WILLIMANTIC, Conn.    – Nevaeh Clark banked in a driving layup as the time expired to lift the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors to a 42-40 win over the University of Southern Maine Huskies in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Geissler Gymnasium.
 
The loss is the third straight for the Huskies. Eastern Connecticut and Southern Maine are now tied at 6-5 in the Little East Conference and are third in the standings.
 
Clark and Taylor Salato each scored 14 points to lead the Warriors offensively, while Salato had a game-high 15 rebounds for the double-double. 
 
Senior Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) led Southern Maine with 13 points, shooting 3-for-4 from three, adding five steals.  Senior Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) added seven points, five rebounds, a steal and a blocked shot.  Sophomore Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) had seven points, six rebounds, two steals and an assist off of the bench.
 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (8-12, 6-5 Little East)
Eastern Connecticut (8-12, 6-5 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 99^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors.  Southern Maine leads the overall series 69-30, and earned a 60-58 win earlier this season in Gorham, Maine (December 9). Prior to the December 9 win, Eastern Connecticut had won eight straight over the Huskies. 
 
How It Happened:

• ECSU scored the first six points of the opening quarter and led by 12, 15-3, late (3:48) on a layup from Salato before the Huskies closed the gap with a quarter ending 8-3 run to trail 18-11 headed into the second.  Vaughan scored five of the Huskies' eight points.
• Gould opened the scoring in the second for the Huskies knocking down one of her three three-pointers in the game to bring the score to 18-14, and kick start a 10-2 run to put Southern Maine up for the first time in the game 21-10 with 2:40 to play in the half.  Gould and Cote each had four points in the run, including Cote's go-ahead free throws for the 21-20 score. Salato put the Warriors ahead 22-21, but Gould responded with a three for a 24-22 Husky advantage, but Clark tied the game up before the half with a layup on ECSU's final possession.  USM outscored ECSU 13-6 in the second as the Warriors scored four of the six points in the quarter in the final minute of play.
• USM scored the first seven points of the third, and led 34-26 with 5:54 remaining in the quarter following a three from Cote on a feed from Gould as part of a 10-2 run.  The Huskies shot 4-for-8 from the field during that stretch while limiting ECSU to a 1-for-6 mark from the floor. 
• Salato finished an assist from Clark to cut the Warriors' deficit to six, 34-28, with 5:16 in the third, but Gould and Vaughan went for back-to-back layups and senior Megan King (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) made one of two free throws for the Huskies largest lead of the game, 39-28, with 1:54 on the clock. However, the Warriors scored the final four points of the third to make it a seven point game, 39-32, headed to the fourth.
• With points hard to come by in the fourth, ECSU extended its run into the final frame starting the fourth with a 6-0 run that spanned 4:49, and trailed USM 39-38, on a jumper from Kya Mayo with 5:11 remaining in regulation. The score remained unchanged for the next four minutes before Gould made one of two free throws for the Huskies' first and only point of the quarter for a 40-38 USM lead with 1:22 on the clock.
• ECSU's Julia Knowles tied the game up on the Warriors next possession with a jumper with under a minute to play. Snagging an offensive board late, USM had two good looks at the basket in their final possession but both layups rolled off the rim. Knowles secured a defensive rebound for ECSU and the Warriors took two timeouts in the final 20 seconds of the game before Clark drove to her left for the game-winning bucket as time expired.

 
Inside The Stats:

• Southern Maine shot 40.0 percent (6-for-15) from the field in the third, but shot just 22.6 percent (12-for-53) in the game. The Huskies were 0-for-11 from the field in the fourth quarter.  ECSU shot 27.1 percent (16-for-59).
• Led by 15 rebounds from Salato, the Warriors had a 50-35 lead on the glass, incuding a 16-9 margin in offensive rebounding.
• Gould's five steals matches her career high. She has had five steals in a game three times in her career, and twice in the 2023-2024 season. She has 33 steals this season and 70 in her career.

 
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, January 31 (5:30 pm) against UMass Boston.  The Huskies are then on the road for its next two contest facing LEC opponents Western Connecticut on Saturday, February 3 (1:00 pm) and No. 24 UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, February 10 (1:00 pm).
 
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