Box Score BOSTON  –  Senior Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H./Manchester Memorial) scored 17 of her career-high 22 points in the second half to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a nail-biting 61-58 win over the UMass Boston Beacons Wednesday night at the Clark Athletic Center.
 
Gould was 9-for-20 from the field (45 percent) and 3-for-6 from three for the game and career-high total and matched her career-high with five steals. Senior Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) added 13 points, three rebounds, an assist, a steal and a blocked shot on 5-for-11 shooting (2-for-3 from three), while senior Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) tossed in 12 points off of the bench.
 
Paige Ollivierre led UMass Boston with 14 points, knocking down 4-for-6 from three. Keriann Farina had 11 points, while Kayla Jackson added 10 points and six rebounds.  Alexah Potter added eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
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The Records:
Southern Maine (5-7, 3-1 Little East)
UMass Boston (3-8, 1-3 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 84^th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the UMass Boston Beacons.  The Huskies lead the overall series 83-11.  The Huskies defeated the Beacons, 53-38, in their last meeting on February 15, 2023. 
 
 
 
How It Happened:

• After a slow first quarter to start the game, and the Beacons leading 9-6, the Huskies outscored UMB 22-17 in the second quarter to take a 28-26 lead into the halftime break. Down 18-11 after a three from the Beacons' Ollivierre with 6:47 remaining in the second quarter, the Huskies rolled off a 17-5 run to surge ahead 28-23 with under a minute to go in the half. Cote had eight of the Huskies' 17 points in the run.  Ollivierre hit a three on the final possession of the half for the 28-26 score at the break.
• Gould scored the first basket of the second half to give Southern Maine a 30-26 lead early in the third, but the Beacons rallied with a 6-1 run over the next 1:44 to lead 32-31 on a jumper from Potter.  With Potter's jumper, the Huskies and the Beacons battled back-and-forth with neither team grabbing more than a one possession lead.
•  A three from UMB's Sophia Bradbury and one-of-two free throws from Farina gave the Beacons their largest lead of the quarter, 44-41, with 1:54 to play in the third.  USM pulled to within one on a pair of free throws from Fleming, but Potter connected on a layup to keep UMB ahead 46-43 on the next possession, and the Beacons lead 47-45 headed into the fourth.
• UMB extended its lead in the final frame as Sibayla Jensen picked up a steal and make a layup for a 49-45 with 8:59 to go, but the Huskies responded with a 13-2 run over the next 4:51 to lead 58-51 with under four minutes to play. Junior Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) keyed the run with a three at the top of the arc, and Gould scored seven points, including a three and a layup for the final five points of the run.
• The Beacons didn't go quietly scoring the next four points unanswered to trail 58-55 on a layup from Jackson and two free throws from Ollivierre with 2:22 showing; however Fleming was able to drive into the paint for a critical bucket and a 60-55 lead with 1:43 on the clock. 
• From there both teams failed to convert on their ensuring possessions. The Huskies missed two free throws in the closing minute, and Ollivierre made it a two-point game with a three with 44 seconds to play. Both teams turned the ball over on their next plays before USM made one of two free throws for a 61-58 advantage with eight seconds to go.  ON their final play of the game, the Beacons were unable to get a good look at the basket for the final.

  
Up Next:
The Huskies host Western Connecticut State on Saturday, January 6 (1:00 pm).   Southern Maine will then head up the road to Bowdoin College on Tuesday (4:30 pm) for a non-conference game.
 
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