Box Score
GORHAM, Maine – The University of Southern Maine put a 1-of-17 showing from three-point range behind it in a ten-point loss to Eastern Connecticut State University a month ago by converting seven of 12 in the first half and went on to a 69-49 Little East Conference women's basketball victory Saturday afternoon at the Warren Hill Gymnasium.
The teams entered play sharing third place in the conference, three games behind Rhode Island College and 3 ½ behind unbeaten leader University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. Now 8-2 at home this year (5-1 at home vs. LEC), Southern Maine (11-9, 7-4) has won four of its last five while Eastern (7-13, 6-5 LEC) fell to 2-7 on its opponents' home court in losing its fourth straight overall.
One of the LEC's top teams in three-point field goals, Southern Maine was limited to single-digit points in three of four quarters in a 50-40 loss to the Warriors at Geissler Gymnasium in the conference opener for both teams Dec. 4. In that game, the Huskies missed 16 of 17 shots from behind the arc and Eastern outscored them by 12 in the fourth quarter to pull away.
Saturday, USM connected on two three-pointers in the first five minutes and four in all on seven tries in the first quarter to post an eight-point, 20-12 lead after ten minutes. In the second quarter, Liz Cote, Dakota Shipley and Campbell Doughty all swished three-pointers in the first five minutes of the frame as the Huskies moved out to a 12-point, 32-20 lead and took that 12-point lead (38-26) into the break. The team's seven three-point field goals in the first half matched its season average.
Trailing by those eight points after one quarter, Eastern got a jumper from first-year guard
Liv Cassesse (Wallingford) and putbacks from first-year forward
Isabella Romero (Peabody, MA) and sophomore forward
Marissa Nudd (Colchester) to slice the eight-point deficit in half. After a USM timeout, Eastern stole the ball and had a chance to pull to within one but missed a three-pointer, and Cote followed with her three pointer, and Shipley turned another Eastern turnover into another USM three-point field goal that made it 28-18.
Eastern led only once in the game when senior forward
Taylor Salato (East Haven) scored the opening basket. After Nudd's free throw midway through the first quarter made it 7-5, the hosts outscored the Warriors 13-7 the rest of the quarter, with nine of the points coming on three-point field goals. Salato (7 points) and Nudd (3) combined to score ten of Eastern's 12 points in the first quarter, with senior guard
Kya Mayo (Middletown) adding the other points off her own offensive rebound.
In the first half, Eastern's ten turnovers translated into 11 Southern Maine points.
Five different players combined for three-point field goals for Southern Maine, with Cote, freshman guard Lucy Wiles and sophomore center Lita Guslens combining to go 10-of-18 from behind the arc as the Huskies finished 12-of-28 from three-point range. Cote had 17 points (7-of-11 FG) and Wiles 12 (4-of-6 FG, all from "three"). Thirty of USM's points came off 23 Eastern turnovers.
Salato led Eastern with 15 points, Nudd added 11 points and five rebounds. Mayo led both teams with eight rebounds, Romero adding five. With her 15 points, Salato moved from 16th all-time in scoring to 14th, with 1,124 career points.
With five (LEC) games remaining in the regular season, Eastern looks to complete season sweeps of Western Connecticut State University (Wednesday) and Keene State College (Feb. 12) on the road and VTSU Castleton (Feb. 15) at home over a two-week span. In a 67-56 home win over WestConn Jan. 8, the Warriors rode to a 23-point, 43-20 halftime lead. Salato (27) and Nudd (21) combined for 48 of the team's points and were a combined 12-of-16 from the foul line, and Cassesse grabbed ten rebounds. In all, the Warriors were 18-of-22 from the foul line against the Wolves.
