KEENE, NH  –  Freshman Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia/King's Edge Hill) led a balanced offensive effort with a team-high 13 points as the University of Southern Maine Huskies earned a crucial 57-47 win on the road over the Keene State College Owls in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.
 
Vaughan was 3-for-6 from the field and 7-for-9 from the free throw line to pace the Huskies who converted 15 of 23 free throws in the game. Juniors Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H.) and  Franny Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) each scored eight points with Gould adding a game-high five assists and picking off three steals.  Junior Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) added seven points, five rebounds and three steals while sophomore Gabby Green (Manchester, Maine/Maranacook) added seven points, five rebounds, an assist and a steal in 15 minutes off of the bench going 3-for-3 from the floor.  
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Kenzie Durnford led all scorers with 15 points for the Owls, while Rylee Burgess added 10 points and five rebounds on 5-for-6 shooting.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (5-11 3-6 Little East)
Keene State (3-12, 1-8 Little East)
 
Series History:
Southern Maine has won the last five straight over the Owls and leads the 66-game series 47-19.  The Huskies defeated Keene State 55-41 earlier this season (November 12) to earn the series sweep of the 2022-23 season.
 
How It Happened:

• Southern Maine opened the game hot and led 12-6 after the first five minutes. The Huskies went 4-for-5 from the field in the opening minutes of the game, knocking down a pair of threes (Gould, Ramsdell).  USM finished the first quarter shooting a white-hot 80.0 percent (8-for-10) from the field (2-for-4 from three) and were 5-for-8 from the free throw line to lead KSC 23-11. 
• Keene State opened the second with an 8-2 run led by three points each from Lilly Krysinki and Elizabeth Gonyea to trim its deficit to 25-19 with 6:47 on the clock, but the Huskies responded closing out the half outscoring the Owls 18-3 to take a 43-22 lead into the half. Six different Huskies scored to close out the frame, led by six points from Vaughan. 
• A slower offensive start in the third had USM maintaining its 21-point lead 47-26 with 4:15 to play in the quarter following a jumper from junior Ashlee Aceto (South Portland, Maine).  Aceto finished the game with six points and six rebounds on a 3-for-5 effort from the floor. 
• KSC used another 8-2 run to cut into the Huskies' lead, 49-34, with 2:23 on the clock, led by six points from Durnford, but Husky freshman Emma Haskell (Hampden, Maine) scored the final basket of the quarter to keep USM ahead 51-34 headed into the fourth .
• Another cool start in the fourth, USM led by 19, 55-36, with 5:54 to play on a layup from Vaughan before the Owls rattled off an 11-1 spurt to make it a nine-point game, 56-47, with 48 seconds to play.  Owls' forward Rylee Burgess scored eight of her 10 points in the run as KSC went 5-for-9 during the stretch.  Conversely, the Huskies were 0-for-4 with four turnovers.  However, USM held for the win as the Owls were forced to foul for the 57-47 final.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine shot 43.2 percent (19-for-44) from the field. KSC shot 28.3 (17-for-60). 
• The Owls had a 43-36 advantage in rebounding, and snagged 20 offensive boards from the Huskies, scoring 18 points on second-chance efforts. 
• Coming up with 10 steals, Southern Maine scored 24 points off of KSC miscues. 

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine hosts Bates College on Monday (6:00 pm) in a non-conference game. The Huskies return to Little East Conference play on Wednesday (5:30 pm) taking on conference-leader Rhode Island College as part of Town of Gorham Night.