BANGOR – When the game’s on the line, successful teams get the ball to their best players.

Husson College took care of business down the stretch, getting two clutch baskets from Kelly Dow and two free throws each by Liza Doughty and Leslie Trott while holding off the University of Maine-Farmington 68-62 in a hard-fought Maine Athletic Conference game Tuesday night at Newman Gym.

Coach Kissy Walker’s Braves, who had beaten the Beavers 64-61 in overtime Dec. 6 at Farmington, improved to 10-7, 5-1 in the MAC. UM-Farmington slipped to 6-6 and 3-3, respectively.

Husson, which holds second place in the conference, takes on top-seeded St. Joseph’s Thursday night in Standish.

“I think we did the things that we needed to do at the right times,” Walker said. “I thought they were very unselfish and we had a lot of contributions coming from different people.”

Senior guard Kelly Dow of Sebec Village led the way for Husson, scoring 10 of her game-high 18 points in the last 16 minutes. Freshman forward Liz Boone of Brewer contributed 13 points, five rebounds and three blocked shots.

Leslie Weed of Freedom finished with 12 points, while heady point guard Liza Doughty of Hermon chipped in with 10 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and two steals. Brewer’s Leslie Trott added six points, eight rebounds, four blocks and two steals.

Senior forward Rebecca Roak of Portland scored 10 of her team-high 16 points in the second half and pulled down 10 rebounds. Megan Woodcock of Farmington tossed in 12 points, while Rachel Bard of Winslow provided seven points, eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.

The Braves took advantage of their bench while wearing down the Beavers’ defense in the second half. Husson led by as many as 12 points at 56-44 with 8:16 remaining, aided by UMF’s turnover woes early in the half.

“They started really killing us on the rebounds and when it came down to the end of the game, Trott and Dow and even our guards did a great job banging the boards and keeping them down when it counted,” Doughty said.

The Beavers, who outrebounded the Braves 26-18 in the second half and 52-43 overall, countered with a 9-0 scoring run that kept them in contention the rest of the way.

Husson clung to a 60-57 edge as the hosts took care of business in the last three minutes. Doughty fed Dow underneath for a basket that pushed the lead to five, but Megan Woodcock buried the last of her four 3-pointers to keep the Beavers within 62-60 at the 1:25 mark.

The Braves remained patient as the clock ticked down, spreading the floor to set up Dow’s driving layup with 58 seconds left. Rebecca Roak hit a spinning shot from the lane 10 seconds later, but UMF wound up fouling Doughty, who made both ends of a bonus to give Husson a 66-62 lead with 31 seconds to play.

“… We had to really focus on what we were doing with the ball and make sure we had good shot selection,” Dow said.

The Beavers had two shots at the other end, but missed, and Trott clinched the victory with a pair of foul shots with 11 seconds left.

Leading 45-39, Husson put together a key 8-2 scoring run. Katie Nye scored from close range off a Doughty bounce pass, then Dow made a 3-pointer.

Roak scored on an offensive rebound for UMF, but Doughty’s conventional three-point play made it 53-41 with 10:26 left.

The Beavers retaliated with a 9-0 flurry, including a Woodcock 3-pointer, but they couldn’t get even.

“We were a little bit fatigued defensively. They were getting the ball to the high post,” said UMF coach Jamie Beaudoin. “We went on a run of our own, got some defensive stops, and hit some big 3-pointers and a couple offensive rebounds to get us back in it.”

Braves 68, Beavers 62

UM-Farmington (6-6) Husson (10-7)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Robertson 3 14 0 0 9 Allen 0 0 0

Bard 3 10 0 1 7 Trott 2 12 2 6

Hartman 0 3 1 2 1 Weed 4 10 1 12

Woodcock 4 13 0 0 12 Comeau 0 1 0

Sawyer 4 13 1 1 9 Hughes 1 4 0 2

Foster 0 0 0 0 0 Nye 2 6 0 5

Roak 5 16 6 8 16 Doughty 3 7 4 10

Normand 4 5 0 1 8 Dow 8 13 1 18

Turner 0 1 0 0

Cole 1 3 0 2

Boone 4 8 5 13

Totals 23 74 8 13 62 Totals 25 65 13 17 68

UMaine-Farmington 35 62

Husson 40 68

3-pt. goals: UMF (8-23): Robertson 3-11, Bard 1-5, Woodcock 4-7; Husson (5-14): Trott 0-1, Weed 3-7, Comeau 0-1, Nye 1-1, Doughty 0-1, Dow 1-1, Cole 0-2

Attendance: 150 (est.)