Auburn - Tonight the Lady Seawolves traveled to CMCC in hopes of avenging the 68-38 loss the Mustangs handed the Seawolves in December. SMCC trailed by a handful of points nearly the entire game and were facing their largest deficit, 48-38, with seven and a half minutes remaining when an Abigail Nielsen (North Yarmouth, ME) jump shot spurred a 11-0 run to put SM up one. The Seawolves proceeded to outscore the Mustangs 9-5 in the closing minutes to walk away with the 58-53 conference victory.
A slow offensive start by both teams resulted in a score of just 14-8, in favor of the Mustangs, with two minutes remaining in the quarter. Seawolves' forward Shannon Kriger (Norway, ME) connected on a jumper as time expired to pull SMCC to within four, 14-10, as they headed into the second period. The Seawolves found themselves down seven after Mustang shooting guard Seve Deery-Deraps started the second quarter with a make from downtown but Seawolves' sophomore Sammie Griffin (Union, ME) responded with four made three pointers over a three minute span to put the Seawolves up 23-22. After exchanging baskets for a short span the Mustangs closed out the quarter with another Deery-Deraps three pointer and two free throws by center Alex Rowe to take a 29-26 lead into the intermission.
An old-fashioned three point play by Nielsen three minutes into the third knotted the game at 31-31 but Rowe put the Mustangs back in the drivers seat when she connected on four consecutive layups. The Seawolves were able to keep the game close and found themselves trailing by just three, 41-38, as they entered the final period. The Mustangs started the fourth with four points from freshman center Taylor Esty and yet another three pointer from Deery-Deraps to give CM a 10 point edge, their largest of the game. A timeout was just what the Seawolves needed to refocus. After the 60 second break Nielsen drained a jumper, Maria Veino (Sanford, ME) hit a layup and point guard Jordan Turner (Casco, ME) hit a huge three to make it a one possession game, 48-45. Two made free throws by Destinie Montano (Chicopee, MA) pulled the Seawolves to within one and then SM finally regained the lead when Kendra Kagiliery (Kittery, ME) netted two from the charity stripe. CM hit back to back shots to go up three, but five unanswered points by Seawolves' senior center Alicia Hoyt (Steep Falls, ME) gave SM the lead for the final time as they held on for 58-53 win.
Griffin and Hoyt paced the Seawolves with 13 points apiece and Hoyt added nine rebounds. Veino netted seven and led all rebounders with 10.
Deery-Deraps led the Mustangs with 16 points and Alex Rowe chipped in 14. Esty grabbed a team high nine rebounds.
With this win the Seawolves improve to 20-7 overall and 9-4 in the YSCC. Next up for the Seawolves will be Vermont Technical College on Saturday, which will be Senior Day for the graduating players, at 1pm.
Southern Maine Community College empowers students to respond to a changing world and enhances economic and cultural development in Southern Maine by providing a variety of educational opportunities and partnerships.
