PROVIDENCE, RI – Freshman
Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) scored a career-high 29 points to go with seven rebounds, five assists, and three steals to lead three players in double-figures and propels the third-seed University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 71-57 upset win on the road over second-seed and four-time defending champion Rhode Island College in the semifinals of the 2025 Little East Conference Women's Basketball Tournament Thursday evening at The Murray Center.
Wiles was 9-for-17 from the field (2-for-2 from three) to lead all-scorers for her career-high 29 points. Freshman Dakota Shpley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) added 17 points, five rebounds and two assists, while graduate student
Liz Cote (Conway, NH/Kennett) was 4-for-9 from the field for 11 points, adding six rebounds. Senior
Maddy York (Nobleboro, Maine/Lincoln Academy) had six points on a pair of threes, and senior
Jade Smedberg (Oxford, Maine/Oxford Hills) matched Wiles' with a team-high seven boards.
RIC's Madison Medbury led the way for the Anchormen with 16 points and five assists. Jayda Bing added 10 points, while Meagan Schuermann and Jaina Yekelchick had nine and eight points respectively. Angelina Nardolillo had a game-high eight rebounds.
The Records:
No. 3 Southern Maine (18-9)
No. 2 Rhode Island College (19-7)
SERIES HISTORY: Today's game marks the 96th meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Rhode Island College Anchormen. Southern Maine leads the overall series 69-27; however, Rhode Island College had won the last 13 games consecutively dating back to the 2019-2020 season. The Huskies last defeated RIC on January 26, 2019 by the score of 63-58 in Providence.
How It Happened:
- Nardolillo scored the first bucket of the game on a layup to give RIC an early lead but USM outscored the Anchormen 12-2 over the next 4:34 to lead 12-4, capped by a pull up jumper from Cote at the 3:10 mark. Nardolillo connected on a pair of free throws to cut the RIC deficit to 12-6, but the Huskies' York responded with a three from the corner making it 15-6 USM before RIC scored the final bucket of the quarter to trail 15-8. Wiles scored six of her 29 in the first frame.
- The Anchormen again struck first to start the second quarter as Schuermann drained a three off of Medbury assist to make it 15-11, but Southern Maine's Shipley and Wiles scored the next six straight to make it a double-digit lead 21-11 with less than two minutes gone in the quarter. Wiles responded to the three with a pull up jumper, and Shipley completed an assist from Wiles for a quick four points before Wiles scored her 10th points of the game with another mid-range jumper.
- RIC's Yekelchick stopped the Husky run with a driving layup, but Wiles responded with one of her own, and completed the three-point play after being fouled to ignite the Huskies to close out the second quarter on a 16-5 run. Six different players scored for USM in the final 5:57 of the half as the Huskies shot 7-for-12 from the field to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the halftime break. Senior Maria Degifico (South Portland, Maine) scored the final bucket of the half on a short-range jumper after an offensive rebound and unselfish assist from Smedberg. USM finished the second quarter outscoring RIC 22-10.
- Back-to-back threes from Shalyn Smith and Bing, and a floating jumper from Schuerman helped the Anchormen to an 8-3 start in the third quarter to trail by 14, 40-26, with 6:56 to play; however, the Huskies responded with a devasting 15-1 run over the next 3:42 to snag their largest lead of the game, 55-27, with 3:32 to play in the quarter. Wiles had seven points in the pivotal run, while Shipley added five, including a three on a feed from Wiles to give USM its largest margin. RIC closed the third outscoring USM 8-2, but still trailed by a wide gap, 58-35, with the fourth quarter to go.
- In the fourth, Wiles hit a step-back three early giving USM a 61-35 advantage. The Anchormen cut into the Huskies lead and trailed by 14, 63-49, with 3:06 to play using a 14-2 run led by seven points from Medbury, but Southern Maine kept pace with RIC the rest of the way, going 8-for-12 from the free throw line for the 71-57 final.
Inside The Stats:
- Southern Maine shot 47.9 percent (23-for-48) from the floor, and knocked down 46.7 percent (7-for-15) from three point range. RIC struggled to shoot, finishing with a 32.8 percent mark (20-for61), but was 9-for-27 from three (33.3 percent).
- Led by Smedberg and Wiles, Southern Maine had a narrow edge in rebounding 37-35; however, RIC had a 12-6 lead in offensive boards. But the Anchormen had just four second-chance points in the game.
Up Next:
Southern Maine advances to the championship game of the 2025 Little East Conference tournament. The Huskies will face top-seed and nationally-ranked UMass Dartmouth on Saturday, March 1 at 1 pm at the Tripp Athletic Center. The Huskies and Corsairs split the 2024-2025 season series. UMD took its home game 78-38 on January 16, and the Huskies earned a 74-68 win at home on February 15.
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