WATERVILLE, Maine  –  Sophomore Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) scored a game-high 19 points on 8-for-14 shooting to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Southern Maine Huskies rolled the Thomas College Terriers 81-52 in a non-conference women's basketball game Tuesday afternoon at Larry Mahaney Gymnasium.
 
Wiles added six assists and five steals for the Huskies who raced out to a 30-10 lead after the first quarter. Senior Jaycie Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) added 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists on 5-for-9 shooting, while graduate student Liz Cote (Conway, NH/Kennett Memorial) was 3-for-5 from three for 13 points and three steals. Sophomore Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick) added 11 points, six rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
 
Holly Loring was the only Terrier in double-figures with 17 points and nine rebounds on 6-for-8 shooting.  Kay McLellan and Kaya Loring added eight and seven points each.  Pryelle Kesse-Beda, despite being held 12 points below her scoring average, had four points, eight rebounds, four assists and a steal.
 
The Records:
Southern Maine (15-1, 7-0 Little East)
Thomas College (16-5, 7-3 North Atlantic)
 
Today's meeting marked the 22nd meeting between the University of Southern Maine Huskies and the Thomas College Terriers.  The Huskies lead the overall series221-0, and earned a 69-36 win over the Terriers during the 2024-2025 season after facing each other for the first time since the 2019 season.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• After the Terriers' Emily Haggery hit a three to start the scoring at the 9:13, Southern Maine assumed control of the game with a blistering 18-0 run over the next 4:31 of action to lead 18-3 with 3:31 to go. The Huskies were 7-for-11 from the field during the run, including 2-for-3 from three-point range. Wiles had eight to lead Southern Maine, while Christopher and Cote each had five.  Thomas was held to an 0-for-9 effort during that stretch with three turnovers.
• Loring halted the dry spell for Thomas with a layup, but USM ran off seven unanswered points to lead 25-5 with 1:57 on the clock.  Christopher, Cote and Wiles handled the scoring for the Huskies in the run, and both teams finished the final two minutes scoring five points each for a commanding 30-10 USM lead.
• Thomas outscored USM 8-4 in the first five minutes of the second quarter, trimming its deficit to 16, 34-18, as Mykey Avni converted a layup, but the Huskies outscored the Terriers 12-4 to close out the half up 46-22.  Shipley started the run with a layup, and senior Avah Ingalls (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) turned in a quick five points on a steal and a layup and a three before Wiles scored USM's final bucket of the half with a three off of an kickout from Shipley.  Loring scored twice from the free throw line for the Terriers to close the half.
•  USM started the third with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes to snag a 31-point margin, 53-22 with 7:57 to play. Christopher started with a three, and was followed by a jumper from Wiles and a layup from Shipley. Loring and Kesse-Beda went for back-to-back buckets cutting the deficit to 53-26 with 7:03 on the clock, but Cote canned a three igniting a 12-3 run from the Huskies that gave them their largest lead of the game, 65-29, with 3:52 to go in the frame. USM was 5-for-5 from the field during the run and was led by five points from Shipley. The Terriers were able to get their deficit under 30, 65-36, before the quarter ended using a 7-0 run in the closing minutes led by four points from Loring.
• Both teams scored 16 points each in the fourth quarter for the 81-52 final. Freshman Lexi Morin (Brunswick, Maine) had a career-best six points for the Huskies in the quarter and her two free throws had USM up by 35, 81-46, with 2:29 to go before Thomas scored the final six points of the game for the final.

 
Inside The Statistics:

• Southern Maine shot 42.9 percent (30-for-70) from the field and 34.5 percent from three-point range (10-for-29). The Huskies were 11-for-12 form the free throw line for a 91.7 percent clip. Thomas shot 36.4 percent (20-for-55) from the field and just 16.7 percent (2-for-12) from three. The Terriers were 10-for-14 (71.4 percent) from the free throw line. 
• The Huskies scored 19 of their 81 points off of 19 Terrier turnovers. Southern Maine made nine turnovers in the contest. 
• Twelve Southern Maine players figured in the scoring total. None of the Huskies' starters played more than 25 minutes and none of the Huskies' starters played in the fourth quarter.

 
 
Up Next:
Southern Maine remains on the road for its next two contests and returns to Little East Conference action.  The Huskies are at Plymouth State on Tuesday, January 21 (5:30 pm) and then head to WestConn on Saturday, January 24 (1:00 pm). Southern Maine returns home on Wednesday, January 28 (5:00 pm) against UMass Boston.
           
 
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