FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington women's basketball team fell to the University of Southern Maine 65-49 on Wednesday night in Dearborn Gymnasium. The Huskies used a big 1st quarter, out scoring the Beavers 21-6, to help pave the way to victory.

The Huskies jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first 5:30 of the game with all five starters registering a bucket. The Huskies used a full-court trapping defense for most of the game that led to 25 turnovers for the Beavers, including nine in the first quarter.

Despite falling behind 16-0, the Beavers battled hard but were unable to overcome the early deficit. The Beavers opened up the second quarter on a 7-2 run to cut the Huskies lead to just 10. The run was highlighted by four free throws from Grace Dwyer (Manchester, Maine) and a three from Mikayla Rioux (Winslow, Maine).

The Huskies would respond to the Beavers run and push their lead back up to 16 heading into halftime.

In the second half, the Beavers couldn't draw any closer than within 12 points. A Rosalie White (Lisbon, Maine) layup cut the deficit to 12 with 25 seconds to go in the third quarter. But after a free throw from Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) and a layup by Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine), the Huskies would take a 15 point lead into the fourth.

The Beavers were led offensively by senior forward Victoria Garand (Portland, Maine) who piled up 15 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and 7-8 shooting from the free throw line. Jaycie Stevens (Pittston, Maine) and Ruby McMinis (Wells, Maine) each chipped in eight points for the Beavers.

Maria Defigico (South Portland, Maine) scored a game high 16 points while Vaughan and Fleming were each in double figures with 12 and 11 points respectively.

The Huskies held a 45-30 advantage on the boards, including a 15-1 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The Beavers shot 33.3% (16-48) from the field while the Huskies shot 34.8% (24-69).

UP NEXT

The Beavers will open up conference play this weekend when they travel to Northern Vermont-Lyndon on Saturday for 1:00 PM game.