POULTNEY, Vt. – UMaine-Farmington women's basketball senior Kenni Norton (Strong, Maine/Mt. Abram) scored a season high 18 points to lead a Beaver squad that shot a season best 42.0 percent from the field and sailed to an 81-46 win over Green Mountain College, in a North Atlantic Conference matchup Saturday at the GMC Eagle Dome.
UMaine-Farmington (1-5 overall, 1-2 NAC) jumped out to an early 11-2 lead in the opening minutes of the first half against Green Mountain College (1-4 overall, 0-2 NAC), and the Beavers extended their lead to 17 points, 23-6, by the 10-minute mark of the stanza.
UMF guard Rachel Clement (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) led the Beavers' first half attack with seven points in the opening frame, with Norton potting six points. The Beavers full court press caused confusion in the backcourt for the Eagles, preventing them from starting any sort of comeback, eventually allowing Farmington to open up at an 18 point lead at 42-24 heading into the break.
The Beavers continued their impressive display on offense as they increased their lead to 24 in the opening minutes of the second half. In all, UMF outscored GMC by a score of 39-22 in the second period, as the Beavers held Green Mountain to just 25.9 percent shooting from the field for the half.
UMaine-Farmington outrebounded Green Mountain, 50-31, and forced the Eagles into committing 17 turnovers that yielded 22 points for the Beavers.
In addition to her 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field with three 3-pointers, Norton char five rebounds, four assists and four steals. Teammates Clement and sophomore guard Lindsay Ranquist (Owls Head, Maine/Medomak Valley) scored 11 and 10 points, respectively. Senior forward Kelsey Graffam (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) led both squads with eight rebounds.
The Eagles were led by senior guard Chelsea Paul with 15 points, followed by junior forward Sierra Pease who tallied 14 points and six rebounds. Freshman forward Allison Willcox contributed eight points and a team-high seven rebounds in defeat.
UMaine-Farmington will step out of conference for its next contest, a home matchup with in-state rival Bowdoin College on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at 7:00 p.m. at Dearborn Gym.
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