FARMINGTON, Maine – University of Maine at Farmington sophomore Lindsay Ranquist (Owls Head, Maine/Medomak Valley) poured in a career-high 19 points as the Beavers shot a season-best 49.1 percent from the field on their way to an 82-44 trouncing of rival Thomas College, in North Atlantic Conference women's basketball on Saturday at Dearborn Gym.
UMaine-Farmington improved to 11-13 overall with the victory, 11-7 in the NAC, while Thomas falls to 7-17 overall, 5-13 in conference play.
The Beavers will head into the North Atlantic Conference Tournament as the fifth seed, and will travel to Castine, Maine, to face Maine Maritime Academy on Tuesday, Feb. 19. Eighth-seeded Thomas College will travel to the no. 1 seed, Castleton State, for its quarterfinal matchup on Tuesday night.
Ranquist paced the Beavers with her 6-of-13 shooting from the floor, including three 3-pointers, and a perfect 4-of-4 mark from the foul line. Senior Kenni Norton (Strong, Maine/Mt. Abram) charted 16 points in her final regular season game at Dearborn Gym, while junior Holly Oliver (Belgrade Lakes, Maine/Messalonskee) rounded out UMF's double-digit scorers with 11 points.
Ranquist and senior Kelsey Graffam (Falmouth, Maine/Falmouth) each hauled down six rebounds, while Oliver and senior Rachel Clement (Gray, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) dished out four assists each.
Megan Pelletier and Jasmine Bishop each scored 10 points to lead Thomas, while Katie McAllister and Kate Thibodeau both chipped in with seven.
Thomas was outmanned and outmatched at virtually every turn by the Beavers, who turned in arguably their best statistical performance of the season. Farmington connected on 28 of its 57 field goal attempts, including a 9-of-22 clip (.409) from 3-point range, while holding Thomas to just 28.6 percent (16-of-56) shooting from the floor.
The Beavers commanded the glass and outrebounded the Terriers 46 to 27, matching their best effort this season in rebounding margin. UMF also made better use of Thomas' 22 turnovers, converting it into 20 points. The Terriers yielded just 11 points out of the Beavers' 21 turnovers on the day.
UMF led by 10 points in the first six minutes of the game, but Thomas rallied and cut the margin to two points, 23-21, by the 7:39 mark of the opening frame. The Terriers would be held scoreless for the next three-and-a-half minutes, allowing the Beavers to regain a 30-21 lead with just under four minutes to play in the first. UMF would hold a 37-29 lead at the half.
The Beavers quickly put the game out of reach right from the outset of the second half, scoring five unanswered buckets on an 11-0 run. That left UMaine-Farmington with a 48-29 lead with 15:14 to play in the game.
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