Box Score For the second game in a row Owl point guard Darby Toth had a stellar performance against a top 10 USCAA foe, but her herculean effort went for not, as Presque Isle could not contain the explosive Central Maine offensive attack, dropping a hard fought game 86-71 to the #6 ranked Mustangs.
Toth scored 30 points and assisted on five other Owl baskets in the game that saw the Owls shoot 60% from the field (27 for 45) and 57% from beyond the arc (8 for 14). Going into the match, the Mustangs average forcing their opponent into 33 turnovers, but Toth continually sliced through the aggressive presses of Central Maine to give the Owls point blank shots for herself or teammates.
For the game, the Owls only turned the ball over 12 times, while forcing the Mustangs into 17 turnovers with hustle and heady recovery on the defensive end. Toth's five assists extend her lead in the USCAA assists category and she is far and away the nation's leader in assist to turnover ratio at 3.7-to-1.
"Darby (Toth) was marvelous tonight", said Owl head coach Doug Carter. "To play 40 minutes against that tough, physical pressure and simply not back down to one of the toughest defenses in the nation, is just a tremendous feat. Central Maine does everything right with their pressing attack, but Darby was spectacular tonight."
Senior co-captain Rebecca Campbell recorded her 14th consecutive double-double with 16 point and 12 rebounds for the Owls and freshman Brianna Losee had 12 points and 5 assists, while hitting two 3-pointers. Sophomore sharpshooter Sydney Churchill returned to the Owl lineup to knock down two treys of her own as well.
The Mustangs also had a great shooting night, connecting on 64% of their 53 shots, most in the form of lay ups provided by their fast breaking style of play that the Owls had a difficult time contesting. The winning formula was simple for the Mustangs, as they had 8 more shots than the Owls and coupled with the high octane level of play, sparked Central Maine to the victory. In all, the Mustangs scored 42 points in the paint against the under-sized Owls.
Gabby Foy led the Mustangs with 27 points and 6'1 post Laura Soohey added 18 and 12 rebounds. The Central Maine bench scored 23 points and the deep roster of Mustang players added to the eventual advantage by constantly providing a fresh group of players to harass the Owl lineup. The Owls only got 6 points from their bench, all from Churchill, a regular starter coming off the bench nursing an injury.
"We are playing much better", added Carter. "Central Maine has only lost once in four years here on their home court and we did play well enough to win against 95% of the teams at this level, but Central Maine is no ordinary team, they are a deep and well coached unit."
The Owls will next welcome UMaine-Machias to Presque Isle on Thursday, January 29th as part of a men's/women's doubleheader. Women's action starts at 5:30pm.
