KEENE, N.H. – Senior
Tara Flanders (Windham, Maine) notched a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds to lead three players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Keene State College Owls 54-47 in Little East Conference women's basketball action Saturday afternoon at Spaulding Gymnasium.
Recording her third double-double of the season, Flanders was 4-for-10 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line for her team-high total. She added five assists. Seniors
Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) and
Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) each had 10 points for the Huskies. Gould was 4-for-7 from the floor, adding six rebounds, and two assists, while Cote was a strong 4-for-5 from the floor, including a 2-for-3 mark from three.
Keene State's Brynn Rautiola led all scorers with 23 points. She was 7-for-16 from the field, and 5-for-10 from three. Samantha Lee added nine points and nine rebounds for the Owls, while Valerie Luizzi added nine points, five steals and two assists.
The Records:
Southern Maine (3-5, 1-0 Little East)
Keene State (4-3, 0-1 Little East)
Today's game marked the 68
th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Keene State College Owls. Today's win is the 49
th for the Huskies over Keene State as Southern Maine now leads the overall series 49-19. The win is the sixth consecutive for Southern Maine over the Owls.
How It Happened:
- The Huskies started the first quarter strong taking a 12-3 lead in the opening eight and a half minutes. Junior Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) canned a three to start the Huskies scoring and a layup from freshman Emma Stred gave USM a 12-3 lead with 1:35 on the clock, before KSC scored final three points.
- KSC outscored the Huskies 5-2 in the first two minutes of the second to make it a 14-11 game after a layup from Lee, but Huskies responded outpacing the Owls 13-7 the rest of the way to take a 27-18 lead into the halftime break. Flanders scored five of her 12 points in the second quarter.
- Southern Maine took control of the game in the third, outscoring Keene State 21-10. A pair of threes from Cote bookended a layup from Flanders to open the quarter, giving USM a 35-18 lead with 6:44 remaining in the third. Rautiola halted the USM run with a layup, but Smedberg answered right back with a three for a 38-20 Husky advantage with 6:13 to go. From there USM and KSC went score-for-score with USM coming out on top 10-8 for a 48-28 lead headed to the final quarter.
- The Huskies outscored the Owls 4-1 in the opening two minutes of the fourth to grab its largest lead of the game, 52-29, on layups from Gould and Cote with 7:45 left in regulation. Up 23, the game seemed in hand, but the Huskies would score just two more points the rest of the quarter as KSC mounted a furious comeback bid with a 18-2 run to close the game for the 54-47 final. Rautiola scored three of her five three-pointers in the run, but it wasn't enough as the Huskies held for the win.
Inside The Stats:
- The Huskies shot 46.7 percent (21-for-45) from the field, and 38.1 percent (8-for-21) from three-point range. The Huskies were 8-for-15 (53.3 percent) in the third quarter, including an outstanding 4-for-9 mark in from three as USM outscored the Owls 21-10.
- Led by Flanders' ## rebounds, the Huskies had a decisive 38-24 lead on the boards.
- USM's bench outscored the Owl's bench 14-2.
Up Next:
The Huskies are back at home on Wednesday, December 6 (5:30 pm) against nationally-ranked Little East opponent Rhode Island College. USM remains at home on Saturday, December 9 (1:00 pm) against Eastern Connecticut. Southern Maine will honor its 1987-1988 women's basketball team at the conclusion of Saturday's game. The 87-88 squad is being recognized for its induction into the Little East Conference Hall of Fame.
-cac-
