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AUGUSTA – Megan Woodcock is usually perfectly content to blend into the University of Maine-Farmington’s well-balanced offense.
But when the Beavers allowed the College of St. Joseph to keep Monday night’s Sunrise Conference women’s championship game close well into the second half, the UMF senior took over.
Woodcock connected for 19 consecutive UMF points to spearhead a momentous scoring run that carried the top-seeded Beavers to their second straight league championship with a 65-44 victory at the Augusta Civic Center.
“She put 13 players on her back and said, ‘let’s take a trip to Iowa,'” said UMF coach Jamie Beaudoin, whose 24-4 Beavers advance to the NAIA Division II National Tournament at Sioux City, Iowa.
UMF, which was an upstart champ last season, was this winter’s Sunrise Conference favorite.
“I would say overall it was much more difficult,” said Beaudoin, the league Coach of the Year. “Playing the underdog is definitely enjoyable, you’ve got nothing to lose.”
Third-seeded St. Joseph (Vt.) finished the season 15-11.
Woodcock, a former Mt. Blue of Farmington star, took charge Monday for UMF. She scored 19 points during a span of 7 minutes, 14 seconds and UMF responded with swarming defense while pulling away.
“We needed to just put them away and she took care of that,” said Kate LaHaye of Belfast. “The rest of us, we were definitely working hard, but as a senior I think she just realized we’re definitely not going to give them a chance to stick around.”
UMF clung to a 39-37 lead when Woodcock hit a 14-footer at the 12:14 mark. She followed up with an eight-footer from the lane and two 3-pointers as the Beavers made it 49-37 with 10:04 to play.
“I started to get into a flow and I felt a rhythm, so I wanted the ball back in my own hands,” Woodcock said. “Not to take anything away from my teammates, but when you get on fire, you don’t want it to go away.”
The Beavers, whose depth and defensive intensity had begun to wear down the Fighting Saints, obliged. After CSJ’s Morgan Hytko made a 3-pointer, Woodcock responded with a jumper in the paint, a 19-footer and three foul shots as UMF extended the advantage to 56-40 with 5:25 remaining.
“She’s the type of player who, team-wise, is willing to find other people that are open,” Beaudoin said. “Tonight she just said, ‘I’m gonna take the ball. You guys just sit back, relax and enjoy the show.'”
Woodcock shot 8-for-14 from the floor, including 7-for-9 in the second half.
UMF received numerous contributions at both ends. LaHaye finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, Hannah Socoby provided seven points, five rebounds and three assists, and Lydia Coverdale made five steals.
Sunrise Conference Player of the Year Jocelyn Sawyer, Brandi Rideout, Desirae Haines, Cheryl Kempton, Molly Bean and Samantha Hunt all were key contributors.
The College of St. Joseph struggled to 19 percent shooting in the second half and wound up committing 26 turnovers in the face of UMF’s full-court press and tough man-to-man defense.
“We seem to wear teams down in the second half. We really seem to be able to put teams away,” Beaudoin said.
Hytko paced the Saints with 16 points, Elizabeth Arbelaez netted 14 and Marissa Domanico added eight points, 11 rebounds and six steals.
BEAVERS 65, FIGHTING SAINTS 44
St. Joseph (15-11) UM-Farmington (24-4)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Hytko 6 22 2 3 16 Socoby 3 7 7
Arbelaez 4 14 6 7 14 Sawyer 1 7 3
DuFresne 1 1 0 0 2 Woodcock 8 14 4 7 23
Domanico 3 10 2 2 8 Coverdale 2 4
Casey 0 0 0 0 0 LaHaye 5 9 16
Neider 1 3 0 0 2 Rideout 1 6 4
Toth 0 2 0 0 0 Bean 0 1 0 0
Frasier 0 0 0 0 0 Cyr 0 3 0
Kelley 1 1 0 0 2 Kempton 0 0 0
Berry 0 0 0 0
Stanley 2 3 0 4
Haines 0 0 0 0
Hunt 2 4 0 4
Ochs 0 0 0 0
Totals 16 53 10 12 44 24 61 13 21 65
St. Joseph (Vt.) 27 44
UM-Farmington 29 65
3-pt. goals ? St. Joseph (2-16): Hytko 2-13, Arbelaez 0-3; UMF (4-16): Socoby 0-1, Woodcock 3-8, Coverdale 0-2, LaHaye 1-2, Cyr 0-2
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