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Flanders 1000 Graphic
67
Southern Me. USM 13-14,10-6 Little East
84
Winner UMass Dartmouth UMD 23-3,14-2 Little East
Southern Me. USM
13-14,10-6 Little East
67
Final
84
UMass Dartmouth UMD
23-3,14-2 Little East
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Southern Me. USM 23 17 13 14 67
UMass Dartmouth UMD 28 21 7 28 84

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | | Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications

2024 Little East Conference Semifinal: No. 2 UMass Dartmouth Defeats No. 3 Southern Maine 87-64

Flanders Scores 1000th Point of Intercollegiate Career

NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass.    –  Kaylin Zalewski scored 30 points to lead three players in double-figures as the second-seed UMass Dartmouth Corsairs used a strong fourth quarter push to defeat the third-seed Unviersity of Southern Maine Huskies 87-64 in the semifinals of the 2024 Little East Conference Women's Basketball Championship Thursday night at the Tripp Athletic Center
 
Ranked No. 22 in the nation, UMass Dartmouth advances to face top-seed and regular season champion Rhode Island College on Saturday (1:00 pm).  RIC is ranked third in the nation.
 
Zalewski was 12-for-20 from the field, adding seven rebounds, five steals and two assists. Carly Whiteside added 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting, while Teja Andrews added 17 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists.
 
Southern Maine senior Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H.) led the Huskies with 13 points.  Senior Tara Flanders (Windham, Maine) had 11 points and five rebounds, while senior Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) had 10 points and five rebounds. Junior Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine) had nine points, while sophomore Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) added eight points, four rebounds and three assists off of the bench.
 
The Records:
No. 3 Southern Maine (13-14)
No. 2 UMass Dartmouth (23-3)
 
Today's game marked the 86th meeting between the Huskies and the Corsairs. Southern Maine leads the overall series 67-20, but UMass Dartmouth has won the last 13, including a 2023-2024 regular-season sweep – 76-64 on January 11 and 67-40 on February 10. 
 
How It Happened:
  • In a high-scoring first quarter, Southern Maine led early, 10-6, on Smedberg's second three of the game in the opening two minutes before the Corsairs rallied to take the lead 13-12 on layup from Whiteside with 6:29 to go.  Vaughan tied the game at 14 with a jumper, before UMass Dartmouth outscored USM 14-9 to head into the second quarter up 28-23. Zalewski had 11 points in the first for UMD.
  • The second quarter was a game of runs. UMass Dartmouth scored the first eight points of the second, and led 34-23 on a jumper from Andrews with 6:18 to go.  Southern Maine scored its first bucket of the quarter on a three from sophomore Julia Kratzer (Gorham, Maine) on its next possession, starting an 11-0 run. Flanders had five points in the run, while Kratzer, Flanders and Gould each had a three to make it a three-point game, 37-34, with 4:17 until half.
  • UMD responded to the Huskies' run with a 7-0 spurt, growing back to a 10-point lead on a jumper from Zalewski.  The Corsairs led by 11, 49-38, with 10 seconds until half, but Fleming was fouled during the Huskies' final possession and sank two free throws for a 49-40 score at the break.
  • A low-scoring third quarter started the second half.  The Corsairs led 56-45 with 3:25 left in the frame on a steal and layup from Andrews, but the Huskies rallied for the final eight points of the quarter to pull to within a possession 56-53 headed into the third.  Southern Maine outscored UMD 13-7 in the third, scoring eight of its points in the final three minutes, led by four points from Gould.
  • USM stayed within striking distance of the Corsairs early in the fourth and trailed 60-58 with 8:14 on the clock on a jumper from Fleming, and again by three 63-60 following two free throws from Gould with 7:46 to go, but Southern Maine picked up four fouls in the first two minutes of the quarter, and had the Corsairs in the bonus with 6:58 to go.
  • Ahead by three, 63-60, the Corsairs went 8-for-9 from the free throw line in the fourth, and outscored USM 21-4 in the final seven minutes for the win.
 
Inside The Stats:
  • After scoring 799 points in three seasons at Southern Maine Community College, Flanders recorded her 1000th collegiate point with her 11 points this evening.  Scoring 202 points this season, Flanders had 1001 points in her career.
  • Both teams shot well from the free throw line. The Huskies were nearly perfect going 21-for-22 from the line shooting 95.5 percent.  UMD shot 81 percent making 17-of-21. UMD outshot the Huskies from the field, shooting 47.7 percent (31-for-65), while Southern Maine was 35.8 percent from the floor (19-for-53). 
  • The Huskies had a slim 36-35 lead in rebounds, but the Corsairs won the turnover battel committing just 12 to the Huskies 22.  UMD scored 25 of its 84 points off of Southern Maine turnovers.
 
Up Next:
 The loss concludes the University of Southern Maine Huskies' 2023-2024 season.
 
-cac-
 
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