Box Score NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Junior Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) scored a team-high 17 points to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies earned a key Little East Conference victory over the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center.
Ramonas was 5-for-11 from the field and 6-for-8 from the free throw line to lead USM, which shot a solid 45.1 percent (23-for-51) from the field and 83.3 percent (15-for-18) from the free throw line. Junior Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) added 13 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots despite limited action due to foul trouble. Seniors Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) and Taylor Flood (Sanford, Maine) each had 10 points. Knight added four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Junior Megan Ronaghan led all scorers with 23 points on 9-for-14 shooting, and scored 17 of her 23 points in the second half to keep the Corsairs in the game. Senior Kelsey Garrity was the only other UMD player in double-figures with 11 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and two steals.
Led by Ramonas' 11 points in the first half, USM led the Corsairs 29-21 at the halftime break. Ahead 20-19 after a UMD jumper with minutes left in the opening half, Southern Maine outscored the Corsairs 9-2 to close the stanza. Pelletier gave USM a 23-19 lead at the 3:24 mark converting a traditional three-point play, before Flood sank a pull up jumper for a 25-19 lead. A pair of free throws from Ronaghan interrupted the Huskies' run, before Flood connected on her second straight jumper and freshman Miranda Nicely (Farmington, Maine/Mt. Blue) closed the half with an offensive rebound and two free throws.
Flood continued her strong work in the second half, opening with a steal and a layup to extend the Huskies' led to 31-21, but the Corsairs battled back with a 14-4 run over the next five minutes to knot the score up at 35, capped by back-to-back Ronaghan layups. Despite the run, the Huskies did not relinquish the lead responding with four points on a layup from Pelletier and two free throws from junior Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) to lead 39-35 with 12:44 to play.
The game settled into a two-possession contest, and the Huskies stayed in front. After a Flood layup off of a Knight feed and a jumper from Pelletier, USM held a 54-49 lead with 4:47 to play, before the Corsairs made one final push to try and rally for the win. Following Pelletier's layup, the Corsairs used a 7-1 run over the next two and a half minutes to snag its first lead since the five minutes mark of the first half.
With the game in the balance, Southern Maine senior Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) responded with a big three pointer for her first points of the game in the Huskies' next possession, returning the lead to 58-56. Ronaghan pulled her team even again, sinking a pair of free throws, but Pelletier and Gallagher combined for the next four points to lead 62-58 with 21 seconds to play. Pelletier converted and assist from Gallagher for her final points of the game and Gallagher hit two free throws to seal the Huskies win. Flood converted another set of free throws in the final second and Ronaghan hit an inconsequential layup with time expiring for the 64-60 final.
Southern Maine (10-11, 6-4 LEC) hosts Plymouth State on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.) in a Little East Conference match up as part of Gorham Night with USM Athletics. Gorham Night is one of many events that USM Athletics uses to celebrate the connections between the University of Southern Maine and the Town of Gorham.
The University of Southern Maine Huskies men's and women's basketball teams will be hosting Little East Conference opponent Plymouth State University. As part of the Gorham Night celebration, the women's game will feature a halftime performance by the third and fourth grade girls' Gorham Recreation Department's basketball program. The men's game, which will follow at 7:30 p.m., will also including a halftime showcase featuring the third and fourth grade boys' teams in the Gorham Recreation program.
Additionally, iSpoon, a local Gorham business, will be giving away some tasty treats to the first 100 fans through the gates. The USM Fan Experience Committee – a collaboration between University Student Life and the Department of Athletics – will also be serving up free popcorn and other Husky treats throughout the games. Huskies' fans can also snag one of 100 free t-shirts and USM Huskies' wristbands courtesy of the USM Fan Experience Committee.
The loss drops UMass Dartmouth to 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Little East.
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