FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington fell to the Nichols College Bison in a high-scoring affair, 93-88 on day one of the UMF Tip-Off Classic on Friday evening. The Bison used consisten defensive pressure to force 43 Beaver turnovers en route to claiming their 2nd victory of the season.

Sophomore guard Grace Dwyer (Manchester, Maine) opened the game on fire, hitting three threes on three straight possessions to help the Beavers open the game up on a 15-4 run and jump out to the early lead. After Dwyer caught fire early, it was junior forward Sarah Poli (Benton, Maine) who was steady hand for the Beavers, picking up ten points and five boards in the 1st quarter. As a team, the Beavers shot the lights out in the quarter, knocking down 10 of 14 from the field to take a 27-14 lead into the 2nd quarter. The Bison defense kept them in the game, forcing nine Beaver turnovers that led to eight points on the offensive end.

The Beavers continued to knock down shots in the 2nd quarter and were able to weather the swarming Bison defense for a majority of the quarter. Sophomore guard Ruby McMinis (Wells, Maine) was the beneficiary on the offensive end when the Beavers broke the press, hitting five layups in quarter, two of which came on beautiful euro steps to get past a Nichols defender. 

The Beaver held onto a 37-23 lead with just under four minutes to play in the half when the Bison began to get hot from downtown. Kiera Fernandes hit a layup, got fouled, and made the free throw to spark a Bison 12-0 run to cut the lead down to just two. After Fernandez converted the and-one opportunity, the Bison hit three straight three-pointers on three straight possessions. Fernandes drilled two of those three to pull the Bison back within one possession. 

The Beavers settled down, getting buckets from Poli and McMinis to go into halftime with a 43-39 advantage. 

The 3rd quarter is when things began to get away from the Beavers a little bit. The Bison's trapping full-court press started to change the momentum in the game. The Bison forced 12 turnovers in the quarter and turned those 12 turnovers into 17 points on the other end. A three from Abrianna Vazquez gave Nichols a 49-47 lead at the 7:29 mark of the 3rd quarter, their first lead since they led 4-2. 

After the teams traded buckets on straight possessions, the Bison went on a big 14-1 run, forcing five turnovers in three minutes to open up a 67-54 lead. 

Dwyer helped the Beavers weather the storm once again, hitting a layup while getting fouled to put an end to Nichols' run. On the following Beaver possession she drilled her fourth three of the game to cut the Beaver deficit back to eight. 

First-year guard/forward Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) helped keep the Beavers in the game in the 3rd quarter, tallying eight points while shooting a perfect 3-3 from the field.

The 4th quarter was all Dow, helping the Beavers continue to chip away at the Bison lead. She was able to get into the paint at will in the quarter and make the right play time after time to get the Beavers back into the game. Dow opened the quarter by converting and one opportunity to make it a 75-67 game.

Despite scoring at the offensive end, Nichols had an answer each time the Beavers got within striking distance. With Nichols holding onto an 84-75 lead, the Beavers strung together consecutive defense stops and got quality looks at the other end, going on a 7-0 run to cut their deficit to just two with three minutes to play. 

A three from Adrianna Romano and a layup from Vazquez after a shot clock violation helped the Bison regain a seven-point lead with 1:52 to play. 

With the Beavers trailing in the closing minutes, Dow took matters into her own hands, aggressively taking the ball to the rim on consecutive possessions, getting fouled and hitting the free throw on the first, and getting all the way to the hoop to convert a layup and make it an 89-86 game with 54 seconds to play.

After the Beavers forced a Vazquez miss on the ensuing Nichols possession, McMinis was fouled and hit both free throws with 38 seconds to make it a one-point game. 

Senior point guard Jaycie Stevens (Pittston, Maine) was called for a touch foul on the following Bison possession, fouling her out of the game. With the Bison in the bonus, Vazquez missed the first free throw and made the 2nd to extend the lead to 90-88. With Stevens and Dwyer, who had fouled out earlier in the quarter, on the bench, the Beavers were without their two primary ball handlers for the remaining 27 seconds. 

The Nichols press forced yet another turnover, one that would all but end the game. Vazquez grabbed the steal and got fouled. She made the first free throw and missed the second but Summer Klein grabbed the rebound and got the ball back to Vazquez who was once again fouled. Vazquez made both free throws this time to close out the game. 

Dow had a monster game for the Beavers. The first-year finished with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and eight assists to record her first career double-double. McMinis scored a career-high 27 points on 12-16 shooting from the field. Poli chipped in with a monster 16 point and 18 rebound double-double. Dwyer added 16 points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Beavers.

Vazquez and Fernandes led the Bison with 20 points apiece. Alyvia Smith and Adrianna Romano pitched in with 12 points each. 

UP NEXT

The Beavers host Fisher College tomorrow afternoon at 3 PM on day two of the UMF Tip-Off Classic.