GORHAM, Maine – Juniors Victoria Harris (Altus, Okla./Lewiston) and Michelle Rowe (Gorham, Maine) combined 29 points, nine rebounds and four assists to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 69-62 win over the University of New England Noreasters Sunday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium in an NCAA Division III women's basketball game.

            The win is the first of the season for Southern Maine and ups its record to 1-3.  UNE splits the series with the Huskies and is now 1-1.   

            Harris led the Huskies with 15 points, four rebounds and four blocked shots, shooting 5-for-8 from the field. Rowe added 14 points, five rebounds and a steal in a 7-for-11 effort from the floor. Both Rowe and Harris came off the bench for the Huskies, which outscored the UNE bench 39-5.  Senior Mary Toman (Gardiner, Maine) added nine points, two rebounds, three steals and two assists, while seniors Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.) and Kristen Curley (Gorham, Maine) each had seven points. Luckhardt had a team-high six rebounds, adding four assists and four steals.

            Jordyn Franzen and Allie Goodman each scored 15 points to lead four players in double-figures for UNE.  Franzen was 5-for-10 from the floor with three rebounds and three assists, while Goodman had seven boards, two assists and two steals.  Kaylee Beyor added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds for the Noreasters, while Faith Connors added 10 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• UNE jumped out to an early lead scoring back-to-back layups from Goodman and Beyor to lead 4-1 in the opening minutes of the first quarter before USM closed out the frame on a 12-5 run to take a 13-9 lead heading into the second.  Curley led the way for USM with four points, while Luckhardt had two point and two steals helping force UNE into 11 first quarter turnovers.
• The Huskies remained ahead of UNE by two possesions, 19-13, early in the second half but extended its lead to 13, 26-13, with 3:38 to go on the heels of a 7-0 spurt.  Toman started the run making one-of-two free throws and was followed by points in the paint from senior Morgan Eliasen (Lewiston, Maine) and sophomore Brittany Desjardin (Gorham, Maine), before Toman scored a bucket of her own on a feed from Harris.
• UNE climbed back in the second outscoring USM 10-4 in the final 3:38 of the second to trail the Huskies 30-23 at the break. Four different players scored in the run led by four points from Goodman.
• Beyor connected for a layup on the first basket of the third and Connors hit for back-to-back threes as part of a 8-2 UNE run to pull the Noreasters to within a point of the Huskies 32-21 with 7:20 left in the quarter. Three straight points from Toman kept the Huskies ahead, and UNE's Franzen made it a single-possession game again, 41-38, after nailing a three with 2:36 on the clock.  However, USM closed the third on a 7-2 run to take a 48-40 lead into the fourth.
• Luckhard drove the lane for a bucket to start the 7-2 run, and Harris scored a traditional three-point play, scoring the basket in traffic and securing the free throw, before junior Katie Bagley (Hancock, Maine) hit a mid-range jumper for the final field goal of the third quarter.
• USM outscored UNE 9-3 in the opening four minutes of the third as buckets from Rowe bookended a three from Curley and a layup from Harris to give the Huskies their largest lead of the game, 57-43, with 6:41 left in the game.
• A three from Goodman and a layup from Beyor gave the Noreasters a quick five-point swing as part of a 9-2 run to cut the Noreaster's deficit to seven, 59-52, with 3:43 to go, but USM key buckets down the stretch to secure the win.
• Bagley scored four of her career-best six points and added a steal in the final minutes of the game

 
INSIDE THE STATS

• UNE committed 27 turnovers in the game, compared to 13 for the Huskies.  The Huskies converted 23 points off of the Noreasters' miscues, including eight points in the fourth quarter.
• Led by Harris and Rowe, USM outscored the UNE bench 39-5.

 
NOTES

• Luckhardt moves into eight overall in USM career steals with 256.  Luckhardt added three assists in the contest and now has 257 in her career.  The 5-4 guard has 777 points, 437 rebounds, 261 assists and 256 steals.
• Curley has 881 career points. She is averaging 8.8 points per game this season.
• Harris is averaging 13.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 blocked shots per game – Harris' ppg, rpg and bpg are all team-high totals.  She is shooting 51.4 percent from the field.
• Junior Katie Bagley (Ellsworth, Maine) scored a career-high six points, adding three steals and two rebounds.