BOSTON, Mass.—The University of Southern Maine held off a late Beacons' charge to stay perfect in Boston, as the Huskies held on for a 54-51 Wednesday night at the Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.

THE BASICS

Southern Maine 54, UMass Boston 51

(UMass Boston 9-7, Little East 2-4)

(Southern Maine 10-6, Little East 5-1) 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Huskies senior forward Megan Pelletier scored 17 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots – all game-high totals – to win the battle down low and help the Huskies win their fourth straight and their sixth in the last seven games.

In a game that featured two of the top bigs in the conference, both sides had to rely on their benches and role players more than they expected, with both sides experiencing foul trouble up front. 

Junior Chantel Jordan (Brockton, Mass.) just missed out on tying her career high, as she came off the bench to finish with a team-high 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting for the Beacons. Katrina Edwards (Springfield, Mass.) added six points and a team-high eight rebounds, while Ariana Rivera (Burlington, Mass.) tacked on seven points, four rebounds and a team-leading three steals. 

With Olivia Murphy (Canton, Mass.) in early foul trouble and the Beacons struggling to score, the bench outscored the team's starters 28-23, with Grace Geary (Falmouth, Mass.) and Raven Kelsey (Boston, Mass.) combining for 17 of the starters' 23 points. 

Senior Gretchen Anderson and sophomore Miranda Nicely each scored 10 points for the Huskies, who improved to 68-1 all-time against the Beacons. 

Despite trailing by as many as 11 points, 40-29, late in the third quarter, UMass Boston fought itself back into the game by the closing minutes of the game.  After a three from Southern Maine's Kristie McNall to open the fourth quarter made it a 43-33 game with 9:35 to play, Southern Maine went ice cold and the Beacons rattled off six unanswered points over the next three minutes and 23 seconds to trim their deficit to 43-39 on a pair of free throws from Murphy.  The Beacons scored four of its six points from the free throw line as USM committed five fouls and two turnovers during that stretch, and went 0-for-3 from the floor. 

Miranda Nicely halted the UMass Boston run with a layup for a six-point Southern Maine lead with 5:58 to play. 

Both teams squandered possessions over the next two minutes before Jordan converted a layup for UMass Boston, pulling the Beacons to within two possessions of USM, 45-41, with 4:02 to play. Pelletier answered back with a move in the paint for a 47-41 lead with 3:18 on the clock. 

Again both teams came up empty over the next few possessions, before Murphy benefitted from an Edwards' steal to cut the game to four points with 1:49 to play. 

With the momentum trending towards the Beacons and offense and a premium, Southern Maine's Ella Ramonas hauled down a key offensive rebound and then sank a pair of free throws to put her team ahead 49-43 with 1:25 to play.  The Beacons did not go quietly, scoring four straight points on layups from Geary and Jordan to trail 49-47 with 27 seconds to play. Southern Maine closed the game out on the line though, making five of six free throws down the stretch, including two each from Gretchen Anderson and Ramonas. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• UMass Boston shot a season-low 27.0 percent (17-of-63) from the field and hit a season-low one 3-pointers (1-of-8). The Huskies finished the game 19-of-43 (44.2 percent) and 2-of-9 (22.2 percent) from distance.
• The Beacons held a 37-34 edge in rebounding and forced 26 Southern Maine turnovers.
• UMass Boston led for just 1:29 in the contest. As they fell behind early and only led by as many as four points after a Kelsey three early in the third quarter.

WHO'S NEXT

INFORMATION IN THIS RELEASE COURTESY OF SOUTHERN MAINE SPORTS INFORMATION