FARMINGTON, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington women's basketball team hung tough for much of the Monday evening's North Atlantic Conference (NAC) contest against perennial NAC power Husson University. But the Eagles and Bailey Donovan continued to control the paint from start to finish, taking down the Beavers, 86-66.

Beaver first-years Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) and Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) quickly introduced themselves to the UMF-Husson rivalry, each tallying five points in the opening quarter. Dow faced foul trouble throughout the first half, picking up her 2nd personal foul just four minutes into the 1st quarter forcing her to sit for the remainder of the quarter. Dow picked up her 3rd personal foul four minutes into the 2nd quarter and would sit for the remainder of the half. 

Dow went to the bench with the Beavers down 26-20. After Dow sat, the Eagles closed out the quarter on a 14-8 run to take a 12-point lead into halftime. Junior forward and reigning NAC Player of the Week Sarah Poli (Benton, Maine) hit a pair of important three balls in the quarter to keep the Beavers within striking distance.

Bailey Donovan was a forceful presence on both ends of the court. Donovan finished the 1st half with 13 points, nine rebounds, and three assists as the hub of the offense for the Eagles. 

Donovan and the Eagles did a good job of keeping Farmigton at bay in the 2nd half. Dow put her 1st half foul trouble behind her and came out aggressively in the 3rd quarter looking to score the ball. Dow got into the lane seemingly at will, either finishing at the rim or drawing a foul to get herself to the free throw line. Dow scored 11 points in the 3rd quarter alone. 

Even with Dow taking control on the offensive end for the Beavers, they had no answer for Donovan on the defensive end. Donovan scored 12 points and picked up five more rebounds and dished out three more assists in the 3rd quarter keeping the Beavers from cutting into the deficit. 

The Beavers shot an efficient 4-5 from beyond the arc in the 4th quarter but the Eagles clung to a 20-point lead for a majority of the quarter, shooting 58.8% from the field themselves to thwart the Beavers comeback attempt. 

Dow finished a team-high 20 points on 5-11 shooting from the field and 9-10 from the free throw line. Poli finished with ten points and 14 rebounds to secure her 4th double-double of the season. Grace Dwyer (Manchester, Maine) pitched in with 11 points while shooting an efficient 3-4 from beyond the arc.

Donovan finished the game with a monster 32 points and 17 rebound double-double. She also added six assists and three blocks. Jordyn Lengle added ten points and eight rebounds off the bench. Hannah Richard pitched in with nine points, five rebounds, and five assists. 

Following the victory the Eagles moved to 6-7 on the season while the Beavers dropped to 4-9.

UP NEXT

The Beavers were originally scheduled to play SUNY Delhi on Friday evening. That game has been canceled. The next Beavers game is on Saturday afternoon on the road against SUNY Morrisville. Tip-off is set for 3:00 PM.