GORHAM, Maine – Freshman
Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) had a monster double-double with 14 points, a career-high 19 rebounds, adding four assists, three blocked shots and two steals to lead the third seed University of Southern Maine Huskies to come-from-behind 59-48 win over the sixth-seed UMass Boston Beacons in the quarterfinal round of the 2025 Little East Conference women's basketball tournament Tuesday night at Hill Gymnasium.
The Huskies outscored the Beacons 29-11 in the fourth quarter to overcome a 37-30 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter. Shipley was one of three Huskies in double-figures for her fifth double-double of the season. Her 19 rebounds is 10
th in single-game Husky records. Graduate student
Liz Cote (Conway, N.H./Kennett) added 12 points, four steals, and three rebounds, while freshman
Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) added 11 points, six assists, four steals and three rebounds. Senior
Maddy York (Nobleboro, Maine/Lincoln Academy) had a critical seven points off of the bench for the Huskies.
Vanessa Bucha led three Beacons in double-figures with 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting, including a 3-for-6 effort from three. Sabanna Berrios had 12 points and eight rebounds, while Samora Merchant put-together a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds.
The Records:
No. 6 UMass Boston (10-16)
Southern Maine (17-9)
SERIES HISTORY: Today's game marked the 88th meeting between the UMass Boston Beacons and the University of Southern Maine Huskies. Southern Maine leads the overall series 77-11. Southern Maine swept the 2024-2025 regular season series against the Beacons. The Huskies are 7-1 against UMB in their last eight meetings.
How It Happened:
- Ahead 10-2 after the first five minutes of the game, Southern Maine was outscored by the Beacons 8-1 in the final 4:23 and held a narrow 11-10 margin headed into the second quarter.
- Shipley put the Huskies ahead 15-12 with back-to-back layups in the opening minutes of the second quarter, but the Beacons surged ahead with a 6-0 run over the next 2:28 of action to snag an 18-15 lead. Merchant scored all six of the Beacons points in the run, while Southern Maine was ice cold going 0-for-4 from the field.
- Freshman Ali Portas (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) stopped the Beacon run with a jumper and Cote hit a three for a quick five-point swing, and a 20-18 Husky lead, but the Beacons outscored USM 7-2 in the final two minutes to lead 25-23 at the break. Bucha started the run for UMB with a three.
- The Beacons put together a 12-7 third quarter to take a 37-30 lead heading into the fourth. Berrios hit a three to start the third and Husky senior Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) connected on a jumper to keep USM within a possession 27-25 at the 8:20 mark, but the Beacons' Bucha scored the next five unanswered with a three and a jumper to give UMB a 32-25 advantage with 5:49 left in the quarter. A Tatianna Ferry layup with 1:38 to go I the third gave UMB its largest lead of the game, 35-27, before Shipley responded with an and-one play to make it 35-30 on the next possession. However, the Beacons' Merchant scored the final bucket of the third for a 37-30 UMB lead.
- With their playoff hopes on the line, the Huskies started the fourth quarter on the front foot racing ahead 42-37 with a 12-0 run that spanned the opening 3:37 of the fourth. USM was 3-for-5 during the run, and 4-for-5 from the free throw line. Wiles started the Huskies off with a three on their first possession, and senior Francesca Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) had a pivotal and-one play and two free throws for five points. Bucha responded for UMB with a three, cutting the Beacon deficit to 42-40, but York bounced back with back-to-back threes for a 48-40 Husky lead with 5:05 to play.
- After exchanging buckets, UMB pulled to within four of the Huskies, 50-46, on a jumper from Berrios and a lauyup from Bucha, with 3:30 to play, but USM again responded to the push outscoring the Beacons 9-2 in the final 3:22. Wiles (5) and Shipley (4) scored all of USM's points to close out the game.
Inside The Stats:
- Shooting in the high 20s for a majority of the game, Southern Maine shot 50 percent (7-for-15) in the fourth quarter. The Huskies finished the game shooting 29 percent (18-for-62), while UMB finished the game shooting 34.4 percent (21-for-61).
- Southern Maine had 16 steals in the game led by four each from Cote and Wiles. The Beacons committed 23 turnovers and Southern Maine made 17.
- UMass Boston's bench outscored USM's 20-9. Berrios led the way with 12 points.
Up Next:
Southern Maine advances to the semifinal round of the 2025 Little East Conference tournament, and will face no. 2 Rhode Island College on Thursday, February 27 (7:00 pm).
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