Endicott beats Lady Mariners in Mariner Classic Championship game
UMFK holds off St. Joseph’s to win consolation game
Castine, ME. – Nicole Duchesne (Plaistow, NH) poured in a game-high 23 points and was named the Mariner Classic Most Valuable Player, leading Endicott College past Maine Maritime, 72-60, in the championship game of the Mariner Classic Sunday afternoon at Margaret Smith Gymnasium. In the consolation game, UMaine Fort Kent improved to 4-5, holding off a late charge by St. Joseph's College, winning 74-71 to take third place at the Mariner Classic.
Endicott College (6-3) forced MMA into 32 turnovers and despite getting out-rebounded 47-25 the Gulls fought their way to the 12-point win. Endicott got off to a quick start and held a 14-point lead midway through the first half before the Lady Mariners came storming back to cut the lead to six after an Ashley Tilton (Lubec, ME) three with just five seconds left in the half. The Gulls quickly reversed fortune as Ashley Wright (Merrimack, NH) hit a half court shot at the buzzer to push the Endicott lead back to nine going into halftime.
MMA refused to go away and climbed back into the game closing to within one after a Tatum Welch (Newport, ME) jumper with just under 10-minutes to go. The Lady Mariners would get no closer as the Gulls went on a 9-0 run to push the lead back to double digits. MMA got the score to within six two more times but Nicole Duchesne iced the game going 8-8 from the free throw line down the stretch.
Ashley Wright was outstanding in the victory scoring 18 points while Brittany Kelleher (Wakefield, MA) was tremendous off the bench for the Gulls scoring 13 points. Ashley Wright joined Duchesne on the All-Tournament Team.
The Lady Mariners were led by Kelsi Eiane (Harpswell, ME), who scored 13 points, while Katie Hutchinson (Dixfield, ME) chipped in with 11 points. MMA held a huge rebounding edge in the game (47-25) behind the efforts of Tatum Welch and Sam Goda (Eliot, ME). Welch was outstanding collecting 12 points and 17 rebounds and earned a spot on the All-Tourney Team, while Goda scored 8 points and grabbed 12 rebounds (11 offensive). Hutchinson joined Welch on the All-Tournament Team.
The loss drops the MMA’s record to 3-5 on the year and the Lady Mariners will be off until after Christmas when they travel to Bowdoin College on the 30th.
In the consolation game of the 2008 Mariner Classic on Sunday afternoon at Margaret Smith Gymnasium, Ashley Ames (Dexter, ME) led a quartet of Bengals in double-figures with a game-high 19 points, leading UMFK to a 74-71 victory over Saint Joseph's College of Maine.
Shir Fuchs (Herzeliya, Israel) played well for the Bengals scoring 13 points while Amber Garrison (Oroville, CA) and Kristen Violette (Fort Kent, ME) each added 12. Ames led the Bengals with 13 rebounds and three blocks.
St. Joseph’s was led by Meghan Daigle (Grantham, NH) and Carolyn Freeman (Scarborough, ME) who each scored a team-high 13 points while Kayla Nowell (Bridgeton, ME) scored 11 points and grabbed a team high 6 rebounds.
Kristen Violette from Fort Kent, and Meghan Daigle from St. Joseph’s both made the All-Tournament Team.
Women's Basketball