University of Southern Maine Womens Basketball comes out on top at home 58-54 advancing to a record of 7-5 in the regular season
By: Chris Tiner, News Editor
On Wednesday, January 31st, the Huskies came out on top with a victory over LEC rival, the UMass Boston Beacons at the Costello Gymnasium on University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus.
Everyone on the court for the home team was getting buckets, and doing what was needed to put the Huskies over for the win. Senior Guard number 32, Amy Fleming put on an impressive performance, 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 steals, with nine of her 11 points coming in the fourth quarter. Other leading scorers were Senior Guard number 22 Tamrah Gould with 14 points, and Graduate Student number 13, Megan King with 9 points.
The Beacons won the tip off, starting themselves out in a good position, but the Huskies were just too much to handle. Gould scored the first points for the Huskies with two free throws early in the first quarter. As play continued, number 20 Julia Kratzer banks in a three pointer from the corner to put the Huskies up 12-9 with three minutes left in the first. Three pointers were no stranger for the Huskies continuing throughout the first quarter, as number 11 Vanessa Vaughan hit one with thirty seconds left in the first. The Huskies finished the first quarter on top 17-13.
As the second quarter began, the Huskies were the first to add to their lead. The Beacons began to add more pressure on the defensive end, coming up with a big steal that was then chased down and blocked by Gould in an incredible defensive effort. Fleming was able to knock down two free throws a little over halfway through the second quarter putting the Huskies up by eight points. The first half concluded with the beacons making a slight comeback, making the score 25-23 going into half time. The first half leading scorer for the Huskies was Tamrah Gould, putting up 8 points to help the Huskies carry the lead moving into the second half of the game.
The third quarter saw more high volume scoring, and the same lead the Huskies had maintained throughout the game so far. Senior Guard number 4 Liz Cote put up a huge three pointer from the corner to give the Huskies an eleven point lead with just under three minutes to go in the third. The third quarter concluded with the Huskies still on top 48-39.
Fleming continued her fourth quarter takeover with a three pointer to keep the Huskies on top, maintaining a twelve point lead with a little over seven minutes left in the final quarter of the game. The Beacons kept fighting to bring their winning chances back to life in the fourth quarter, bringing the game to just a three point lead by the Huskies with a little over two and a half minutes left, but the Huskies were still on fire. Fleming scored four of her nine fourth quarter points with only ninety seconds left in the game, putting the Huskies on top for the win with a final score of 58-54 Huskies.
The University of Southern Maine Women’s Basketball record is now 7-5 in the LEC (Little Eastern Conference) tied for third in the standings with just four conference games remaining. Their next game will take place on Saturday, February 3rd, at Western Connecticut State, starting at 1:00pm.