PRESQUE ISLE, ME
The UMPI Women's Basketball Team took their home floor for the sixth straight game to conclude their lengthy home-stand. They would host the Husson Eagles who were 8-1 in conference, and defeated UMPI handily earlier in the season down in Bangor. Despite falling behind by more than 30 points in the second half, the Owls were certain not to go down without a fight. In the end however, the earlier Eagles lead proved to be too much as they came away with a 10-point victory.
How it Happened:
It was a slow start to the game as the first minute went scoreless before Husson jumped in front 4-0 over the next minute. They'd double that lead down under six minutes in the first quarter at 8-0, and it took the Owls five and a half minutes to break the drought. UMPI finished the quarter with seven points to Husson's 14. The scoring picked up in the second quarter, especially so for the Eagles, as Lauren Cook began to heat up from beyond the arc. Husson grew their lead to 27-7 before UMPI scored again with under five minutes in the second. The Owls found a bit of an answer offensively but couldn't stop the Husson shots from falling as the Eagles led 38-20 at the half. Shots kept falling for the Eagles in the third quarter as Lauren Cook continued to knock down threes. She'd finish the day with six of them to lead Husson with 22 points.
The Eagles led by 31 points entering the final quarter and got it up to 33 at the beginning of the fourth. The game entered cruise control as it looked as though Husson would coast to the victory. At 70-40 with 6 minutes to go, the Owls didn't have much of a prayer.
That was until they began to make one of the quieter comeback bids you'll ever see. The Owls fired off a 7-0 run through the first minute of the run, while Husson began to run cold. A three brought it to 70-50 and Husson continued to miss. Anaira Ayala added her third three of the run to make it 70-55 with 2:49 to go. Yet another big shot, this time from Jovanna Oliva made it a 12-point game. Husson couldn't buy a basket, and eventually the Owls cut it to ten points with a minute and a half remaining.
The clock obviously was a friend of the Eagles in this scenario, despite the 20-0 UMPI run. UMPI would add a free throw to cut it to single digits with under a minute to go, but it was clear that the task was too tall as the lead Husson built all game proved to be too much. They'd hang on for the 71-61 victory over the Owls.
During the run, the Owls shot 6 for 8 from the field including 4-5 from three.
Top Performers:
Anaira Ayala led the way with 26 points for the Owls as she continues to rise up the NAC leaderboard in scoring, now sitting in fourth at 17.3 points per game. She had six threes on the day for UMPI. Ayala trails her teammate on the NAC leaderboard in scoring, Alexis Ireland, who added 12 points on the day and 13 rebounds, for yet another double-double. Ireland had five steals and five assists as well. Jovanna Oliva had 11 points and a pair of threes while Lindsay Hamilton added nine points off the bench.
Next Up:
The Owls will play their first conference game in a while, when they make the short trip up to U-Maine Fort Kent on Wednesday evening. That one is slated for a 5:30 p.m. start.
