Friday, February 29, 2008

Balanced Huskies Down Keene State 55-34, Advances to LEC Championship

GORHAM, Maine -- Junior forward Stacey Kent (Northwood, N.H./Coe-Brown
Academy) scored a game-high 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds, passed off three
assists and had five steals to lead the nationally-ranked University of Southern
Maine Huskies to a 55-34 victory over the Keene State College Owls in the second
semifinal game of the 2008 Little East Conference women's basketball tournament
Friday night at the Warren Hill Gymnasium in Gorham.
With the win, the top seeded Huskies improve to 25-2 overall and advance to
the LEC championship game against the Eastern Connecticut State University
Warriors on Saturday (4:00 p.m.). The second-seeded Warriors defeated third-
seeded Western Connecticut State University
58-46 earlier in the evening. Keene State, the fourth seed in the tournament
ends its season with a 16-11 record.
Senior guard Dawn Ross (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) joined Kent in
double-figures notching all 11 of her points in the first half, including
connecting on a trio of three-pointers. Ross added six rebounds and a pair of
assists. Senior forward Angela Santa Fe (Derry, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) chipped
in with nine points. Senior forward Josalee Danieli (New Gloucester,
Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) and sophomore forward Becky Dixon (Pittston,
Maine/Gardiner) added six and five points respectively while each grabbed eight
rebounds off of the bench.
Senior guard Danielle Graveley (Schenectady, N.Y./Schenectady) was the only
Keene State player in double-figures netting 10 points on a 5-for-12 effort from
the field. Sophomore forward Nicole Simmler (Oxford, Mass.) added eight points
and five rebounds, while sophomore forward Kristin Degou (Newburyport, Mass.)
chipped in with seven points.
Neither team shot the ball well in the opening five minutes of the game
combining for a frigid 1-for-15 mark from the field. The Huskies took a 5-3
lead when Dixon scored Southern Maine's first field goal with 14:15 on the
clock. Following Dixon's layup the Huskies scored five straight points on a
pair of free throws from Kent and a three-pointer from Ross to lead the Owls by
seven (10-3) with 11:16 to play.
Both teams battled back and forth over the next seven minutes and Keene
State cut the USM lead to five (15-10) on a three-pointer from Degou with 6:59
on the clock. Southern Maine responded down the stretch outscoring the Owls 13-
6 to close out the half and lead 28-16 at the break. Ross scored eight of the
Huskies final 13 points in the half, knocking down a pair of three pointers and
making two free throws.
The Owls scored the first two points of the second half on a lay-up by
Simmler, but it was the only two points the Owls would score in the first 9:12
of the second stanza as USM turned up its defensive pressure. Southern Maine
pulled away from the Owls during that stretch scoring 14 unanswered points to
open up a commanding 42-18 lead with 11:48 to play. The Huskies received
scoring contributions from five different players in the run, including four
points from Kent.
Simmler snapped the Owls' scoreless drought making a lay-up after a steal
with 11:46 to play, but USM used a 7-2 mini-run on two free throws from Dixon, a
lay-up from Kent and a traditional three-point play from Danieli to grab its
largest lead of the game (49-22) with 7:44 remaining. From there the Owls never
got closer than 19 points (53-34) with 1:12 to play as the Huskies cruised to
the win.
Southern Maine shot just 34.7 percent (17-for-49) from the field, while
Keene State made 26.0 percent (13-for-50). The Huskies held a huge rebounding
advantage, 47-26, including 17 offensive boards.


Friday, February 29, 2008


Eastern Conn. Downs Western Conn. 58-46
Warriors Advance to Little East Conference Championship Game

GORHAM, Maine -- Junior Ashley McFetridge (Canton, Conn.) scored a game-
high 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the second-seeded Eastern
Connecticut State University Warriors to a 58-46 victory over the third-seeded
Western Connecticut State University Colonials in the first semi-final game of
the 2008 Little East Conference Women's Basketball Championship Tournament being
played at the Warren G. Hill Gymnasium on the campus of the University of
Southern Maine.
The win was the seventh straight for the Warriors who improve to 23-4 on
the season. The Warriors move into the championship game on Saturday (4:00
p.m.) and will play the winner of the second semi-final game between top-seeded
Southern Maine and fourth-seeded Keene State College. The Colonials finish the
season 20-6.
McFetridge scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half to help Eastern
Connecticut edge out to a 27-23 lead at halftime. The 6-foot-2 center was
perfect in the opening 20 minutes converting all four of her shots from the
floor and all six free throws.
The first half was nip and tuck befitting two teams that split their two-
game regular season series. There were six lead changes and 10 ties in the half
before the Warriors went out in front to stay. Two free throws by EC junior
Nicky Morey (Columbia, Conn./Windham) snapped the last tie with 1:01 to go in
the half, and Morey added a layup in the final seconds for the four-point
advantage.
Western Connecticut stayed within striking distance over the first 10
minutes of the second half getting as close as one (34-33) on a three-pointer
from junior Stacey Roberts (Windham, Conn.) with 12:36 to go.
Two free throws and a basket by EC senior Bridget Durette (Seymour, Conn.)
ignited an 8-0 run that expanded the lead from five (42-37) to 13 (50-37) with
5:57 remaining. The Colonials missed five straight shots before rookie Karli
Spera (Waterford, Conn.) hit a three-pointer to jump start a 7-0 run. That
spurt got the Colonials back within six (50-44) with 3:22 to play.
Down the stretch, the Warriors converted 6-of-12 free throws and mixed in a
layup from freshman Jessica Moriarty (East Haven, Conn.) while the Colonials
could only counter with a basket from standout senior guard Ally Greenwood (East
Hartford, Conn.).
For Eastern Connecticut, Morey finished with 10 points while Moriarty
contributed eight points (all in the second half) and grabbed a game-high 11
rebounds. Durette and senior Stephanie Smith (Penacook, N.H./Merrimack Valley)
each had eight points.
On the other side of the ledger, Greenwood was the lone Colonial to reach
double figures finishing with 13 points. She also handed out a game-high seven
assists.
The Warriors made 38 percent (16 of 42) of their shots from the floor, but
had a big edge at the charity stripe, converting 26 of 39 tries. The Colonials
connected on just 33 percent (19 of 58) of their shots from the floor and went
to the line just eight times.

EASTERN CONN. 58, WESTERN CONNECTICUT 46
WESTERN CONNECTICUT (20-6)
Ally Greenwood 6-11 1-3 13; Isabella Henry 3-5 0-0 6; Karli Spera 2-8 0-0 6;
Melissa Teel 2-3 1-2 5; Alyssa McGhee 2-8 0-1 5; Stacey Roberts 1-4 1-2 4;
Jennifer Kancler 1-3 0-0 3; Heather Lee 1-8 0-0 2; Nia Harmon 1-2 0-0 2; Katie
Moffo 0-6 0-0 0. Totals 19-58 3-8 46.
EASTERN CONN. (23-4)
Ashley McFetridge 5-8 9-14 19; Nicky Morey 2-7 6-6 10; Stephanie Smith 3-6 2-2
8; Jessica Moriarty 3-9 2-4 8; Bridget Durette 3-7 2-5 8; Sara Paradis 0-4 5-8
5; Kathy Shaw 0-1 0-0 0.
Totals 16-42 26-39 58.
Western Connecticut........... 23 23 - 46
Eastern Conn.................. 27 31 - 58
3-point goals-Western Connecticut 5-23 (Karli Spera 2-3; Alyssa McGhee 1-5;
Jennifer Kancler 1-3; Stacey Roberts 1-3; Katie Moffo 0-3; Heather Lee 0-5; Ally
Greenwood 0-1), Eastern Conn. 0-5 (Stephanie Smith 0-2; Jessica Moriarty 0-1;
Sara Paradis 0-1; Kathy Shaw 0-1).
Fouled out--Western Connecticut-None, Eastern Conn.-None. Rebounds-Western
Connecticut 32 (Stacey Roberts 7), Eastern Conn. 33 (Jessica Moriarty 11).
Assists-Western Connecticut 12 (Ally Greenwood 7), Eastern Conn. 6 (Sara Paradis
3). Total fouls-Western Connecticut 26, Eastern Conn. 15.