Earning their fourth consecutive victory the Huskies improve to 7-1 overall, while the Noreasters dip below .500 at 3-4 overall.
Marble was 8-for-10 from the floor and 6-of-8 from the free throw line en route to the game-high 22 points in just 24 minutes of action. Marble added five rebounds, a blocked shot and a game-high three steals. Sophomore guard Stacy Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown Academy) added 12 points, a game-high eight rebounds and two assists for the Huskies, while junior guard Dawn Ross (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) was 3-for-5 from three-point range to toss in a career-high 13 points off of the bench. Senior guard Katie Sibley (Boothbay, Maine/Boothbay Region) and freshman guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan) each chipped in with eight points, while Sibley passed off a game-high five assists. Paradis added two assists, two steals and a blocked shot.
Sophomore guard Alli Gamache (Dudley, Mass./Shepherd Hill Regional) paced the Noreasters with 16 points on a 5-for-9 effort from the field, while sophomore forward Sara Pelkey (Barre, Vt./Spaulding) added eight points and four rebounds.
Southern Maine broke the game open late in the first period as the Noreasters came out on fire knocking down nine of their first 11 shots, including a perfect 3-for-3 mark from three-point range. Ahead by just two points, 25-23, following a jumper from UNE junior guard Ashley St. Hilaire (Lebanon, N.H./Lebanon) Southern Maine outscored the Noreasters 19-2 in the final five minutes of the half.
Marble keyed the run scoring six straight points on three consecutive lay-ups on assists from junior forward Angela Santa Fe (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy), Kent and Paradis, before Paradis knocked down a three-pointer from the top of the key to quickly put USM ahead 34-23. A pair of free throws from St. Hilaire broke up the Huskies scoring, but USM countered with a pair of jumpers from Marble and senior forward Lauren Samuelson (Southbury, Conn./Pomperaug), before scoring six points in the final minute of the game on a free throw from Kent, a three-pointer from Ross and a steal and a lay-up from Marble to take a 44-25 lead into the break. Marble finished the first half with 18 of her 22 points, while Paradis netted all eight of her points in the opening stanza.
In the second half, USM grew its lead to 32 points, 63-31, in the first eight minutes of action outscoring UNE 19-6 while knocking down seven of its 13 shots. Kent scored eight of her 12 points in the run. From their the Noreasters never got any closer than 22 points the rest of the way.
Southern Maine finished the game shooting 51.7 percent from the field (30-for-58) and passing off 21 assists, led by Sibley’s five, four from senior guard Lindsey Welch (Newport, Maine/Nokomis) and three from Santa Fe. The Noreasters shot 36 percent (18-for-50) from the floor and were hampered by 29 turnovers as the Huskies grabbed 13 steals in the game.
The Huskies return to action Thursday (December 28) at the Land of Magic Classic in Orlando, Fla. Southern Maine will play Clark University (Mass.) at 2 p.m. The University of New England returns to action at UMaine Farmington on Friday (December 15) at 7 p.m.
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