PRESQUE ISLE, ME

The UMPI Women's team has endured a lot of heartbreak to start this second semester with multiple close losses. But their efforts came to fruition on Friday night as they stifled the Lesley Lynx, holding them to 34 points as the Owls picked up the stress-free victory at home for their first NAC win of the year.

How it Happened:

UMPI drew first blood with an Aleyah Matheson three-pointer to start things off, and just like the men's team before them, started out with an 8-2 lead. Lesley closed the gap slightly down the stretch of a low-scoring first quarter as UMPI led 12-7 after one. In the second it was more of the same, lower scoring as both defenses got after it to force lower shooting percentage and higher turnover rates. The Owls grew their lead to 20-9 with eight points less than three minutes in before things slowed from there. The teams would trade off as it went five points for UMPI and five points for Lesley over the final seven minutes of the half, making it a locker-room score of 25-14.

The Owls grew on their double-digit lead in the third quarter making it 36-21 with 3:30 left in the third. It would stay at that discrepancy at 40-25 going into the final frame. UMPI stood tall, not allowing Lesley to gain any ground in a game that could have changed in a heartbeat. The Owls made it unreachable as they led 50-29 with four minutes left. They didn't need to score from there as they held Lesley to five points the rest of the way, picking up the win 50-34.

Top Performers:

The dynamic scoring duo of Aleyah Matheson and Lindsay Hamilton were at the forefront once again for UMPI. Hamilton had 15 to lead UMPI to go with 11 rebounds on 6-7 shooting. Matheson had a pair of threes to contribute to her 13 point total. Nevaeh Bello had seven and six, while Logan Curtis had six points off the bench and five rebounds. Senior Guard, Camryn Ala led UMPI with a career high 13 rebounds on the night, along with seven assists as she continues to lead the conference in assists per game.

Next Up:

The Owls come within a tie in the conference standings with Lesley as they split the season series. UMPI will now host Thomas College on Saturday at 4 p.m. to wrap up another NAC weekend.