The win is the ninth straight for Southern Maine, which improves to 12-1 overall. The loss drops the Vikings to 7-4 overall. Southern Maine leads the all-time series with its in-region rival 19-12.
Marble connected on 12-of-18 attempts from the floor and drained a pair of three-pointers en route to her new career high. The 5-9 forward’s 10 rebounds gave Marble her seventh double-double of the season and helped USM to a dominating 42-21 edge on the glass.
Freshman guard Nicole Paradis (Skowhegan, Maine/Skowhegan) matched her career-high tossing in 14 points on a 4-for-6 mark from three-point range and sophomore guard Stacey Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown Academy) added 11 points and six rebounds. Junior forward Angela Santa Fe (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) chipped in with nine points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Dawn Ross (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) and freshman forward Haley Johnson (West Simsbury, Conn./Simsbury) each netted eight points off of the bench.
Freshman center Danielle Jenkins (Marlborough, Mass.) led the Vikings with a team-high 16 points on a 7-for-13 effort from the floor and freshman Katie Bielonko (Chicopee, Mass.) tossed in 10 points.
Trailing 18-16 with 12:32 to play in the first half after a jumper from Salem State freshman guard Manisse Louinard (Lynn, Mass.), Southern Maine used a 14-0 run to take control of the game. Five different players scored for USM in the decisive run, led by five points from Paradis and four points from Johnson, as the Huskies took a 49-36 lead into the halftime break.
In the second half, Southern Maine grew its advantage to 25 scoring 12 straight points and holding the Vikings scoreless in the opening four and a half minutes to lead 61-36 with 15:25 on the clock. Marble scored seven of her 31 points in the run on a pair of lay-ups and a three-pointer.
Southern Maine led by as many as 28 late in the game after a three-pointer from freshman guard Trisha MacDonald (Millinocket, Maine/Stearns) put the Huskies up 85-56 with 4:38 to play.
Both teams finished the game with exceptional shooting percentages. Southern Maine finished the game shooting 53.3 percent (32-for-60) from the field, including an outstanding 52.6 percent from long range, connecting on a season-high 10 three-pointers on 19 attempts. Salem State made 26 of its 53 field goal attempts to end the game shooting 49.1 percent.
Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (January 13) at 1 p.m. when it hosts Keene State College in a Little East Conference game. Salem State plays again on the same date when it travels to MASCAC opponent Fitchburg State for a 1 p.m. contest.