After a loss against a very talented Colby College team on Feb. 1, the USM women’s basketball had been steamrolling, with their latest victim being Plymouth State.
The Huskies used a 50-point first half and four double-figure performances to rout the Panthers 96-61 in a Little East Conference match-up at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham on Feb. 8.
USM’s dominant offense was led by junior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite) who scored 15 and was one rebound shy of earning her team-leading 13th double-double of the season. Speedy junior guard Renee Nicholas (Sebago) turned in a solid game as well with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists. Sophomore Haley Jordan (Falmouth) added 11 points, junior Nicole Garland (Portland) contributed ten points including two 3-pointers and senior Kaylie DeMillo (Jay) dished out five assists.
Nicholas got the scoring started for the Huskies just ten seconds into the game with an aggressive drive to the hoop for an uncontested layup. Plymouth State senior forward Amanda Kania scored seven of the Panthers’ first eight points, but Cochran and Jordan combined for 10 points in a little over three minutes to give the Huskies an early 14-8.
On the next two possessions, Plymouth sophomore guard Kellie Walsh sank a 3-pointer, then made a layup to cut the USM lead to 14-13. USM senior Becky Dixon (Gardiner) then fouled Plymouth freshman guard Sammie Walker, who made the second of two free throws to tie the score at 14 at the 14-minute mark.
From that point on, the Huskies went on a tear, going on a 15-0 run over the next four minutes. The run was highlighted by two 3-pointers from DeMillo, a 3-pointer by Garland, and seven points by Dixon.
It was smooth sailing from there, as USM went on 14-0 run from 6:35 to the 3:38 mark and held Plymouth State to only 17 points in the last ten minutes of the half to earn a 50-34 lead going into the locker room.
The Huskies took advantage of their size on the low block in the first half as the play of Cochran and Dixon was too much for the Panthers.
“We were really looking to try to get it down to Courtney and Becky early on,” USM Head Coach Fifield said. “In the first half 36 of our 50 points came from in the paint.”
Coming into the second half, the Huskies rattled off 12 points in the opening five minutes and held PSU to only four. With a little under 15 minutes to play, Garland blocked a shot and dished it to Nicholas for two of her 14 points. Less than a minute and a half later, Garland made a layup off an assist from DeMillo and drained a mid-range jumper on the next possession off another assist from DeMillo, increasing the USM lead to 69-41.
With a little under nine minutes to play, Fifield put his subs in and they contributed solid minutes. Freshman Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford), Mariah Callendar (Portland), and Meghan Craffey (Casco) each drained 3-pointers, and Lindsay Fox (Oxford) and sophomore Brooke Stevens (Wells) contributed four and two points for the Huskies.
“We were able to get our subs some good minutes,” Fifield said. “It was nice. Those kids work real, real hard, and it was a great opportunity for them to get out there and contribute.”
USM led by as much as 37 points in the game at the 8:41 mark, and Plymouth never came within 28 after that point while being held to only 27 second half points.
The Huskies, who are now tied for second in the Little East with Eastern Connecticut at 10-2, will host UMass Boston on Tuesday, as the seniors will be honored on senior night.