Biddeford, Maine - Junior
Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) led three players in double-figures with 20 points but it was not enough as the University of Southern Maine Huskies dropped a nail-biter 65-63 to the University of New England Nor'easters in a season-opening non-conference women's basketball game Friday night in Biddeford.
Wiles had five rebounds and five assists to go with her game-high 20 points. Junior
Dakota Shipley (Brunswick, Maine) added 19 points, six rebounds and two assists, while senior
Emma Stred (China, Maine/Erskine Academy) had 10 points and a game nine rebounds.
Sydney Jenisch had 16 points to lead three Nor'easters in double figures, and a pair of critical steals at the end of regulation. Hannah Blanchard added 15 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Maddy Werner tossed in 10 points off of the bench.
The Records:
Southern Maine (0-1)
University of New England (1-0)
Tonight's game marked the 56th meeting between the University of New England and the University of Southern Maine. The Huskies lead the overall series 40-15. Southern Maine's 76-58 win over the Nor'easters at home last season stopped a three-game skid to UNE.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- In a high-scoring first quarter, Southern Maine trailed 22-19 despite shooting 58.3 percent (7-for-12) from the field. The Huskies outscored UNE 17-11 in the second quarter and took a 36-33 lead into the halftime break. Wiles scored 10 of her 20 points in the second quarter to push the Huskies ahead.
- The Huskies' offense struggled in the third quarter shooting just 23.1 percent from the field (3-for-13). UNE scored the first five points of the third to lead 38-36 with 7:14 on the clock. Stred hit back-to-back layups for the Huskies to return the lead 40-38. The Huskies led 47-45 with 2:35 to go in the third on a three from Shipley, but UNE scored the final five points of the frame to take a 50-47 lead into the fourth.
- UNE extended its run in the fourth with back-to-back layups to lead 54-47, before the Huskies answered with a bucket from Wiles to trail 54-49. The Nor'easters remained in front by seven, 58-51 on a layup from Riese Grier before USM pushed for the lead with a 12-0 run. Morelli scored the first of her five points in the quarter to start the run with a layup and capped it with a three at the 3:05 mark for a 63-59 Husky lead.
- UNE's Maddy Werner converted an and-one play making it a one-point game, 63-62, with 2:01 to play, and then made a jumper on the Nor'easters next possession to take back the lead 64-63 with 1:17 to go. From there, USM had four empty possession to get the go-ahead bucket, and Jenisch made one of two last-second free throws for the 65-63 final.
Inside The Statistics:
- Southern Maine finished the game shooting 44.0 percent (22-for-50) from the field and 40 percent (6-for-15) from three. The Huskies' had 39 rebounds led by nine from Stred and eight from Shipley.
- UNE shot 36.6 percent (26-for-71) from the field, and 21.7 percent (5-for-23) from three in the win. The Nor'easters scored 15 of their points off of 18 Southern Maine turnovers, while UNE committed just seven. The Noreasters also had 19 second-chance points compared to USM's three.
Up Next:
Southern Maine returns to action at home on Saturday, November 14 (1:00 pm) against UMaine Presque Isle, and then host Clark University on Wednesday, November 18 (5:30 pm).
-cac-
