With the win Southern Maine earned its 64th consecutive victory over a Little East Conference opponent and moved to 6-1 overall and improved to 2-0 in conference action. Eastern Connecticut dropped its second straight conference game to dip to 4-3 overall and 0-2 in the LEC.
Marble was a solid 8-for-15 from the floor to spearhead a balanced Southern Maine attack. Sophomore forward Stacey Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown Academy) netted a career-high 19 points shooting an outstanding 7-for-8 from the field, including a 4-for-5 effort from three-point range. Kent added three blocked shots and two steals for the Huskies, while junior forward Angela Santa Fe (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) and senior guard Katie Sibley (Boothbay, Maine/Boothbay Region) chipped in with 13 and 11 points respectively. Sibley played a steady floor game for USM passing off six assists and freshman guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan), earning her first career start, strung together a neat seven-point, seven-assist and three steal performance
Senior forward Sandy Mosely (Goshen, Conn./Wamogo Regional) led the Warriors with 15 points, while sophomore forward Ashley McFetridge (Canton, Conn./Canton) and junior forward Bridget Durette (Seymour, Conn./Seymour) each scored 11 points. Durette added four rebounds, four assists and two steals for Eastern Connecticut.
Southern Maine broke open a close contest late in the first half, catching fire in the final seven minutes. Trailing 25-24 with 7:35 left to play following a pair of free throws from Eastern Connecticut sophomore guard Kate Brunet (Bristol, Conn./Bristol Central), Southern Maine took the lead for good and took control of the game with a 20-4 run starting with fast-break lay-up from Sibley after a steal and assist from Marble. USM then increased its lead to five as Kent knocked down one of her four three-pointers of the game, before Eastern Connecticut answered with a jumper from Mosely. Mosely’s jumper at 4:57 was the Warriors last basket for the next three minutes, as the Huskies scored eight unanswered points on a three-pointer and a lay-up from Kent and three free throws from Marble as USM led by 10, 37-27, with 2:10 to play.
Eastern Connecticut junior forward Julie Herchenroder (Glastonbury, Conn./Glastonbury) snapped the Warriors’ cold spell with a lay-up off of a Brunet assist, but the Huskies buried back-to-back three-pointers from Kent and Paradis to take a 43-29 lead into the break.
Southern Maine increased its advantage to 18 points, 48-30, in the opening minutes of the second half on another fast-break lay-up, this time with Paradis benefiting from a Sibley steal and assist and a three-pointer from Santa Fe.
The Huskies, who led by as many as 22 points midway through half, did fend off a mini-run from the Warriors. After USM took a 65-43 lead following a steal and a pull-up jumper from junior guard Dawn Ross (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) with 8:11 to play, Eastern Connecticut outscored the Huskies 13-4, paced by six points from Mosely, over the next four minutes to trail by 13, 69-56 with 3:50 on the clock.
However, Southern Maine used timely three-pointers from Marble and Kent, to bookend one of two free throws from Durette, to regain a comfortable 18-point lead, 75-57 with just over two minutes to play. From there the Huskies outscored Eastern Connecticut 5-2 in the closing minutes of the game for the 80-59 final.
Southern Maine returns to action against the University of New England on Tuesday (December 12) at 5:30 p.m. in a non-conference match-up. Eastern Connecticut travels to Daytona, Fla to play MidAmerican Nazarene on Saturday (December 16) at the Bahama House Classic. Game time is yet to be determined.