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Wiles vs. UMD
James Liebowitz
Lucy Wiles reached double-figures for the 16th time this season.
78
Winner Southern Me. SOUTHERN 16-9, 12-0
55
Vermont State Castleton VERMONT 7-18, 3-1
Winner
Southern Me. SOUTHERN
16-9, 12-0
78
Final
55
Vermont State Castleton VERMONT
7-18, 3-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Southern Me. SOUTHERN 17 16 20 25 78
Vermont State Castleton VERMONT 13 15 13 14 55

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

Southern Maine Pulls Away from VTSU-Castleton 78-55

Lucy Wiles Scores 22 Points to Lead Southern Maine

CASTLETON, Vermont  –   Freshmen Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) scored a game-high 22 points to go with six rebounds, three assists, a steal and a blocked shot to lead the University of Southern Maine Huskies to a strong 78-55 win over the Vermont State University Castleton Spartans in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Glenbrook Gymnasium.
 
One of two Huskies in double-digit scoring, today's game marked the fourth 20-plus performance of the season for Wiles, and the 16th game in double-figures scoring for the Huskies' rookie. Graduate student Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) added 16 points, making 3-of-8 from three-point range. Freshman Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) had seven points, 10 rebounds, two steals, and an assist, while junior Julia Kratzer (Gorham, Maine) went 3-for-6 from the field for eight points off of the bench.
 
Emily Adams led VTSU-Castleton with 16 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double, while Arianna Coombs had 13 points, six rebounds, and two blocked shots. Stasia Epler and Maggie McKearin each scored nine points for the Spartans.
 
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (16-9, 12-4 LEC)
VTSU-Castleton (7-18, 3-13 LEC)
 
SERIES HISTORY: Today's game marked 15th meeting between the Huskies and the Spartans.  With today's win, Southern Maine now leads the series 8-7. With the 2024-25 season sweep, the Huskies have now won four straight over the Spartans.
 
How It Happened:
  • Trailing for a majority of the first quarter, and down 12-8 (2:46) to the Spartans after a layup from McKearin, the Huskies closed on a 9-1 run to surge ahead 17-13 headed into the second.  Kratzer and seniors Maddy York (Nobleboro, Maine) and  Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) each came off the bench to score three points to put USM in front.
  • Epler scored first to pull VTSU-Castleton to within one possession, 17-15, with the first bucket of the second quarter, but the Huskies responded with five unanswered points, including a traditional three-point play from Cote to widen the gap at 22-15 with 7:41 on the clock.  Coombs answered for the Spartans with a three, but Cote canned her first three of the game on USM's next possession and Shipley converted a layup off of a feed from Degifico to make it a 10-point game 27-17 at the 6:18 mark.
  • A jumper from Cote just under the five minute mark until the halftime break gave USM an 11-point margin 29-18, but the Spartans climbed back into the game with a 10-0 run to trail by a single point, 29-28, with 1:56 until half. Epler and McKearin each had three points in the run, while Luna Perry-St. Peter had four points, including two free throws to make it a one-point game. With its lead in jeopardy, USM scored the final four points of the half, including a layup from Kratzer to make it 33-28 at the break.
  • USM used a strong start to the third quarter to outscore the Spartans 20-13 in the frame.  Southern Maine outscored VTSU-Castleton 14-6 in the first 4:33 to lead 47-34 with 5:12 on the clock.  Wiles was instrumental in the run scoring 11 of her 22 points. After a pair of free throw from Wiles made the game 47-34 neither team scored for the next three minutes until VTSU's Adams scored a traditional three-point play to start a run of five unanswered points for the Spartans making it a 47-39 game with 1:46 until the end of the third. USM closed the third outscoring the Spartans 6-2 as Degifico went 4-for-4 from the free throw line to help the Huskies take a 53-41 lead into the fourth.
  • The Huskies ran away with the game in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Spartans 16-7 in the opening five minutes.  Wiles continued to control the tempo scoring seven points in the run, while Cote knocked down her third three of the game to make it 69-48 with 5:12 remaining in the contest. The Spartans scored the next four points, but Degifico, Kratzer and sophomore Campbell Doughty (Ashland, Va.) each drained a three as part of a 9-2 run over the next 2:22 to give USM its largest lead of the game 78-54 with less than a minute to play. From there, the Spartans made a single free throw for the 78-55 final.
 
Inside The Stats:
  • Southern Maine shot 34.4 percent (11-for-32) from three-point range in the game, and held the Spartans to just two threes in the contest (2-for-14).  The Huskies shot 36 percent overall (27-for-45), but limited VTSU-Castleton to just 26 percent shooting from the field (19-for-73).
  • Led by Shipley's 10 rebounds, the Huskies held a 42-37 advantage in rebounding, and had 12 offensive boards.
  • Led by eight points from junior Julia Kratzer (Gorham, Maine) and seven from senior Maria Degifico (South Portland, Maine), the  Huskies' bench outscored the Spartans' bench 25-6.
 
Up Next:
Securing the third seed for the upcoming 2025 Little East Conference women's basketball conference championship tournament, the Huskies will host sixth seed UMass Boston Beacons in the quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 25 (6:00 pm).  The winner will advance to play in the semifinals of the tournament at no. 2 Rhode Island College on Thursday.
 
 
-cac-
 
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