GORHAM, Maine  –  Sophomore Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) scored a game-high 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting to lead three players in double figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors 76-62 in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.
 
Wiles knocked down three three-pointers in the contest and added two assists and two steals to her game-high total. Senior Jaycie Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) added 16 points, a game-high six assists, and four rebounds, while sophomore Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) filled the stat sheet with 13 points, six rebounds, four blocked shots, three steals and two assists.
 
Marissa Nudd led the Warriors with 19 points on 9-for-16 shooting, adding six rebounds and two steals.  Maddie Topa had 16 points, while Liv Cassesse added nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.
 
The Records:
Eastern Connecticut (7-9, 4-3 Little East)
Southern Maine (14-1, 7-0 Little East)
 
Today's meeting marked the 102nd meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Eastern Connecticut State University Warriors. Southern Maine leads the overall series 71-31.   USM and ECSU split their 2023-24 and 2024-2025 series.  Southern Maine is at Eastern Connecticut on February 7 for the second game in the series.  
 
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Graduate student Liz Cote (Conway, NH/Kennett) hit a three at the 6:39 mark of the first quarter to cap a 7-0 game-staring run as USM led early. The Huskies held the Warriors without a field goal until the 5:59 mark when Alyssa Paquette got ECSU on the board.  Southern Maine remained in front and led by eight, 12-4, with 4:03 to play on a jumper from Shipley before ECSU close the frame up 11-4 in scoring to trail the Huskies 16-15 heading into the second. Nudd had six of the Warriors final 11 points in the first quarter as ECSU went 5-for-6 from the field after starting 2-for-10 with three turnovers.  
• Christopher scored the first basket of the second quarter, but the Warriors' Nudd and Topa hit back-to-back buckets to lead for the first time, 19-18, with 8:06 to go in the quarter. Christopher and Nudd exchanged baskets twice and the Warriors again led by one, 23-22, with 5:16 to go until the halftime break, but Southern Maine closed out the half up 13-4 in scoring to lead 35-27. USM was 5-for-9 from the field in the final 4:51 of play, including 3-for-5 from three.  Wiles had five of USM's final 13 points. 
• Senior Avah Ingalls (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) extended USM's lead to 10, 37-27, with the first bucket of the second half.  A three from Topa made it a nine-point ECSU deficit, 39-30, with 8:41 on the clock but the Huskies rattled off 10 straight to seize control 49-30 with 6:51 on the clock.  Shipley had an and-one play to cap the rally.
• Topa and Nudd combined for four points to trim their team's deficit to 15, 49-34, but another 10-0 run from the Huskies gave USM it's largest lead 59-34 with 2:14 to go in the third.  USM was 4-for-4 from the field in the run, including threes from Shipley and Cote.  The Warriors to close the third up 7-1 in scoring to trail 60-41 heading into the fourth.
• Topa opened the fourth for ECSU with a jumper but senior Julia Kratzer (Gorham, Maine) hit a three and Wiles knocked down one of her own for a 66-43 lead less than 90 seconds off the clock. USM stayed comfortably in front and led 75-55 with 3:14 to go in the game on a three from Ingalls before the Warriors closed the game on a 7-1 run for the 76-62 final.

 
Inside The Statistics:

• Southern Maine shot 47.5 percent (28-for-59) from the field and 37.0 percent (10-for-27) from three.  The Warriors shot 44.1 percent (26-for-59) from the floor and 41.2 percent (7-for-17) from three. 
• Southern Maine scored 22 points off of ECSU's 16 turnovers in the game. USM committed 13 turnovers. 

Notes: 
 Eastern Connecticut is coached by former USM standout Mandy King '99 – King was a two-year captain for the Huskies, and helped lead Southern Maine to the 1998 National Championship game, and three Little East Conference titles as a student-athlete.  
 
 
Up Next:
The Huskies are on a three-game road trip, heading to Thomas College in non-conference action on Tuesday, January 20 (5:30 pm), and then Plymouth State and WestConn in Little East action on Wednesday, January 21 (5:30 pm) and Saturday, January 24 (1:00 pm), respectively.  Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, January 28 (5:00 pm) against UMass Boston.
           
 
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