BANGOR, Maine - Led by tournament MVP Sydney Allen with 17 points, the #1 seeded Husson University Eagles (19-8) took down #3 University of Maine at Farmington (UMF), 70-60, capturing their fifth consecutive North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Championship on Saturday afternoon inside Newman Gym.

IN THE ACTION:

Husson took an early 7-2 lead over the Beavers with Allen scoring five of the seven points. UMaine-Farmington (14-14) cut the deficit to three after a made layup by McKenna Brodeur, then Husson went on a 6-2 scoring run, taking a 13-7 lead off a jumper by Megan Peach with 4:25 remaining in the quarter. The Beavers fought back to pull within two points of the Eagles after Alex Bessey connected on a basket from downtown with 50 seconds left on the clock. Husson entered the second quarter leading 19-17.

A pair of free throws from Victoria Garand tied the game at 19-19 ten seconds in the second stanza before the Eagles pushed their lead back to four thanks to a 4-0 scoring run that was capped off by a Sami Ireland made free throw. A layup by Page Brown brought the Eagle cushion back two with 5:35 remaining in the first half. Back-to-Back 4-0 scoring runs by both teams kept the game close until the Eagles closed out the quarter on 6-0 run to take a 33-25 lead into the intermission.

The Eagles came out strong to begin the second half, taking a 42-31 lead with 7:04 remaining in the quarter. UMF responded quickly cutting the Eagle margin to five on a MaKayla Wilson layup at the 5:02 mark before Joan Overman gave the Eagles a seven point advantage after making both of her shots from the charity line with 4:34 left on the clock. The Eagles and the Beavers traded baskets the rest of the quarter as Husson took a 54-46 lead into the final stanza.

The Beavers opened the fourth quarter on an 8-5 scoring run bring the game within five points (59-54) after Alex Bessey drove to the hoop for a layup with 6:17 left in the championship final. The Eagles then went on an 11-6 run to push the lead to ten points with just under a minute remaining in the game to give them the victory.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Allen tallied 17 points with five rebounds, two steals and three assists.
• Overman scored 13 points, while adding four steals, five rebounds and one assists.
• Emma Alley added 12 points, five assists and four rebounds.
• Bailey Donovan netted ten points with ten boards and two blocks to record her 12th double-double on the year.
• Bessey paced the Beavers with a game-high 20 points and added one steal, one block, two assists and two rebounds.
• Brodeur scored 18 points and grabbed 12 boards to record her eighth double-double of the season. She also had five assists and two steals.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:

• MVP - Sydney Allen, Husson
• Joan Overman, Husson
• Bailey Donovan, Husson
• Alex Bessy, UMaine-Farmington
• McKenna Brodeur, UMaine-Farmington
• Alissa Mitchell, Northern Vermont-Lyndon
• MiKayla Charters, Maine Maritime

UP NEXT!

Husson will now wait for the selection show on Monday at 2:30 p.m. to see who they will play in the 2020 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship Tournament.