WORCESTER, Mass. – Senior Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) recorded her second consecutive double-double scoring 28 points and grabbing 14 rebounds to lead the Univeristy of Southern Maine Huskies to an 82-72 win over the Framingham State Rams in the championship game of the 2015 Clark University Alumni Invitational Thursday afternoon at the Kneller Athletic Center.  Averaging 22.5 points and 12 rebounds over two games, Pelletier was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Playing in their final game of 2015, the win is the second straight for the Huskies who improve to 6-5 on the season.   Southern Maine halted Framingham State's two-game winning streak, dropping the Rams' record to 7-4. 

Pelletier was 11-for-25 from the field and 6-for-6 from the free throw line en route to her season-high 28 points.  In addition to her 14 rebounds, including eight offensive boards, Pelletier added three steals and three blocked shots.  Senior Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) added 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, while classmate Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine/St. Thomas Acquinas) added 13 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.  Anderson joined Pelletier on the all-tournament team.  Freshman Alexa Srolovitz (Montreal, Quebec/New Hampton) making her second start of the season had a career-best 15 points on 5-for-10 shoting and added five rebounds.

Junior Alycia Rackliffe (Feeding Hills, Mass./Agawam) led Framingham State with a 16-point, 13-rebound double-double, while sophomores Lauren Donahue (Attleboro, Mass./Bishop Feehan) and Raegan Mulherin (Baldwinsville, Mass.) each scored 15 points.  Mulherin added a game-high seven assists for the Rams.

FSU took the early lead as both teams had a high-scoring first quarter.  The Rams jumped on top of the Huskies 30-22 after the first frame.  Mulherin scored 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter. Southern Maine countered in the second quarter increasing their defensive intensity, limiting FSU to just nine points in the second frame, while outscoring the Rams 20-9 to take a narrow 42-39 lead. 

The third quarter saw six lead changes as both teams battled each other back and forth.  A three-pointer from Srolovitz game USM its largest lead of the quarter, 58-52, with 3:54 on the clock, but the Rams closed out the third with an 8-2 run, highlighted by a Donahue three, to pull the game even. 

With the score knotted up at 60 entering the fourth quarter, the Huskies pulled away from the Rams outscoring their opponents 22-12 in the final quarter.  Pelletier was instrumental in the quarter, scoring 10 of her 28 points. 

USM gained control of the lead for good early in the fourth, 64-62, with 8:40 remaining in regulation on a layup from Ramonas; however, it remained a closely contested affair. Back-to-back baskets from Rackliffe made it 76-72 in favor of USM with just 2:30 to play, but it was the final points of the game for the Rams as the Huskies' shut FSU down for the remainder of the game, closing with a 6-0 run, including four points from Pelletier.

Both teams return to action on Wednesday.  Southern Maine faces non-conference opponent Husson University on the road at 6:00 p.m., while Framingham State faces MASCAC opponent Salem State at 5:30 p.m.

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