FARMINGTON, Maine  - Senior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering) led four players in double figures with 13 points as the University of Southern Maine Huskies cruised to an 83-48 win in the first game of the 2011 UMaine Farmington Dunkin' Donuts Tip Off Tournament Friday evening at Dearborn Gymnasium in Farmington, Maine.

         The win evens the Huskies record out at 1-1 on the season.  The loss is the third straight for the Bengals who drop to 0-3.  It is just the second time the two teams have met and Southern Maine now leads the series 2-0.

         Garland was 4-for-8 from the field with two three-pointers to lead a well-balanced Husky attack.  The 5-7 guard added four rebounds and two assists.  Sophomore guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional), junior forward Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) and junior forward Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) each added 10 points.  Jordan added eight rebounds, three assists and two steals. Freshman Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) added nine points, three rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. 

         Bengals' sophomore guard Jenn Colpitts (Scarborough, Maine) led all scorers with 20 points. Colpitts did a bulk of her scoring from the free throw line making 13-of-18 attempts.  Freshman forward Ericka Christensen (Warren, Maine/Medomak Valley) and sophomore forward Taylor Boucher (Fort Kent, Maine) each added eight points. 

         Ahead by 12, 21-9 with 12:15 to play in the first half, Southern Maine used a 17-1 run over the next 3:37 to grab an overwhelming 39-10 lead with 7:38 remaining in the half.  Jordan spearheaded the run for Southern Maine scoring eight of the Huskies' 17 points. 

         With its offense clicking, the Huskies took their largest lead of the game 49-12 on a lay-up from senior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) with 3:52 to play.   Cochran finished the game with seven points and six rebounds in limited minutes.  The Bengals closed the gap in the final two minutes of the half to trail 49-21 at the half.

         In the second half, the Huskies remained in control and regained a more than comfortable 30-point advantage in the opening six minutes of the half, led by a pair of three-pointers from Garland.

         Southern Maine returns to action on Saturday (1:00 p.m.) in its second game of the UMF Dunkin' Donuts Tip Off Tournament.  The Huskies will face the Owls of UMaine Presque Isle.  UMaine Fort Kent will face UMaine Farmington on Saturday (3:00 p.m.).

–cac–