second half performance. Conversely, USM shot 47.9 percent (23-for-48) from the field.
Southern Maine travels to UMass Dartmouth on Saturday (1:00 p.m.). Colby College travels to Middlebury on Friday (6:00 p.m.).
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