PLYMOUTH, N.H. - The University of Maine at Farmington women's basketball team shook off some early jitters and came from behind to top Plymouth State University, 58-53 in what was the season opener for both institutions. The win for the Beavers marks the second consecutive season they have topped the Panthers.

How it Happened:

The Beavers opened the game missing their first 14 shots from the field, as the Panthers built a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes of the 1st quarter. Despite the early shooting struggles, the Beavers found their footing late in the 1st quarter and only trailed by four after the opening ten minutes of play.

After falling behind by as much as eight points in the opening quarter, the Beavers came back to knot the game up at 17 behind the play of first-year sisters, Jaydn and Jazmine Pingree (Jay, Maine). The sisters combined to score the first nine points of the 2nd quarter to lead the Beavers offensively.

The Beavers grabbed their first lead of the game at the 4:49 mark after Makayla Emerson (Bradley, Maine) drained a three from the wing. A layup from Jaydn Pingree on the next possession extended Farmington's lead to three points with just over four minutes to play in the opening half.

Free throws from Allison Ingalls and a three from Hailey Malozzi helped the Panthers regain the lead and Plymouth held on to it entering the half, leading the Beavers 28-25 after 20 minutes of play.

The Panthers came out of halftime hot, hitting four of their first five shot attempts to open up their biggest lead of the game, 39-29.

Farmington was able to chip away to end the quarter. A three pointer from Jazmine Pingree cut the deficit to just two heading into the 4th quarter.

Sophomore forward Jessica Dow (Saco, Maine) took over in the 4th quarter for the Beavers, leading the team on both ends of the floor to help gut out the season-opening victory. Dow scored nine of her game-high 18 points in the 4th quarter. Dow also came away with three steal in the quarter to help lead a Beavers' defensive effort that held the Panthers to just nine points in the quarter.

Stats of the Game:

The difference in the game came down to fastbreak and transition offense. The Beavers outscored Plymouth State 20-4 in fastbreak points en route to the victory. Farmington shot 32.8% (19-58) from the floor for the game while Plymouth shot 36.8% (21-57).

Leaders - Farmington:

• Dow scored a game-high 18 points on 6-14 shooting from the floor and 6-7 shooting from the free throw line. She also finished the game with nine rebounds, five assists, and four steals.
• Jazmine Pingree came off the bench and finish with ten points of 4-7 shooting from the floor, knocking down a pair of three balls in her collegiate debut. In her collegiate debut.
• Jaydn Pingree came of the bench, narrowly missed a double-double, finishing with eight points and nine rebounds.
• Senior forward Sarah Poli (Benton, Maine) finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Leaders - Plymouth State:

• Kaley Goodhart scored a team-high 18 points on 7-17 shooting from the floor to go along with four rebounds, three assists, and three steal.s
• Sabrina Vlahovic finished in double figures, contributing 12 points and ten rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Beavers will host Norwich University next Friday evening at 7:30 PM on day one of the UMF Classic.