(Box
Score)
PLYMOUTH, N.H. - Junior Kaylie DeMillo (Jay,
Maine) made seven three-point field goals and finished with a
game-high 23 points Tuesday evening as the University of Southern
Maine pulled out a seven-point victory, 67-60, over Plymouth State
University in Little East Conference women's basketball action at
Foley Gymnasium.
The Huskies held a 10-point second-half lead before Plymouth State
rallied, pulling to within one point (61-60) with less than a
minute to play. But PSU didn't score again and USM made 6-of-8 free
throws down the stretch to preserve the victory. Southern
Maine improves to 15-7 overall and 7-4 in the Little East while the
Panthers drop to 14-8 overall and 4-7 in conference play.
DeMillo got strong support from freshman Curran Leighton (Dover,
N.H.), who scored 19 points and collected a team-high eight
rebounds. Senior Haley Johnson (West Simsbury, Conn.) also
reached double digits in scoring, finishing with 11 points.
Plymouth State got a double-double from sophomore Alicia
Doucet (Manchester, N.H./Central) as she scored 19 points
and grabbed 11 rebounds. Senior Laura Kent
(Bellingham, Mass.) contributed 15 points and junior Amanda
Kania (Manchester, N.H./West) added 11 points and six
boards.
The game was close throughout as the upset-minded Panthers gave the
Huskies all they could handle. It was back and forth in the
first half with seven lead changes and the largest advantage being
four points by USM. PSU freshman Colleen
O'Hara (Otego, N.Y.) drained a three-pointer at the buzzer
to end the first half with the score tied, 28-all.
USM outscored PSU 16-6 to open the second half, giving the Huskies
their largest lead of the night, 44-34, with 14 minutes remaining.
The Panthers stayed in the game and went on an 11-5 run from the
five-minute mark to the one-minute mark before the Huskies pulled
it out in the final minute.
Both teams played solid defense with PSU holding USM to 37 percent
in the shooting department while the Huskies held the Panthers to a
28 percent clip.
PSU will be home on Saturday for an LEC clash against UMass Boston
for the Senior Day contest at Foley Gymnasium. The start time
for that game has been moved back to 2:30 p.m. Southern Maine
returns home to host Rhode Island College at 1:00 p.m.
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