| Gary Fifield has coached
Southern Maine to yet another 20-win season. Southern Maine athletics photo |
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. – Trailing by a point, 71-70, the University of Southern Maine Huskies used two solid defensive plays and timely free throw shooting to avoid an upset and deliver veteran head coach Gary Fifield his 600th career victory with a 75-71 win over the UMass Dartmouth Corsairs in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at the Tripp Athletic Center in North Dartmouth, Mass.
With the win, Southern Maine completes its regular season with a 20-5 overall record and an 11-3 mark in the Little East. The win also gives Fifield, in his 24th season with the Huskies, milestone 600th career win (all with USM). Fifield, the 2005 WBCA National Coach of the Year, is 600-111 (.843 winning percentage) and is sixth all-time in wins among active NCAA Division III women's basketball coaches. He has been the Little East Conference Coach of the Year 13 times and has named the WBCA District 1 Coach of the Year four times (2006, 2002, 2001 and 1998).
After USM senior forward Courtney Cochran (Waite, Maine/Woodland) picked up her fifth foul while rebounding, the Corsairs' sophomore Erika Bornemann (Canton, Mass.) hit two free throws to put her team ahead of the Huskies 71-70 with 1:26 to play. Cochran's foul was ruled intentional and the Corsairs retained possession. However, Husky junior forward Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) came up big defensively with a blocked shot and a defense rebound.
With the ball in their half, the Huskies' went ahead 72-71 when junior forward Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) finished a layup on an assist from senior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering). Grant continued the Huskies' strong play defensively, taking a charge in the paint and returning the ball to Southern Maine.
Forced to foul, the Corsairs put Husky sophomore guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) on the line and she calmly sank two for a 74-71 lead with 10 seconds on the clock. Grant cleared the boards off of the Corsairs miss in their next possession and sank 1-of-2 for the 75-71 USM win as time expired.
Jordan led the Huskies with 20 points. She added five rebounds and a pair of assists, while Cochran recorded her 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 10 rebounds, despite limited time due to foul trouble. Garland added 12 points, nine rebounds and a team-high six assists. McNamara, Grant, senior guard Renee Nicholas (Sebago, Maine/Lake Region) and freshman forward Abby Hasson (South Portland, Maine) each had six points. Nicholas added five assists and six rebounds.
Senior guard Stephanie Houtman (New Bedford, Mass.) led all scorers with 22 points. The 5-7 guard added six rebounds, four assists and a steal. Junior guard Erika Batchelder (Stoughton, Mass.) was 5-for-10 from three-point range en route to 21 points on a 7-for-15 effort from the floor. Bornemann finished with 10 points and a game-high 19 rebounds.
The Corsairs were lights out from three-point range to set themselves up for the near upset victory. UMass Dartmouth canned 11 three-pointers in the game. The Corsairs finished the game shooting 37.3 percent (25-for-67) from the field. Southern Maine shot 41.3 percent (26-for-63) from the floor.
The second seed in the 2012 Little East Conference women's basketball championship tournament, Southern Maine will face the winner of the no. 6 UMass Boston vs. No. 3 Keene State game on Friday (7:30 p.m.). UMass Dartmouth is the fifth seed in the tournament and will travel to face fourth-seeded Western Connecticut on Tuesday (tba).
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