FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington women's basketball team led wire-to-wire and used a huge 2nd half, to deliver a commanding 90-59 victory over Lesley University. This win marks their third win and their first North Atlantic Conference (NAC) victory of the season.

In a high-scoring 1st quarter, layups from Junior forward Sarah Poli (Benton, Maine) and from first-year Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) sandwiched between a three-pointer from senior captain Maddy White (Waldoboro, Maine), propelled the Beavers to an early 7-0 lead. The Lynx, however, swiftly responded, scoring five unanswered to pull within two. The Beavers countered with an 11-2 run, opening up a double-digit lead at 18-7. The Lynx were resilient and closed the quarter with a 14-6 spurt, making it a 24-21 game after one quarter.

Poli took control for the Beavers in the opening quarter, amassing 10 points on a flawless 5-5 shooting from the field. Despite both teams shooting below 20% in the 2nd quarter, the Beavers outscored Lesley 16-8, primarily from the free throw line, where the knocked down 7-10 in the quarter and took a 40-29 lead into halftime.

The Beavers increased their defensive pressure in the 2nd half, forcing 11 turnovers and outscoring the Lynx 50-30 to secure a convincing victory. The 2nd half belonged to Dow, who made impactful plays on both ends of the court. In the 3rd quarter alone, Dow came up huge defensively with a pair of blocks and a pair of steals. Her defensive efforts translated into easy offensive opportunities. Although facing shooting struggles through the first three quarters, Dow kept going, scoring 10 points in just three minutes of play in the 4th quarter.

Dow finished the game just one assist shy of a triple-double, recording 15 points, 13 rebounds, and nine assists. Poli finished with an efficient 22 points on 9-11 shooting, while also posting eight rebounds. Jalyn Stacey (West Baldwin, Maine) tallied 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) added 10 points off the bench.

Lesley, playing with just six players all night, was led by Savannah Gavitt with 16 points. Alexandra Kerley contributed a double-double with 14 points and 13 boards, and Jordan Blair added 11 points and seven assists. Paige Stowers finished with 10 points off the bench.

With this victory, the Beavers improve to 3-7 on the season, while the Lynx drop to 0-8.

UP NEXT

The two teams are slated to face off once again on Saturday afternoon in game two of their weekend doubleheader at 3 PM.