Last year the USM women’s basketball team opened their season with a 77-57 win at home against the UNE Nor’easters. This year UNE came out with a vengeance as they buried USM 72-55. The loss marked the Huskies first defeat in a season opener since 1989.
UNE used a combination of balanced scoring and tenacious defense to shut down the annually dominant Huskies.
USM kept up with the Nor’easters in the first 20 minutes, trailing by just four points as the score rounded out to 37-34 at half. UNE showcased an accurate shooting performance in the first half as they shot 47.1 percent (16 for 34) from the field, including a 50 percent effort from 3-point range (5 for 10).
UNE came out of the locker room after halftime focused and ready to play as they maintained their consistent shooting in the second half. The Nor’easters shot 38.7 (12 for 31) percent from the field and 28.6 percent from 3-point land to down the huskies. USM suffered from cold shooting as they tallied only five field goals in the second half shooting and unfathomable 16.7 percent from the field, and zero percent from 3-point range which is very unlike the usual sharp shooting Huskies squad.
UNE was led by sophomore forward Margo Russell who recorded a team high 14 points. All four of her starting teammates were in double figures. Also, sophomore guard Kelly Paradis scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds, junior guard Lyndie Libby and sophomore guard Kari Pelletier who dropped 10 points each; and freshman forward Beth Suggs recorded a double-double in her first collegiate game.
Things just weren’t going the Huskies way. It seemed like every rebound and loose ball landed in a Nor’easters’ hands. UNE outrebounded USM 51-29 in the contest, a fact that provided UNE with a lot of second chances on offense to sink the Huskies.
“I think we’ve gotten the first game jitters out,” said USM head coach Gary Fifield. “It was their second game and our first and we really never got into the flow of the game. We played tentative defensively and lacked aggression, which was something UNE was strong at all night.”
Although the Huskies suffered from ice cold shooting, USM freshman Curran Leighton (Dover, NH) turned in a solid performance with a game-high 18 points on 6-16 shooting from the field.
“Curran is a very good athlete, and is only going to get better at the college level,” said Fifield.
Other notable USM performances were turned in by senior co-captain Haley Johnson (West Simsbury, CT) and sophomore guard Renee Nicolas (Sebego) who each scored eight points, with Johnson posting a team-high eight rebounds.
Despite the loss in the season opener, Fifield, who is in his 22nd year as the USM women’s head basketball coach, is confident in his team.
“The success of our program creates a target on our back for every team to come out and play their best against us, and sometimes we fall on the short end,” said Fifield. “We just need to play to our potential, play with emotion, and be defensively aggressive and we’ll be fine.”
Since the season opening loss, the Huskies have won three straight. USM dropped Curry College 74-50, toppled UMaine Farmington 64-34 to capture the UMF Tip-Off Tournament, and dominated the Bates College Bobcats in their home opener last Tuesday 71-52.
The Huskies look to be on track as they prepare for a tough week ahead. This week features a pair of home games against always-competitive Bowdoin College on Tuesday, Dec. 1, and against LEC rival Western Connecticut on Saturday, Dec. 5.