PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. – The Southern Vermont College women's basketball team wrapped up its participation in Plattsburgh State's Cardinal Classic Sunday afternoon, falling 71-43 to the University of Southern Maine in the tournament's consolation game at Memorial Hall.
The Mountaineers led 15-14 after the first quarter, but USM came back to top SVC in each of the final three stanzas to open up a sizable separation for the win.
Southern Vermont has one more game before opening up New England Collegiate Conference action, the Mountaineers heading to SUNY Cobleskill Tuesday night for a 7 p.m. start.
SVC junior Chloe Longe (Enosburg Falls, N.Y.) came three points shy of her career-best with a team-leading 17, adding team-highs of eight rebounds and three assists to her line. Senior captain Amber Dow (Panton, Vt.) also reached double digits with 10 points, notching a pair of steals in the effort.
Senior Abbi Molner (Wilmington, Vt.) tallied eight points and six boards while freshman Sarah Poirier (Ferrisburgh, Vt.) had five points, five rebounds and a pair of blocks. Fellow freshman Kelly Dobbert (Stamford, Vt.) registered three points, four rebounds and a steal in 21 minutes off the bench for Southern Vermont.
The Huskies grabbed a 41-34 edge in rebounds while having a 22-12 upper hand in points from the paint.
Southern Maine staked a 7-0 lead off the opening tip, but SVC was able to stay close with the help of Longe's free throw shooting; she knocked down a pair before converting an and-one play, and she followed with two more freebies to make it a 14-9 Huskie lead at the 3:24 mark of the first.
Dow then drilled a three with 2:54 left, and neither side could find the bottom of the bucket until the closing seconds of the first; Longe made a block on the defensive end, grabbed the ball and went down the court before putting up a good three-pointer as time expired. That would be Southern Vermont's second first-quarter buzzer beater of the weekend, putting the Mountaineers on top 15-14 going into the second stanza.
That SVC lead lasted for almost the first two minutes of the next quarter before USM started to change the scoreboard. The Huskies took to a 10-3 run to go in front, but Southern Vermont stayed close with a Longe layup and a pair of Molner free throws (24-22). Scores were traded through the midpoint of the frame, Dow hitting one from outside the perimeter to make it a 29-27 Southern Maine advantage with 3:03 on the clock. USM closed out the quarter with eight unanswered points, however, to bring a 37-27 upper hand into the locker room.
The Huskies continued their run into the third period, notching nine-straight points to restart the action. A Poirier triple helped cut the deficit, but Southern Maine finished off the quarter with another six unanswered to go in front 52-32. The Huskies closed out the victory through the final 10-minute frame, keeping the win intact to end their weekend.
– #LetsGoSVC –