BOSTON, Mass.  –  In a win and in scenario Wednesday night against the University of Southern Maine for UMass Boston Women's Basketball to get into the Little East Conference Tournament, the Beacons fell at home to the Huskies, 53-38.

The loss drops UMass Boston to 5-10 in conference play with just one game remaining against Keene State on the road Saturday afternoon. With the Keene State win over Castleton, the Owls remain alive in tournament contention at 4-11. Eastern Connecticut defeated WestConn this evening as well, setting up a three-way tie with Southern Maine and UMass Boston at 5-10 for the final two playoff spots with one game left.

WestConn and Southern Maine square off on Saturday for a win and in matchup while UMass Boston can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Keene State this weekend. A loss would drop them into a tie with the loser of the WestConn-Southern Maine matchup and Keene State, leaving their fate up to a three-way tiebreaker.

THE BASICS

UMass Boston 53, University of Southern Maine 38

UMass Boston (12-13, 5-10 LEC)
University of Southern Maine (7-17, 5-10 LEC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
The opening quarter would be a battle on the defensive end as neither team would be able to record a basket until junior forward Alexah Potter's layup with 7:37 to go in the frame. The rest of the quarter would be dominated by Southern Maine who finished on an 8-2 run which included four points from freshman guard Vanessa Vaughan to go ahead by six points, 12-6, after one. UMass Boston shot just 3-for-10 in the first 10 minutes with six turnovers while Southern Maine was 5-for-12 from the floor with one turnover.

Early on in the second, the Beacons would fight their way back into the game after falling down by eight with 8:54 remaining in the half. Back-to-back baskets from three-point range by sophomore Sunny Green and in the paint by graduate forward Meg Dixon cut the deficit down to three, 14-11. However, that would be the closest UMass Boston would get in the second quarter as they trailed 20-17 with 1:31 left and a 5-0 run from Vaughan and junior guard Franny Ramsdell put the Huskies ahead by eight, 25-17, heading into the locker room.

Senior guard Paige Ollivierre kicked off the third with a three, bringing UMass Boston back within five points to start the quarter. But the frame would be controlled primarily by Southern Maine who led by as many as 12 points, 34-22, with 4:22 left in the frame. The two sides would combine for 14 turnovers with the Beacons committing eight to the Huskies' six, as Southern Maine remained in control by 12 points, 38-26.
 
Southern Maine would never relinquish their lead in the fourth as the Huskies as UMass Boston would only be able to cut their deficit down to as little as nine points, 45-36, with 2:36 remaining in regulation. The Huskies would close on an 8-2 run with the dagger being a three from junior guard Tamarah Gould with 1:43 left as Southern Maine downed the Beacons, 53-38.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Meg Dixon finished with 10 points and eight rebounds while playing all but four seconds
• Alexah Potter notched a team-high and season-high 13 rebounds in the affair
• Vanessa Vaughan played 22 minutes for the Huskies, scoring a team-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting
• UMass Boston committed 26 turnovers, resulting in 23 points for Southern Maine while the Huskies committed 19 turnovers leading to 16 Beacon points

WHO'S NEXT
UMass Boston closes the regular season with a matchup against Keene State College on the road at 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon. Earlier this season, the Beacons defeated the Owls at home 66-61 back in January.

With a win, UMass Boston would clinch an LEC Tournament spot while a loss would drop them into a three-way tiebreaker scenario for the final spot with Keene State and the loser of WestConn-Southern Maine on Saturday.