CLEARWATER, Fla. — The University of Maine softball team opened up its Florida trip with a 5-1 loss to Stephen F. Austin on Friday afternoon.
In its second game, Maine lost to Toledo 3-1.
Jean Stevens hit a solo home run for the Black Bears (1-4) and Nikki Byron added two hits.
Stephen F. Austin grabbed a run in the top of the first on Shalie Day’s RBI ground-rule double to right field which brought Cadie Weaver in to score the game’s first run.
Maine tied it in the second on Stevens’ homer.
The Ladyjacks (5-9) broke the 1-1 tie with three unearned runs in the top of the sixth and tacked on another unearned score in the top of the seventh.
Beth Spoehr was the losing pitcher after allowing one earned run while giving up nine hits with four strikeouts.
In Friday’s second game, Hannah Hill led Maine with an RBI double and Jessica Burk singled and scored a run.
Hill was also the losing pitcher as she went six innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits while striking out six.
Women’s Basketball
UNE 67, Bridgewater St. 58
At Amherst, Mass., senior Beth Suggs had 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the University of New England to a 67-58 victory over Bridgewater State University in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship at LeFrak Gymnasium on the campus of Amherst College.
In winning their school-record 25th game, and 20th game in-a-row, the Nor’easters (25-4) advance to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history and will face the winner of Amherst and Farmingdale State College Saturday at 6 p.m. The Bears end at 23-4.
Suggs was 11-for-15 from the floor and grabbed five of her rebounds on the offensive end to post her 17th double-double in 29 games. Sophomore Kelly Coleman also recorded a double-double (her ninth) with 15 points and a game-best 14 boards. Rookie point guard Meghan Gribbin added 11 points and tied a career-high with nine assists. She was 8 of 8 at the free throw line.
Senior Michaela Cosby tallied 20 points for Bridgewater State to end her career seventh on the Bears’ scoring list with 1,092 points. She also added six rebounds, five assists and five steals. Classmate Elisha Homich added 11 points, while junior Megan Boutilette finished with eight points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
Leading 31-20 at the break, UNE saw its lead evaporate early in the second half as Bridgewater State opened with a 9-1 run over the initial 3:24.
The teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes before the Nor’easters put together a stretch of eight unanswered points to grab a 47-34 cushion with 10:42 on the clock. First-year Lauren Hayden scored four points during the run.
The Bears answered right back, outscoring UNE 14-6 over the ensuing five minutes to make the score 53-48. Suggs countered with six straight points and Gribbin added a pair of foul shots to put the Nor’easters back up by 13 (61-48) with 3:10 left.
Bridgewater State would get no closer than seven the rest of the way.
For the contest, the Nor’easters tallied 64 of their 67 points in the paint or at the free throw line. UNE made 18 of 23 (78.3 percent) foul shot attempts and held a 49-33 edge on the glass. Big Blue shot 45.3 percent (24 of 53) from the floor, compared to 31.3 percent (21 of 67) for Bridgewater State.
Smith 80, USM 58
GORHAM, Maine – Led by sophomore guard Paulina Solis and junior forward Rosa Drummond, the Smith College Pioneers made their first trip to the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament a memorable won earning an 80-58 upset victory over the eighth-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball National Championship Friday night at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham, Maine.
With the win, Smith advances to the second round of the NCAA tourney for the first time and will face the Ithaca College Bombers (26-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Hill Gymnasium. Tickets for tomorrow night’s game will go on sale at 5 p.m. The loss concludes the Huskies’ season at 27-2.
Solis led five players in double figures with 17 points on 7-for-18 shooting. She added five assists and six steals. Drummond added 16 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Devon Quattroch added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Sydney Parkmond and sophomore Lauren Weston each scored 12 points. Weston turned in a strong performance off of the bench with a game-high nine rebounds to help the Pioneers to a 29-29 advantage on the glass.
Sophomore forward Rebecca Knight paced the Huskies with 13 points and eight rebounds – both team-high totals. Knight was 6-for-11 from the field and added a team-high four assists. Senior forward Jordan Grant added 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Nicole Garland and junior guard Erin McNamara each had 10 points.
UM-Machias loses two
At Uniontown, Pa., Thursday night, the Penn State Beaver Lady Lions opened up their USCAA National Div. II Tournament with a quarterfinal win over the UMaine-Machias Clippers 66-53 behind Morgan Kurtz’s 19 points and six rebounds.
On Friday, Cincinnati-Clermont beat UMM 80-49 in a consolation contest.
UMM took a 26-22 halftime lead but was outscored 44-27 in the second half in Thursday’s game.
Samira Cruz paced UMM with 22 points and seven rebounds while Yvanessa Vincent chipped in with 15 points, eight rebounds and four steals. Dana Houghton contributed eight points and seven rebounds while Elise Boyd notched four assists and five rebounds.
On Friday, Cruz again paced the Clippers as she scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Boyd added eight points and six rebounds.
CMCC drops two games
At Uniontown, Pa., Kasey Ruble scored 23 points to lead Penn State-Fayette to a quarterfinal win over Central Maine Community College 86-78 at the USCAA National Div. II Tournament.
Maggie Sabine paced CMCC with 26 points and 14 rebounds. Nohemy Aguila added 17 points and Danielle McCusker put in 15 while Sue French contributed with 10 rebounds and four assists.
In Friday’s consolation game, Emily Lawry-Thompson scored 17 points to lead Penn State Brandywine by CMCC.
Sabine turned in another double-double for CMCC with 29 points and 18 rebounds. French added 18 points and eight rebounds while McCusker netted 12 points.