GORHAM, Maine –  Caroline Smith and Keagan Dunbar combined for 37 points, nine rebounds and five assists to lead the Colby College Mules to a 78-72 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a women's basketball match up Sunday afternoon at Hill Gym.

            Playing in back-to-back contests with the Huskies, Colby is now 2-0 in its first two games of 2021.  Southern Maine concludes its abbreviated 2021 season with a record of 1-5. 

            Smith was 6-for-12 from the field for her game-high 19 points, adding six boards and two assists.  Dunbar scored 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and a steal.  Alisha Aube and Chiamaka Ubani each scored nine points for the Mules.

            Junior Victoria Harris (Altus, Okla./Lewiston, Maine) led four Huskies in double-figures with 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three steals and a blocked shot, shooting 7-for-12 from the field.  Senior Jackie Luckhardt (Londonderry, N.H.) added 14 points and three assists on 6-for-12 shooting, while classmate Kristen Curley (Gorham, Maine) added 12 points and two blocked shots.  Freshman Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) tossed in 11 points off of the bench, adding a career-high five assists. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Led by seven points from Dunbar, the Mules led the Huskies 21-14 after the first quarter. Colby shot 42.9 percent from the field, and held the Huskies to 31.6 percent (6-for-19) shooting. 
• In the second quarter, Colby led the Huskies 31-22, with 4:10 to play in the quarter following a layup from Aube, but USM rallied back outscoring the Mules 6-3 in the closing minutes to cut its deficit to six, 34-28, at the break.  Harris scored four of the Huskies' final six points, and contributed a steal that led to a layup from Fleming.
• USM started the third on a 5-2 run on a layup from senior Morgan Eliasen (Lewiston, Maine) and a traditional three-point play from senior Mary Toman (Gardiner, Maine) to trail by a possession, 36-33, with 8:41 left. With its lead in jeopardy, Colby responded with a 9-4 run of its own, led by six points from Dunbar to lead 45-37 with 3:48 to play, and took a two-possession lead, 49-44, lead headed into the fourth on a buzzer beating layup from Smith to close the third.
• Colby started the fourth with a 7-2 run and snagged a 10-point, 56-46, lead with 7:47 to go following a three from Ubani, and remained in front by similar margin until the closing minute of the game.  Up by 11, 72-61, with 38 seconds to play following two free throws from Carly Christofori, USM cut into the deficit with threes from Curley, Luckhardt and Fleming to make it a six-point, 76-70, game with just 15 seconds to go. Forced to foul, Colby's Dunbar sealed the win knocking down two free throws, while Curley hit the final bucket of the game for USM for the 78-72 final.

 
INSIDE THE STATS

• USM outscored the Mules 14-10 on second chance buckets.  The Huskies and Mules each had 12 offensive rebounds. Harris had five for USM, while Ubani had four.
• The Huskies' bench outscored Colby's 34-19.  Harris and Fleming scored 26 of the Huskies' bench points.
• The Huskies' 72 points are the most during the 2021 six-game season. 

NOTES

• Senior Jackie Luckhardt has 259 career steals, and is eighth in Husky record books. The 5-4 guard has 793 points, 445 rebounds, 267 assists, 259 steals and 26 blocked shots in 90 career games.  Luckhardt is a four-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete, and a All-LEC guard.
• Senior Mary Toman played in 27 career games for USM after transferring in.  She finished with 98 points, 61 rebounds, 10 assists, nine steals and six blocked shots.  She established career-highs in points, assists and steals during the 2021 season. She is a William B. Wise Scholar Athlete.
• Senior Morgan Eliasen, a three-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete, and two-sport athlete (women's lacrosse) played in 81 career games.  She totaled 247 points, 259 rebounds, 67 assists, 49 steals and 24 blocked shots.
• Senior Kristen Curley, earning D3hoops.com All-Region, LEC first team, and LEC All-Defensive team honors during her career, played in 82 career games.  A three-time William B. Wise Scholar Athlete, Curley finished with 893 points, 280 rebounds, 125 steals, 96 assists and 72 blocked shots.
• Junior Victoria Harris has 614 points, 199 rebounds, 92 steals, 62 blocked shots and 38 assists in 58 career games.  She is shooting 46.5 percent (223-for-479) in her career.