GORHAM, Maine – Senior forward Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) scored a game-high 11 points to lead a solid team effort as the 19th-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies rolled to a 57-20 win over the Husson University Eagles in a non-conference women's basketball game Friday night at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine.
The win is the ninth straight for the Huskies who improve to 9-0 overall. Husson falls to 1-5 with the loss.
Grant led all scorers on 5-for-7 shooting in just 12 minutes of action as all 15 members of the USM squad saw at least 11 minutes of action. Grant added five rebounds and two assists. Freshman guard Jill Madden (North Andover, Mass.) tossed in a career-high eight points, including 2-for-2 mark from three-point range. Sophomore forward Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with six points in 12 minutes.
Sophomore guard Jade Keezer (Veazie, Maine/Orono) led the Eagles with seven points on a 3-for-6 effort from the field. Senior guard Kelli Murray (Shawmut, Maine/Lawrence) added five points and eight rebounds.
The Huskies scored the first 14 points fo the game and never looked back en route to their 9-0 start. It is the first time since the 1996-97 season that Southern Maine has won its first nine games of the season. Senior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine) sank a three in the Huskies' opening possession to spur the 14-0 opening run. Four different players scored for USM in the run, led by six points from Grant.
Murray scored the Eagles first points of the game with a layup at with 14:50 to play, but the Huskies rattled off seven more unanswered points to lead 21-2 with 8:00 to play. Four different players scored for USM in its 7-0 run, capped by a steal from sophomore guard Taylor Flood (Sanford, Maine) to set up a baseline jumper from sophomore guard Kaitlin Callahan (Windsor, Vt.).
Shooting 48.3 percent (14-for-29) from the field, the Huskies continued to roll and held a decisive 33-11 lead at the break. The second half was much as the same as USM outscored the Eagles 24-9 in the second stanza.
USM held Husson to 13.2 percent shooting (7-for-53) from the field and forced the Eagles into 26 turnovers. The Huskies scored 23 of their 57 points off of Eagles' miscues and outscored Husson 24-8 in the paint.
Southern Maine returns to action at the Salem State Holiday Classic in Salem, Mass. Southern Maine will face D'Youville on Saturday, December 29 (12:00 p.m.). Husson returns to competition on Monday, December 31 (1:00 p.m.) at Brandeis University.
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