Senior forward Ashley Marble (Topsfield, Maine/Woodland) scored 33 points and grabbed 20 rebounds – both career-high totals – to lead the fifth-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies to a 77-59 Little East Conference win over the Keene State College Owls Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium on the Gorham campus.
Both teams entered today’s contest undefeated in the Little East Conference. With the win, the Huskies capture their 10th straight and improve to 13-1 overall and 5-0 in the LEC. The loss snaps a three-game winning streak for the Owls who drop to 10-4 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
Marble was a force inside for the Huskies, shrugging off a collapsing Owls’ defense, making 8-for-18 from the field while knocking down 15 of 18 attempts from the free throw line en route to her 33 points. The 5-9 forward has scored 30 or more points three times this season. Marble’s 20 rebounds ranks fourth all-time in USM single game records and helped her to her 35th career double-double.
Southern Maine junior guard Dawn Ross (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) also established a career-high scoring 15 points off of the bench and chipped in with three assists and two steals. Freshman guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan) added eight points and a career-high eight assists, while sophomore guard Stacey Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown Academy) chipped in with seven points, five rebounds and four steals.
Keene State senior guard Bri Barnes (Merrimack, N.H./Merrimack) led the Owls with 12 points, including a pair of long-range three-pointers, while sophomore forward Jenn Kinney (Salem, N.H./Salem) and freshman forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass./Oxford) each scored eight points. Senior forward Sarah Begnoche (Millville, Mass./Blackstone-Millville) added six points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds.
After scoring the first nine points of the game, Southern Maine trailed Keene State 34-33 at the half as the Owls held the Huskies to just 34.4 percent (11-for-32) shooting from the floor in the opening stanza. Begnoche netted all six of her points in the opening half and Barnes tallied seven of her 12. With her team struggling offensively, Marble was able to shoulder the bulk of offensive load for USM scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in the first half.
Both teams battled back and forth in the first six minutes of the second half and were tied 43-43 with 13:39 on the clock, before USM outscored the Owls 19-4 over the next five and a half minutes to take control of the game 62-47 with 8:12 remaining. Ross keyed the pivotal USM run, scoring 11 of her 15 points on a pair of three-pointers, an acrobatic lay-up and a trio of free throws. The Huskies continued to click offensively, outscoring Keene State 17-10 down the stretch, and led by as many as 22 points en route to the 77-59 win.
Southern Maine finished the game shooting 42.1 percent (24-for-57) from the field and 85.7 percent (24-for-28) from the free throw line. After shooting 44.8 percent (13-for-29) from the floor in the first half, Keene State finished shooting 35.5 percent (22-for-62). Southern Maine also held a 43-34 edge in rebounds.
The Huskies return to action on Tuesday (January 16) at home against Plymouth State University for a 5:30 p.m. Little East Conference game. Keene State plays again on the same date when it host Eastern Connecticut State University at 5:30 p.m. in an LEC contest.