WBB: Panthers headed to LEC Tourney despite setback at Southern Maine

GORHAM, Maine – The Plymouth State University women's basketball team fell to the University of Southern Maine Huskies, 59-45, in Little East Conference (LEC) action at Warren G. Hill Gymnasium on Wednesday evening.

Despite the setback, it was still an evening to celebrate as the Panthers secured a spot in next week's LEC Tournament after UMass Boston knocked off VTSU Castleton. It's the first full-season postseason berth for the Panthers since the 2017-18 season.

Junior Bri Wilcox (Londonderry, N.H.) led the Panthers with 13 points and eight rebounds, while graduate student Lea Crompton (Dunbarton, N.H.) scored eight points of her own. Senior Lauren Keller (Fort Morgan, Colo.) recorded six points in the losing effort for the Panthers.

Plymouth State moves to 10-13 on the season (6-9 LEC) and is locked into the sixth seed for the tournament. Southern Maine improves to 11-13 (9-6 LEC).

The Basics:

• Plymouth State 45, Southern Maine 59
  • Plymouth State (10-13, 6-9 LEC)
  • Southern Maine (11-13, 9-6 LEC)

Top Performers:

• Bri Wilcox (13 pts, 4-11 fg, 4-4 ft, 8 reb)
• Lea Crompton (8 pts, 4-11 fg, 3 reb, 2 ast)
• Lauren Keller (6 pts, 2-5 fg)
• Hailey Malozzi (4 pts, 8 reb)

How it Happened:

• The Huskies opened the game hitting back-to-back three-pointers to take an early 6-0 advantage with 7:31 on the clock in the first quarter.
• Plymouth State responded with seven straight points to take its first lead of the game with 5:19 to go in the opening frame.
• Southern Maine punched back with a 10-point run to take a 16-7 lead with 2:44 left in the first.
• The Panthers tallied the final bucket of the first to find themselves down 16-9 after one.
• USM kept an eight-point lead (23-15) midway through the second quarter.
• Only one field goal by either team was hit to close out the half, as the Panthers, coupled with some free throws, managed to close the gap to 23-20 by halftime.
• Plymouth State completed the comeback to tie things up at 25-25 two minutes into the third quarter.
• The Huskies immediately jumped back in front, closing out the third quarter with a 40-32 lead.
• Southern Maine recorded the first four points of the final quarter to take another double-digit lead (44-32) with nine minutes left to play in the contest.
• The Panthers could not muster up a second comeback as the Huskies pulled out the victory.

By the Numbers:

• Plymouth State went 17-of-50 (34.0%) from the floor and 3-of-12 (25.0%) from three.
• The Huskies recorded ten more field goal attempts in the contest.
• PSU outrebounded Southern Maine, 42-33, with a 13-11 margin on the offensive glass.
• The Huskies had 14 steals to the Panthers' four.
• Bench points were in Southern Maine's favor, 18-12.
• Points off turnovers were 16-a-piece.
• Points in the paint went to Southern Maine, 20-16.

Up Next:

• Plymouth State closes out the regular season on Saturday (Feb. 17) as the team travels to Eastern Connecticut State for a 3:00 p.m. game at Francis E. Geissler Gymnasium.

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