BANGOR, Maine — The University of Southern Maine likes to play at a brisk pace.
Tuesday night, the Huskies dictated the tempo with pressure defense, scored effectively in transition and dominated the rebounding while posting an 82-60 women’s basketball victory over Husson University at Newman Gymnasium.
Perennial Division III regional power Southern Maine of Gorham shot 64 percent from the floor while manufacturing a 19-point halftime advantage and used its depth to overpower the Eagles.
Coach Gary Fifield’s Huskies (9-3) bottled up the paint with their man-to-man defense, created numerous turnovers and showed off their scoring ability both in transition and in half-court sets.
Southern Maine went 18-for-28 from the field in the first half alone, including 4-for-7 accuracy from 3-point range.
Husson (3-6) struggled with turnovers, committing 16 of their 27 miscues in the first half. The Eagles had difficulty handling the Huskies’ intense ball pressure.
“In the beginning we were slow to transition on defense,” said senior Amanda Gifford of Lee, who led Husson (3-6) with 14 points, six rebounds and five assists. “We were going from full-court press back to a zone and we weren’t getting there quick enough and they kind of sliced it.”
The Huskies also dominated inside behind by senior Courtney Cochran of Waite. The former BDN All-Maine third-team choice at Woodland High went 9-for-10 from the floor on her way to a game-high 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead USM.
“I usually get a lot of attention drawn to me, especially inside, but we have so many options,” said Cochran, the leading scorer in the Little East Conference at 19.9 points per game. “We have really good shooters and we have a lot of good post interaction, post feeds.”
Coach Kissy Walker’s Eagles also had trouble on the boards, where USM finished with a 34-18 edge.
Haley Jordan of Falmouth tossed in 19 points, Erin McNamara posted 12 (with five assists and two steals) and Jordan Grant added nine points and four steals.
USM had 11 players log at least 10 minutes of action and none had more than 25. The Huskies led by as many as 29 points (69-40) in the second half and were able to substitute freely throughout.
“That’s what good teams do and I think we’re a pretty good team,” Fifield said. “It was a game that I knew I had some kids that I needed to get in there and give them some playing time because they work hard every day in practice as well.”
The Huskies shot 59 percent from the floor (31-for-53) overall to help overcome 26 turnovers of their own.
Bre Hanscom of Mattawamkeag contributed 11 points for Husson, while Gab Duke of Rockport provided nine points and Kelli Murray of Shawmut added eight points and four assists.
USM forged an early eight-point lead, scoring 20 points in the first six minutes of action. However, its pressure took a heavy toll in the last 13½ minutes of the half.
USM scored 22 points as a direct result of Husson turnovers during that span to establish a comfortable margin.
“We turned it over too much,” Walker said. “They were moving the ball really well in the first half and they were making their shots. Their pressure bothered us.”
USM ended the suspense with an 11-0 run during a stretch of 3:05.
Cochran got it started with a fast-break layup off a Kim Rivet assist, then Jordan scored five straight points — a 15-footer and a three-point play — off steals by Rivet. Renee Nicholas of Sebago scored on an offensive rebound and Grant scored off a baseline cut off an inbounds feed from Jordan to give the Huskies a 31-12 lead with 10:20 left in the half.
“We knew that we had to come out tough and ready to play because they’re a good team,” Cochran said. “We knew we had to jump on them in the first five minutes, just to get the game going.”