(Game
Box)
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Sophomore Kaylie DeMillo (Jay,
Maine) led five University of Southern Maine players in double
figures with 18 points Tuesday evening as the Huskies outlasted
Plymouth State University, 74-66, in Little East Conference women's
basketball action at Foley Gymnasium.
The Huskies have won two straight and five of their last six,
improving to 19-5 overall and taking over third place in the
conference with a 9-4 mark. PSU rallied from a 17-point,
second-half deficit and cut the margin to four, but came up short
and fell to 15-9 overall and 5-8 in conference play.
Sophomore Kristi Violette (Readfield, Maine) added 14 points for
the Huskies while senior Stacy Kent (Northwood, N.H.), junior
Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine) and freshman Courtney Cochran
(Waite, Maine) each added 11.
PSU sophomore Amanda Kania (Manchester,
N.H./West), who scored a career-high 34 points in her last outing,
came back with a team-leading 20 points and nine rebounds against
USM. Freshman Alicia Doucet (Manchester,
N.H./Central) added 17 points off the Panther bench, and junior
Laura Kent (Bellingham, Mass.) chipped in with 10
points. Senior Kayla Morin (Pascoag, RI) filled
the stat sheet, recording eight points, nine assists and seven
rebounds in the losing effort.
USM took the lead for good just two minutes into the contest and
never looked back. The Huskies slowly pulled away in the
first half, increasing their lead to 10 points (29-19) with 5:30 to
play and to 16 points (42-26) with a minute left before settling
for a 44-30 lead at the break.
With the contest seemingly in USM's hands, PSU fought back with a
24-11 burst over a 10-minute stretch, cutting the margin to just
four points (67-63) with 1:34 remaining. The Panthers had two
chances to close the gap but a pair of turnovers foiled any
possibility of an upset.
The Huskies shot 6-of-8 from the free throw line in the last 37
seconds to cement the victory. USM converted 27-of-33 (82
percent) from the charity stripe for the game.
Both teams wrap up the regular season at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday with
Plymouth State hosting UMass Dartmouth on Senior Day at Foley
Gymnasium while USM entertains Western Connecticut.
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