CASTINE, Maine – Bekah Campbell (Corinth, Maine) scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked four shots to lead Maine Maritime to a 68-60 win over Johnson State in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play on Saturday.
The Mariners wrap the regular season with a record of 13-12 (10-8 NAC), while the Badgers close out their campaign at 4-21 (2-16 NAC). The Mariners will wait to learn their NAC playoff seeding. The tournament field is released later this evening.
After starting the game with a 1-of-10 effort from the floor, the Mariners began to find the bucket behind Campbell, who scored 10 of her 17 points in the first period. The game was tight throughout the first half with six ties and three lead changes. A Casey McCloskey (Howland, Maine) trey with 2:27 left in the period made it a five-point game with 2:27 left. The Mariners took a seven-point lead into the break, and then opened the second half with a 9-0 run to make it 41-25. Campbell spent the better part of the run cleaning up the glass. Senior Sam Goda (Eliot, Maine) scored half of her eight points in the run, while Maggie Smith (Bath, Maine) drained a three as part of her 16-point senior day.
The Mariners' lead remained in double-digits through much of the second half, but behind Andrea Deuell (Milton, Vt.) and Brittany Robertson (Burlington, Vt.), the Badgers chipped away late. Deuell became the seventh Johnson State player to reach the 1,000-point plateau en route to a game-high 26 points. The Badgers guard hit a pair of free throws with 14:59 left in the game to reach the milestone.
The sun set on her career in twilight conditions at Smith Gymnasium. A power outage halted play with 11:01 left in the game. The teams agreed there was enough ambient light to complete the contest safely and Deuell went to work trying to power a Badgers' comeback. She posted 11 points down the stretch, cutting into what had been a 14-point lead just after the lights went out. Robertson drained two of her six three pointers of the day to cut into the Mariners lead, however, Maine Maritime's cushion was too large for Johnson State to overcome. Robertson finished with 23 points fueled by a 6-of-10 effort from three-point land.
In addition to her 16 points, Smith recorded six assists and five rebounds. Leah Jackson (Dedham, Maine) posted nine points and a game-high 12 rebounds for the Mariners. Johnson's K.C. Cousineau (Bristol, Vt.) pulled down 11 rebounds. Maine Maritime held a 50-37 edge on the glass and turned 22 offensive boards into 18 points.
MAINE MARITIME 68, JOHNSON ST. 60
JOHNSON ST. (4-21, 2-16)
Andrea Deuell 7-25 9-13 26; Brittany Robertson 8-18 1-2 23; KC Cousineau 2-9 1-2 5; Kassidee Keefe 1-2 2-2 4; Kirsten Rand 1-3 0-1 2; Jenessa Swainbank 0-1 0-0 0; Madeline Pritchard 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 19-61 13-20 60.
MAINE MARITIME (13-12, 10-8)
Bekah Campbell 8-13 1-6 17; Maggie Smith 6-14 3-4 16; Leah Jackson 4-6 1-5 9; Sam Goda 4-12 0-0 8; Casey Everest 3-6 0-0 6; Casey McCloskey 1-3 0-0 3; Courtney Dufour 1-3 0-0 3; Kayley Rodriguez 1-2 0-0 2; Alyssa Severance 1-2 0-0 2; Crystal Clark 0-1 2-2 2; Jillian Perron 0-2 0-0 0; Kari Jones 0-1 0-0 0; Sydney Robertson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 29-66 7-17 68.
Johnson St.................... 25 35 - 60
Maine Maritime................ 32 36 - 68
3-point goals--Johnson St. 9-21 (Brittany Robertson 6-10; Andrea Deuell 3-11), Maine Maritime 3-11 (Maggie Smith 1-5; Casey McCloskey 1-2; Courtney Dufour 1-3; Kari Jones 0-1).
Fouled out--Johnson St.-None, Maine Maritime-None.
Rebounds--Johnson St. 37 (KC Cousineau 11), Maine Maritime 50 (Leah Jackson 12).
Assists--Johnson St. 8 (Andrea Deuell 4), Maine Maritime 17 (Maggie Smith 6).
Total fouls--Johnson St. 14, Maine Maritime 15.
Technical fouls--Johnson St.-None, Maine Maritime-None.
A-131