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Women’s Basketball Falls To University of Southern Maine, 100-61

by Owen Burke

GORHAM, Maine – University of Southern Maine freshman forward Tiffany Jones scored a career-high 40 points as the Huskies led from start to finish en route to an easy 100-61 triumph over the visiting Plymouth State College Panthers in Little East Conference women’s basketball action Tuesday night at Hill Gym.

Southern Maine broke the contest open early in the first half and was never seriously threatened. The Huskies went on a 20-2 run to grab a commanding 26-6 advantage with 13:02 to play in the half. Jones, who scored 15 of the Huskies’ 20 points during this stretch, finished the first half with 28 points.

Plymouth State was led by senior guard Whitney Morin who finished with 13 points and became the ninth woman in Plymouth State history to go over the 1,000-point milestone. Morin now has 1,002 career points. Senior forward Courtney Albert added 10 points for the Panthers.

The Plymouth State College Women’s Basketball team blew out conference opponent, Western Connecticut State University on Saturday, February 7 with a score of 76-47 at the Foley Gymnasium. The win avenged an early-season loss on January 11, to the Colonials, 63-58. The Panthers record now stands at 14-6 and a Little East Conference mark of 7-3. The Colonials dropped to 7-14 overall and 3-7 in the Little East.

Plymouth State senior, Whitney Morin led the Panther offense with 24 points in 22 minutes, and is well on her way to becoming the ninth woman in Plymouth State College history to reach the prestigious 1000 point plateau in her college career. Classmates Courtney Albert finished with 13 points while Heather Adey chipped in eight points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Other notable contributors were sophomore Betsy Oswalt (9 points/3 steals), senior Jenn Pellitier (7 points/5 assists), and junior Mandi Allen (5 points/6 rebounds). Plymouth State coach Lauren Lavigne was able to use the whole bench, as all 15 Panther players saw playing time. Western was led offensively by freshman guard Alva Jeffreys with 11 points, while junior Christin Morgatto added nine points and nine rebounds. Unfortunately for the Colonials, team-leading scorer Kristie Brickner was unable to play due to an injury.

Plymouth State dominated much of the game from start to finish. They jumped out to a 10-point lead (22-12) just nine minutes into the contest, and pushed its lead to 19 points (44-25) by half time. The Panthers scored the first 12 points of the second half to take a 31-point advantage (56-25). WCSU, who never challenged the rest of the way, was unable to break down the stingy Panther defense all afternoon.

The Panthers return to action at home on Thursday, February 13, at 7 p.m. against non-conference opponent Newbury College and again Tuesday, February 18, at 5:30 p.m. for a crucial Little East Conference battle against rival Keene State.