With the win the Huskies improve to 3-0 overall, while the Bobcats suffer their first loss of the season to dip to 2-1.
Sibley strung together an impressive overall line shooting 7-for-15 from the field and a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. The 5-5 point guard quarterbacked the Huskies offense to an impressive 56.3 percent effort from the field (27-for-48), passing off a team-high four assists. Senior forward Ashley Marble (Topsfield, Maine/Woodland) added 23 points and a game-high nine rebounds for Southern Maine, while sophomore forward Stacey Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown Academy) continued her stellar work tossing in 11 points, grabbing six rebounds with two assists and three steals.
Bates junior forward Matia Kostakis (Andover, Mass./Andover) tallied 16 points to lead the Bobcats. Kostakis was zeroed in on the basket in the opening half, making 6-of-7 from the field. Kostakis finished the game shooting an impressive 7-for-9 from the field before fouling out late in the game. Junior guard Sarah Barton (Portsmouth, N.H./Portsmouth) and sophomore forward Val Beckwith (Woburn, Mass./Woburn) added 10 and 12 points respectively for Bates.
Both teams opened the game clicking on all cylinders with USM shooting 51.6 percent (16-for-31) and Bates shooting (17-for-32). By the end of the half, both teams combined to score 84 points with Southern Maine holding a slim 44-40 advantage. USM’s Sibley scored 11 of her points in the first half, while Kent and freshman guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan) chipped in with seven points each. Bates’ Beckwith connected on 4-of-6 from the floor for nine points.
In the second half, USM outscored Bates 22-10 in the first eight minutes to create a 66-50 lead with 12:02 to play. Marble knocked down 12 of her 23 points in the run, while Sibley added six and junior guard Dawn Ross (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) scored all five of her points on a pair of free throws and a three-pointer.
Bates countered with its own powerful run, outscoring the Huskies 20-9 over the next six and a half minutes to slice its deficit to just five points, 75-70, with 5:30 to play. Bates used three points each from Kostakis and Barton in the run, while freshman forward Lauren Yanofsky (Belmont, Mass./Belmont) tallied four of her five points.
Southern Maine fought off the Bobcat rally with a 9-1 run to take a 13-point lead (84-71), with just over a minute to play to seal the win. Kent keyed the run knocking down a pair of free throws, while Marble added a lay-up and one of two from the charity stripe and Sibley hit a driving jumper and a pair of free throws to cap the run.
Southern Maine returns to action on Tuesday (November 28) at Bowdoin College for a 6 p.m. start. Bates travels to Husson College for a 7 p.m. tip off on Wednesday (November 29).