Emerson posts fourth double-double in LEC setback

            GORHAM, Maine – Senior Cassidy Emerson (Concord, N.H.) recorded her fourth double-double of the season, but Plymouth State University fell to the University of Southern Maine, 60-51, in a Little East Conference women's basketball game at Hill Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

            The Panthers trailed by two, 51-49, with under three minutes to play, but USM closed out the game with a 9-2 run to escape with the win.

            With the setback PSU drops to 5-4 (0-3 LEC), while the Huskies improve to 5-2 and 2-1 in LEC action.

            The Basics:

            Plymouth State 51, Southern Maine 60

            Plymouth State 5-4, 0-3 LEC

            Southern Maine 5-2, 2-1 LEC

            How it Happened:

            * The game went back and forth in the opening quarter. Junior Brittany Roche (Londonderry, N.H.) gave the Panthers a 7-6 lead after 4:19 of action when she connected from long range, but senior Alexa Srolovitz (Montreal, Que.) quickly put the Huskies back in front with a layup at the other end.

            * A free throw from freshman Maysen Tyler (Bridge City, Texas) tied the game at 12-12 and senior Jess Conant (Canton, Maine) came up with a block on the defensive side to set up junior Chenysse Hill (Lynn, Mass.) for a 14-12 lead with a minute left in the quarter. Southern Maine scored from inside to tie it, but Hill connected from the free throw line to give PSU a 15-14 lead after one.

            * The teams traded one-point leads through the first there minutes. Freshman Victoria Harris (Altus, Okla.) tied the game for the Huskies, 19-19, but Roche laid it in and connected from downtown as PSU took a 24-19 lead.

            * Conant extended the lead to 26-21 with a jumper, but the hosts scored on the ensuing possession and the score would remain 26-23 into halftime.

            * Plymouth State pushed the lead to seven, 36-29, midway through the third quarter and Hill's layup made it 43-37 with 2:12 remaining, but USM closed out the frame with a 6-0 run to knot the game at 43-all.

            * Southern Maine used a 5-0 spurt to pull ahead over the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, aided by three free throws from Srolovitz. Hill and Emerson hit to cut the margin to 48-47, but USM sank a pair at the line. Emerson followed with another jumper to make it a one-point game with just under five minutes remaining.

            * The Huskies' defense kicked it up a notch from there, holding PSU to just a Conant jumper during a 10-2 run to earn the win.

            Inside the Numbers:

            * Conant led the Panthers with 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting.

            * Emerson finished 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Hill chipped in with nine points, five rebounds and four assists.

            * Roche came off the bench for 11 points, including three triples, and senior Debra Morrill (Concord, N.H.) dished out a game-high five assists.

            * PSU finished 39.6% from the floor to USM's 37.7% and outrebounded the Huskies by a 36-35 margin, but Southern Maine outscored the Panthers by a 20-6 margin from the charity stripe.

            Straight from the Coach's Mouth:

            "We played three-and-a-half quarters of basketball," said head coach Allison Flynn, "but against a team like Southern Maine you have to play all four. I thought we played pretty well defensively and Cassidy [Emerson] did a great job on the boards and hitting some open shots."

            Up Next:

            * The Panthers close out the 2018 portion of their schedule at home with a league contest against Eastern Connecticut State on Saturday (Dec. 8). Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m.

            * Southern Maine hosts Rhode Island College in an LEC tilt Saturday (Dec. 8) at 1:00 p.m.

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