GORHAM, Maine   –  Tahjai Mazyck and Geanna Williams each scored 12 points and 11 players found themselves in the scoring column as the UMass Boston Beacons defeated the University of Southern Maine Huskies 68-55 in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Wednesday night at Hill Gymnasium.  

         The win is the fourth straight Little East Conference for the Beacons who improve to 16-3 overall and 7-3 in the conference. Southern Maine dips to 9-10 overall with the loss and 4-6 in the LEC. 

         Mazyck was 5-for-9 from the field, including a pair of three-pointers for the Beacons, while Williams had 12 points and eight rebounds off of the bench on a 5-for-8 effort.  Joie Grassi had nine points and a team-high nine rebounds, while Jamie Staples and Jalani Jackson each had ewight points.  

         Junior Kristen Curley (Gorham, Maine) led all scorers with 15 points, adding four rebounds, four blocked shots, and two steals.  Sophomore Victoria Harris (Altus, Okla./Lewiston) had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting.  Senior Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.) added six points, a game-high 10 rebounds, two assists and four steals.  

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• UMass Boston led a closely contested first half 36-33 at the break. Williams had eight of her 12 points in the first half, knocking down 3-of-3 from the field. The Huskies' Curley was 7-for-12 from the field in the first half, scoring all 15 of her points. 
• UMass Boston used a strong third quarter to take control of the game, outscoring the Huskies 18-6.  The Beacons shot 46.7 percent from the field in the third, including a 4-for-6 mark from three-point range.  Mazyck had seven points in the third, while Grassi had six on a pair of threes as the Beacons led 54-39 to head into the fourth. 
• USM won the fourth quarter, scoring the first six points of the frame on a pair of buckets from Harris sandwiched around a jumper from freshman Samantha Averill (Steep Falls, Maine/Bonny Eagle).  The Huskies pulled to within eight of the Beacons, 61-53, on a slashing layup from Luckhardt, but were unable to close the gap any further as UMass Boston closed the game out on the free throw line making 7-of-12 down the stretch. 

UP NEXT: 

         Southern Maine hosts Keene State on Saturday (1:00 pm) in a Little East Conference game.  The Huskies will be partaking in National Girls & Women in Sports Day festivities and will be hosting several area Girl Scout troops as part of a day-long series of events.  

–cac–