The win is the sixth straight for the streaking Owls who improve to 14-5 and 8-2 in the Little East Conference. The loss halts a six-game win streak for Southern Maine and drops its record to 16-5 and 7-3 in the Little East Conference.
On an ice-cold shooting night for both squads, the Owls made up the difference at the free throw line to earn the season split with Southern Maine. Both teams finished the game shooting a below average 28.0 percent from the floor, but the Owls held a strong 19-for-22 advantage from the free throw line compared to the Huskies 8-for-11 mark.
Trailing the Owls by six, 36-30, after a layup from senior forward Courtney Cirillo (Windsor Locks, Conn.) , the Huskies rallied to tie the score at 36 scoring six unanswered points. Southern Maine senior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) scored four straight points on a pair of free throws and a layup and senior guard Kim Rivet (Bridgton, Maine/Lake Region) knotted the score up with a layup of her own.
Cirillo returned the Owls to a two point, 38-36, lead with 4:26 on the clock before the Huskies took their first lead of the game since the opening half on a three-pointer from sophomore guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional). McNamara delivered again for the surging Huskies knocking down her second three in as many possessions for a 44-40 USM lead with 3:15 to play.
Owl junior guard Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) trimmed the Husky advantage to 44-42 with a layup but USM senior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering) made her only field goal of the second half for a 46-42 Husky lead with 2:42 to play.
The Owls responded, however, as Cirillo scored four straight points on a layup and two free throws to knot the score up at 46 with 1:30 remaining before both teams squandered possessions.
Cote was fouled with 24 seconds remaining on the Owls' final possession and calmly sank two for the 48-46 lead. The Huskies had a look at the basket but were unable to get the equalizer. Forced to foul, Owls senior Meaghan Farrell was sent to the line with five seconds remaining making one of two from the free throw line for the 49-46 lead.
Cirillo led all scorers with 16 points and 10 rebounds. She was 3-for-9 from the field but a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Carnell added nine points and six rebounds.
Cochran posted her 10th double-double of the season with a team-high 13 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Junior forward Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) added 11 points and six rebounds. McNamara finished with nine points.
Southern Maine hosts UMass Boston on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.). Keene State travels to Plymouth State on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.).
–cac–