Senior forward Ashley Marble (Topsfield, Maine/Woodland) recorded her second double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the nationally-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 71-57 win over the Colby College Mules in a non-conference women’s basketball game Wednesday night at Wadsworth Gymnasium in Waterville.
With the win the Huskies, ranked sixth in the lastest D3Hoops.com national poll, improved to 5-1 overall. The loss dropped the Mules record to 1-6.
Southern Maine pulled away in the second half after weathering a hot-shooting performance from the Mules in the opening half. Colby opened the game shooting an outstanding 48 percent (12-for-25) from the field and held a slim one-point lead 14-13 midway through the opening half, before the Huskies outscored the Mules 26-16 over the final 10:46 to take a narrow 36-30 lead into the break. Junior guard Tracy Nale (Waterville, Maine) paced the Mules with seven points in the first half.
After the halftime break, the Huskies relied on Marble to put some distance between themselves and the Mules as she scored 14 of her game-high 24 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the second half. The Huskies, also found their stroke offensively, connecting on 50 percent of their attempts from the field in the second stanza draining 13-of-26 from the field. Sophomore guard Stacey Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown) was the only other USM player to score in double-figures, netting 14 points on a stellar 5-for-8 shooting performance, including a 4-for-5 mark from three-point range. Freshmen guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan Area) and forward Haley Johnson (West Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) and junior forward Angela Santa Fe (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) each scored eight points a piece for Southern Maine. Johnson’s eight points were a season and career high for the 6-0 post player, while Paradis added two assists and three steals.
Nale finished the game with a team-high 16 points and four assists for Colby, while Alison Cappelloni (Sudbury, Mass.) added 12 points and two blocked shots.
For the game, USM shot a solid 44.8 percent (26-for-58) from the field, while Colby fared slightly better shooting 44.9 percent (22-for-49) but was hampered by 20 turnovers.
Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (December 9) at 1 p.m. when it hosts Little East Conference rival Eastern Connecticut State University. Colby travels to NESCAC rival Bowdoin College on the same date for a 7 p.m. contest.