With the win, Southern Maine starts its 2014-2015 season at 2-0. Bridgewater State stands at 1-1 with the loss. The win marks USM head coach Gary Fifield's 650th career win. Fifield, in his 27th season with the Huskies, now has 650 wins against 123 losses. Coincidentally, Fifield's first career win at USM came against Bridgewater State, 75-58, on November 21, 1987.
Pelletier dominated the paint for the Huskies, shooting 10-for-18 from the field, adding four assists, three blocked shots and a steal. Senior Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) added 18 points, seven rebounds, two assists and three steals, while classmate Lauren Rousseau (Biddeford, Maine) tossed in 11 points and passed off a game-high six assists. Knight and senior guard Stephanie Gallagher (York, Maine) joined Pelletier on the all-tournament team.
Bridgewater State sophomore Chanelle Melton (Brockton, Mass.) led the Bears with 14 points and eight rebounds. Sophomore Jennie Lindland (Edgartown, Mass./Martha's Vineyard Regional) added 10 points and three assists, while senior Rachel Kusz (Worcester, Mass./St. Peter Marian) added nine points. Melton and Kusz were each selected to the all-tournament team.
The Huskies started off the game hot, grabbing an 8-2 lead in the early going with strong defensive pressure resulting in four Bears' turnovers in the opening three minutes. However, the Bears worked their way back into the game and the first half settled into a close battle. Kusz pulled the Bears' even with the Huskies, 21-21, with 2:39 to play knocking down a three-pointer on an assist from Lindland.
Southern Maine responded to the BSU push however, closing out the game on an 8-0 run to take a 29-21 lead at the break. Knight made a strong move in the paint to start the run and was followed by a driving layup from freshman Kayla Stacy (Auburn, N.H./Pinkerton Academy) for a quick four-point swing and a 25-21 USM lead. The Huskies forced the Bears into one of their 10 first half turnovers in their next possession and Pelletier made one of two free throws for a 26-21 lead with under a minute to go, before Gallagher capped the scoring with a three from the corner for the 29-21 USM advantage.
In the second half, USM maintained a comfortable lead, staying in front of the Bears by eight to 14 points through the opening 10 minutes of the second stanza. Pelletier put the Huskies up by 14, 45-31, with 12:44 to play, before Bears rallied for an 8-0 run to trail by six with 10:35 to play. Melton scored six of the Bears' eight points in the run.
With its lead cut to six, USM called a time-out and a back-door layup from Knight off of a strong feed from Rousseau made it 47-39 in favor of the Huskies, and USM outscored the Bears 13-5 over the next five minutes to regain a 14-point advantage, 58-44, with 5:50 remaining. Knight scored seven of her 18 points in the run, while Pelletier added six. The Huskies' closed out the game outscoring Bridgewater State 9-5 for the 67-49 final.
Southern Maine returns to action on Wednesday (5:30 p.m.) when it hosts University of New England. Bridgewater State travels to Elms on Wednesday (7:00 p.m.).
Consolation Game: Rensselaer 65, UMaine Farmington 50
Junior Ashley Clough (West Chesterfield, N.H./Keene) scored a game-high 22 points, earning a spot on the USM Tip-Off Classic All-Tournament team, to lead the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) Engineers to a 65-50 win over the University of Maine at Farmington Beavers in the consolation game of the 2014 USM Tip Off Classic Sunday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium.
The win is the first of the season for the Engineers who are now 1-1. The Engineers fell to the Bridgewater State Bears 75-71 in the first round of the tournament. UMaine Farmington suffers its second loss in as many games to open its 2014-2015 season at 0-2.
RPI jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead in the opening three minutes and never looked back en route to the win. Despite the 7-0 deficit, UMF pulled itself back into the game on a three from Bianca Stoutamyer and a layup from Lindsay Ranquist to trail by two, 7-5, but RPI used a 10-0 run to take control of the game at 17-5 capped by an offensive rebound and layup by Clough with 12:22 to play in the half. RPI kept the Beavers at bay for the final eight minutes of the first and took a comfortable 32-20 lead into the locker room at the break.
UMF scored the first four points of the second half on a jumper from freshman Kelly Pomerleau (Turner, Maine/St. Dominic Academy) and a layup from Ranquist to trail 32-24, but Clough and senior Amanda Lynch (Middletown, N.Y./John S. Burke Catholic) combined for six straight points as the Engineers again seized momentum for a 38-24 lead with 16:55 to play. The Beavers never really threatened RPI the rest of the way for the 65-50 final.
Clough was 11-for-18 from the floor and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Courtney Reynolds (San Diego, Calif./Rancho Bernardo) and Lynch each finished with 13 points for the Engineers. Ranquist paced the Beavers with 13 points. Junior Elizabeth Ferry (Winslow, Maine) added seven points and nine rebounds.
NOTES: 2014 USM Tip Off Classic All-Tournament Team – RPI, Amanda Clough; Bridgewater State, Chanelle Melton, Rachel Kusz, Southern Maine, Rebecca Knight, Stephanie Gallagher MVP, Megan Pelletier, Southern Maine.
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