UNIONTOWN, Pennsylvania — The No. 1 Concordia-Alabama Hornets re-established a double-digit lead at the start of the third quarter and went on to beat the No. 5 University of Maine Fort Kent Bengals 73-57 in the semifinal round of the United States Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division I women’s basketball tourney Friday.
Concordia (23-3) advanced to Saturday’s final and UMFK finished at 20-6.
Concordia’s Lashanique Youngblood and Rayshell Harris each hit layups coming out of the halftime break and took a double-digit lead that it wouldn’t relinquish.
The Bengals had used a used a 13-2 run near the end of the second quarter to cut it to 34-29 with 1:42 left in the half, but that was the closest UMFK would get.
Erica Ousley paced Concordia with 31 points. Shuntavia Harris chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds to help the Hornets gain a 47-38 team rebounding advantage.
Danielle Carrillo scored 17 points to lead UMFK while Ericka Saucier and Samantha Carapellucci each recorded a double-double as Saucier had 16 points and 10 rebounds while Carapellucci had 14 points and 15 rebounds. Romanalyn Inocencio added 10 points and five assists.
In other women’s games involving Maine colleges at the tourney, Southern Maine Community College of South Portland was beaten by Penn State Hazleton 85-71 in a consolation game after SMCC was eliminated by the Albany (N.Y.) College of Pharmacy 67-59 in a quarterfinal game Wednesday night.
In another consolation game, Penn State Fayette beat UMaine-Augusta 61-56 on Thursday.
On Thursday, Kamryn Dodd scored 19 points and Alexis Daly added 17 to lead Penn State Hazleton (21-5).
Sammie Griffin paced SMCC (23-9) with 15 points and Alicia Hoyt added 14. Destinie Montano chipped in with 12 points, six rebounds and four assists while Amira Jones contributed nine points and eight rebounds. SMCC had a 50-35 rebounding edge.
Also on Thursday, Penn State Fayette surged to a 31-23 halftime lead and then held off UMA for the win.
Lyndsey Huhn and Taylor Smith each scored 15 points to lead Fayette (13-12).
Darby Toth recorded 21 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead UMA (23-9). Caitlin LaFountain chipped in with 11 points and 11 rebounds
On Wednesday night, Dannie Griffin’s 16 points and MIranda Costin’s 15 led a balanced attack of five players in double figures in Albany’s win over SMCC.
Hoyt paced SMCC with 13 points and six rebounds while Maria Veino added 10 points and 13 rebounds. Jones contributed eight points and nine rebounds.
In a men’s Division II consolation game, the University of Maine-Machias beat St. Joseph’s College (Vt.) 71-55.
Jorge Milo poured in 29 points and had five rebounds and five assists to lead UMM (14-11). Brandon Blakely added 14 points and Travonne Thompson chipped in with 11 points and 15 rebounds.
Women’s Basketball
Bowdoin 75, Westfield St. 49
At Bowdoin College’s Morrell Gym in Brunswick, the Polar Bears rolled to a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter en route to the victory over Westfield State (Mass.) in the first round NCAA Division III tourney game.
Bowdoin will take on New York University at 7 p.m. Saturday in a second-round game at Morrell Gym. NYU advanced with a 70-63 victory over Lehman College.
Shannon Brady turned in a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds to lead Bowdoin (20-6). Emily Campbell chipped in with 10 points and Hannah Graham added nine.
Bowdoin controlled the rebounding game with a 63-44 advantage with Abigail Kelly grabbing 10 rebounds and Kate Kerrigan with eight. Kerrigan also dished out 10 assists.
Jill Valley paced Westfield State (20-7) with 12 points and Forbasaw Nkamebo added 10.
Christopher Newport 65, St. Joseph’s 47
At Allentown, Pa., Christopher Newport University surged past Saint Joseph’s College in the opening round of the the NCAA Div. III tourney at Memorial Hall on the campus of Muhlenberg College on Friday evening.
The unfamiliar foes stood at a 25-25 stalemate heading into halftime, but an uneven third quarter changed the complexion of the tourney tilt, as the Captains forced 11 turnovers and the Monks went 2-7 from the field en route to being outscored by an 18-6 margin.
Jasmine Bonivel paced Christopher Newport (23-4) with 20 points and Sam Porter chipped in with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Morgan Cahill scored 15 points and had four rebounds to lead St. Joseph’s of Standish (23-6). Kelsi McNamara added nine points and three assists and Julia Champagne had seven points.