NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Tournament First Round Smith Upsets No. 8 USM 80-58

Game Leaders

Smith
Pts: Paulina Solis - 17
Reb: Lauren Weston - 9
Ast: Paulina Solis - 5
Southern Maine
Pts: Rebecca Knight - 13
Reb: Rebecca Knight - 8
Ast: Rebecca Knight - 4

Team Stats

Smith
Southern Maine

Field Goals

(34-68)
(22-53)

Field Goal %

50.0%
41.5%

Rebounds

39
29

Assists

19
11

Turnovers

17
22

Pts off Turnovers

28
8

2nd Chance Pts

16
6

Pts in the Paint

30
24

Fastbreak Pts

0
0

Bench Pts

15
5
full stats
More news about: Southern Maine
Mar 01, 2013
GORHAM, Maine  –  Led by sophomore guard Paulina Solis (Santa Ana, Calif.) and junior forward Rosa Drummond (Rye, N.H.), 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 Quattrochi (Brewster, N.Y.) added 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.  Junior forward Sydney Parkmond (Waterbury, Conn.) and sophomore Lauren Weston (Florence, Mass.) 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 (Alfred, Maine/McAuley) 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 (Concord, N.H.) added 12 points and seven rebounds.  Senior guard Nicole Garland (Portland, Maine/Deering) and junior guard Erin McNamara (West Newbury, Mass./Pentucket Regional) each had 10 points. 

                  Led by 10 points each from Solis and Drummond the Pioneers raced out to a commanding 41-28 lead at the half.  The Pioneers were white-hot 51.4 percent (18-for-35) from the field.  The Huskies shot a solid 42.3 percent (11-for-26) from the floor but were hampered by 14 first-half turnovers.  Smith scored 17 of its 41 first-half points off of Huskies' miscues. 

                  The game was close in the opening 10 minutes of the game.  USM trailed Smith 20-17 with 10:51 to play following a steal from McNamara and a layup from Knight. But the Pioneers pulled away with a 14-2 run to grab a 34-19 lead with 3:23 on the clock.  Solis scored seven of the Pioneers' 14 points.  USM outscored Smith 9-7 in the final minutes of the half to trail 41-28.

                  Smith opened the second half outscoring USM 8-4 to lead 49-32 with 16:02 remaining, before USM made a strong push over the next six minutes and two seconds to pull to within eight of the Pioneers.  McNamara and Garland each scored seven points as the Huskies used an 18-9 run for a 58-50 deficit with 10:00 on the clock. 

                  The two teams exchanged baskets and USM trailed 64-53 with 7:27 to play after a short jumper from Knight in the paint, but the Pioneers closed the door on any thoughts of a USM comeback with a 14-0 run over the next seven and a half minutes to grab their largest lead of the game, 78-53, with just 2:35 to play.  USM finished the game with 5-2 run in the final moments for the 80-58 final.

                  Smith finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (24-for-68) from the field.  USM shot 41.5 percent (22-for-53).  Smith scored 28 points off of turnovers and had 16 second-chance points. 

–cac–