CASTINE, Maine -- Maine Maritime converted 10 of 15 free throws in the final 1:44, including 6 of 6 in the last 33 seconds, to secure a 59-52 win over New England College in a North Atlantic Conference women's basketball game Friday. The Mariners won their second-straight NAC game and improved to 6-6 overall, 4-2 NAC, while the Pilgrims dropped to 7-6, 4-3.
Leah Jackson recorded a double-double with a team-high 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Cheyenne Malloy added 11 points for MMA and Kari Jones finished with nine.
Taylor Burgess netted a game-high 21 points for NEC and Kayla Lawlor finished with 14. Kiley Williams grabbed a team-best nine rebounds.
The Mariners took their largest lead of the game after Bekah Campbell's layup gave them a 34-19 advantage with 13:04 left in the game. NEC chipped away at the lead with a 12-4 scoring run to make it 38-31 with 7:27 left to play. Burgess led the run with six points for the Pilgrims.
After another Campbell layup gave the Mariners a 40-31 lead, Lawlor and Burgess made consecutive layups to make it 40-35 with 5:02 remaining. NEC got as close as three, 46-43, after a pair of Burgess free throws.
A Jones free throw at 1:05 made it 51-43 before Lawlor connected on three from the stripe to get the game within five, 51-46, with 56 seconds left. Malloy converted on one of two from the line to give MMA a 52-46 lead before Lawlor's three with 54 seconds left got the Pilgrims within three, 52-49, three seconds later. The Mariners iced the game going a perfect 6 of 6 from the line, four from Malloy and two by Jackson, in the final 33 seconds.
Maine Maritime built an early 11-4 lead in the first half after Jackson netted three, Malloy two and Campbell one, which capped a 6-0 scoring run. A Burgess layup at 8:14 put the Pilgrims within three, 15-12, and a Katarina Muska layup made it 17-15 with 3:53 remaining in the opener. The Mariners answered with a 7-2 run to end half with four points from Campbell and three from Jones to lead 24-17 at the break.
Maine Maritime returns to the court Saturday hosting Colby-Sawyer at 3 p.m.