Box Score GORHAM, Maine – Senior Ella Ramonas (Portland, Maine/Deering) notched a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds – both game-high totals) and added five assists and five steals to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 63-34 triumph over the Rhode Island College Anchormen in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Fifield Court.
Southern Maine improves to 13-10 with the win and 7-5 in the Little East. Southern Maine is presently in position to host a LEC quarterfinal game on Tuesday, February 23. Rhode Island College drops to 6-15 overall and 4-8 in the Little East.
Ramonas was 7-for-14 from the field and 9-for-10 from the free throw line as USM shot a solid 40.4 percent (23-for-57) from the field. Senior Gretchen Anderson (Kittery Point, Maine/St. Thomas Aquinas) added 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists, while classmate Megan Pelletier (Winslow, Maine/Messalonskee) had eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Senior Devin Hill (Danielson, Conn./Killingly) led RIC with 17 points and nine rebounds. Junior Alex Moore (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) added 12 points, and six rebounds, while sophomore Rybecca Gonzalez (Pawtucket, R.I./Saint Raphael) tossed in five points.
Led by 11 points from Ramonas, Southern Maine claimed a 23-14 lead at the half. USM outscored the Anchormen 16-8 in the first quarter and then closed out the second quarter on a 6-0 run to outscore RIC 7-6 in a low-scoring second.
USM opened the second half on a 10-4 run capped by a three-pointer from sophomore Kristie McNall (Wakefield, Mass.) to snag a 33-18 lead with 4:23 to play in the third. Both teams traded baskets the remainder of the quarter and Ramonas scored the final points of the quarter with an offensive rebound and the put-back with 14 seconds to go to give USM a 41-27 lead heading into the fourth.
Southern Maine's offensive went into a higher gear in the final quarter as the Huskies outscored RIC 22-7 to close out the game. With its lead cut to 10, 43-33, following a three from RIC's Hill with 8:31 to play, the Huskies' ran off 18 unanswered points to take control, 61-33, with 3:32 to play. Five different players contributed to the run for USM, led by for points each from Anderson, Pelletier and Ramonas. The Huskies' were 7-for-10 from the field during the run, including 2-for-2 from three. One of two free throws from RIC's Gonzalez stopped the Huskies' run, and USM's McNall canned the final points of the game on a running bucket in the paint for the final.
Southern Maine hosts Plymouth State on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) in a Little East Conference game. The Huskies will honor their for seniors Ramonas, Pelletier, Anderson and Jill Madden (North Andover, Mass.) prior to the game. Rhode Island College hosts Western Connecticut on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.).
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