The win is the 13th consecutive for the Huskies who remain undefeated at 13-0 and 3-0 in the Little East Conference. With their 13-0 start the Huskies match their best start since the 1991-1992 season. The loss snaps a two-game win streak for the Owls who fall to 5-7 overall and remain winless in the LEC at 0-3.
Garland was 5-11 from three-point range for the Huskies who shot 45.0 percent (9-for-20) from beyond the arc for the game. Sophomore forward Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) added 17 points, five rebounds and three assists. Senior guard Haley Jordan (Falmouth, Maine) tossed in 14 points, two assists and three steals off of the bench for USM on a 4-for-8 effort from the floor. Junior guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) added 12 points, while senior forward Jordan Grant (Concord, N.H.) had her fifth double-double of the season with a neat 10 point, 10 rebound performance.
Sophomore guard Christan Wojtas (Amherst, N.H./Soughegan) paced the Owls with 17 points and five rebounds, including a trio of three-pointers. Senior guard Siobhan Carnell (Quincy, Mass./North Quincy) added 15 points and a team-high six rebounds.
Garland scored 20 of her 21 pointsin the first half as the Huskies held a slim 36-34 lead at the break. Keene State continued to keep the game close after halftime as USM was unable to break away from KSC until late in the second half with a backbreaking 17-1 run. Ahead by just three points, 55-52, following a pair of free throws from KSC's Carnell at the 8:50 mark, USM scored seven straight points to pull ahead of the Owls 63-52 led by four consecutive free throws from Knight, a layup from Jordan and another set of free throws from Grant with 6:34 to play. Carnell
One of two free throws from Carnell broke up the Huskies' scoring to put the score at 63-53 in favor of the Huskies, before Jordan nailed a three off of an assist from Knight to jump start a 10-0 run. After Jordan's three, Knight scored four straight points on two free throws and a layup and Grant finished the run with a set of free throws after a Jordan steal. After the run, USM held its largest lead of the game 72-53 with 3:01 to play. Both teams exchanged successful possessions down the stretch for the 76-57 final.
After shooting just 35.7 percent (10-for-28) in the first half, Southern Maine rebounded to finish the game shooting 40.8 percent (10-for-21) in the second half. The Huskies were very strong on the free throw line sinking 27 of 29 (93.1 percent) led by a 9-for-10 performance from Knight.
The Owls shot 38.5 percent (20-for-52) from the field. KSC opened the game hot shooting 48.3 percent in the first half (14-for-29) including a 6-for-10 effort from three-point range, but did not hit a three in the second half.
Southern Maine hosts Rhode Island College on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.). Keene State travels to Western Connecticut on Tuesday (5:30 p.m.). Both are Little East Conference games.
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