DANBURY, Conn.    –  Sophomore Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) scored a game-high 16 points off of the bench, and senior Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) scored all 11 of her points in the second half to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 56-49 win over the WestConn Wolves in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Feldman Gymnasium.
 
Vaughan was 7-for-13 from the floor, adding five steals, four rebounds and two assists. Cote finished the game shooting 4-for-8 from the floor (3-for-6) from three, adding four rebounds and two steals. Senior Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine) tossed in 10 points (3-for-10 FG) and four rebounds. 
 
Gabrielle Franks led WestConn with 13 points and eight rebounds. Nicole Peralta and Maggie Nardini each had eight points, while Nicole Vivian had six points and a game-high 11 rebounds.  
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (10-12, 8-5 Little East)
WestConn (6-16, 2-11 Little East)
 
Today's game marked the 70^th meeting between the WestConn Wolves and the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Southern Maine leads the overall series 5`1-19, and is 10-3 in the last 13 meetings.  Today's win gives Southern Maine the 2023-2024 series sweep over the Wolves, having previously defeated WestConn 71-50 on January 6, 2024.
 
How It Happened:

• WestConn opened the game on a 6-0 run and led the Huskies 17-15 at the end of the first quarter.  The Wolves shot 3-for-4 in its first four possessions on buckets from Franks, Vivian and Virtue to stake the early lead. Conversely, USM went 0-for-3 to start with a turnover. Franks kept WestConn ahead 14-9 with 3:33 to go on a layup, but the Huskies' Julia Kratzer (Gorham, Maine) and Fleming went for back-to-back threes for a 15-14 Husky lead before WestConn's Peralta drained a three to head into the second up 17-15
• Swapping leads to start the second, Franks hit a layup and converted the traditional three-point play and Peralta knocked down a three to put the Wolves up 23-18 with 6:12 remaining in the half. However, Southern Maine bounced back to outscore WestConn 15-7 in the final 4:42 of the half to take a slim 33-30 lead at the break.  Vaughan scored six of her 16 points in the run as the Huskies' closed the half shooting 5-for-9 from the floor.
• WestConn scored the first bucket of the second half, and outscored the Huskies 10-5 in the first 3:47 of the third to leap ahead 40-38. The Wolves were 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from the free throw  during that stretch with five different players scoring, including the go-ahead bucket from Tyonna Morgan.
• Vaughan tied the game up at 40 for the Huskies on their next possession, and USM scored seven unanswered points to snag a 45-40 advantage with 3:43 to go until the fourth. Cote followed the Vaughan bucket with a three, before scored again to complete the 7-0 run.  After Vaughan's layup, neither team scored until the final minute of the quarter – a three from WestConn's Nardini to make it a one-possession game (45-43) headed into the fourth.
• Scoring remained at a premium in the fourth, and the Huskies' extended their lead to 49-43 on buckets from Fleming and Vaughan.  USM was 2-for-7 in the first 4:15 of the fourth, while WestConn went 0-for-5. Another minute expired on the game clock before Cote gave the Huskies' their largest lead of the game, 51-43, on a three-pointer. 
• Scoreless through the first 7:30 of the fourth, WestConn scored four straight points on two free throws from Franks and a layup from Virtue to cut its deficit to 51-47.   The Huskies' Vaughan  and WestConn's Peralta exchanged buckets to keep it a two-possession game, 53-49, with 2:23 to go before  Cote canned a three for the final bucket of the game with 2:01 to play.  Both teams combined for three turnovers and an 0-for-2 mark in the closing second for the 56-49 final.  

 
Inside The Stats:

• WestConn turned the ball over 26 times in the contest, while the Huskies had just 12 turnovers.  Southern Maine scored 21 of its 56 points off of WestConn miscues. 
• Led by Vaughan's 16 points, the Huskies' bench outscored the Wolves' bench 26-8.

 
Up Next:
The Huskies remain on the road for their next contest No. 22 UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, February 10 (1:00 pm) in Little East Conference action.  The Huskies are back at home on Wednesday, February 14 (5:30 pm) hosting Plymouth State University.
 
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