Knights helps Mariners edge Beavers

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CASTINE – Maine Maritime Academy and the University of Maine-Farmington have begun building a good women’s basketball rivalry in recent years.

With home court throughout the North Atlantic Conference playoffs on the line, the Mariners and Beavers demonstrated playoff-level intensity Tuesday night at Smith Gymnasium.

MMA’s Julia Knights blocked a Kari Simpson 3-point attempt in the closing seconds and teammate Alyssa Burns rebounded and converted the ensuing free throws, helping the Mariners clinch a 65-60 victory.

“We all came into this game knowing that the winner of this was going to host the playoffs and I think playing at home is a huge advantage for us because we have some pretty intense fans,” said junior Julia Knights of Brookton, who led MMA with 18 points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Coach Craig Dagan’s MMA squad earned its 10th straight victory, improving to 20-3 overall, 15-1 in league play.

“To beat a quality team and to get into a close game like that was important for our team going down the stretch,” said Dagan, whose team received votes in the D3hoops.com Division III national poll this week for the first time ever. “There was a lot riding on tonight.”

The Mariners prevailed by taking advantage of some size mismatches inside. They frequently were able to isolate players in the post for high-percentage shots. MMA’s success in that regard helped it overcome 21 turnovers.

Led by the play of Knights and Alyssa Burns (16 points, 8 rebounds), the Mariners made 20 of their 26 field goals from inside the paint.

“It was pretty much a game of matchups and I think they did a really nice job of taking advantage of theirs,” said coach Jamie Beaudoin, whose UFM team (19-4, 13-2 NAC) had a 13-game win streak halted.

MMA also grabbed a 54-37 rebounding advantage with Shelley Gott of Tremont (11 boards) leading that effort. Gott also scored eight points and provided six assists.

The versatile Simpson paced UM-Farmington with 19 points, 13 rebounds and five steals. Melissa Sawyer contributed 18 points and six rebounds, while Karen Sirois handed out nine assists.

The Beavers made only nine turnovers.

Meghan Marshall of Madawaska and Ashley Hayden of Bangor complemented the MMA post attack. Marshall hit two shots early in the second half, while Hayden made back-to-back baskets 16 seconds apart during a pivotal stretch with less than nine minutes to play.

“Meghan Marshall and Ashley Hayden both stepped up big-time in the second half from an offensive standpoint, which took a lot of pressure off Julia, Alyssa and Shelley,” Dagan said.

The Mariners gained the upper hand with a 10-4 second-half scoring run, which included four points each from Knights and Burns, and led 44-36 with 12:39 left.

Simpson scored off a move in the paint and Samantha Wiley added a driving scoop shot for UM-Farmington, but Knights converted two determined baseline drives to push the lead back to 48-40.

The Beavers continued to apply pressure and fought back into contention with a 9-3 spurt. Sawyer’s offensive rebound basket cut MMA’s lead to 55-51 with 4:38 left.

That’s when MMA guard Caitlyn Grant of South Thomaston made her presence felt. She dribbled through the UMF press and went coast to coast for a layup, then answered two Simpson free throws by knocking down a foul-line jumper to help MMA stay on top.

“She made two huge shots for us down the stretch,” Dagan said.

UMF eventually crept within three (63-60) with 1:21 to go on a 3-pointer and a 12-foot baseline jumper 36 seconds apart by Sawyer, but Knights’ clutch block helped MMA hold on.

“We got excited, we just didn’t quite turn the corner,” Beaudoin said.

MARINERS 65, BEAVERS 60

UM-Farmington (19-4) Maine Maritime (20-3)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Byrne 0 2 0 0 0 Moore 0 3 0

Boyd 2 2 0 0 6 Grant 4 8 0 8

Cyr 1 1 0 0 2 Leeman 1 2 0 2

Rideout 0 5 4 4 4 Marshall 2 4

Wiley 2 2 0 1 4 Robitaille 0 0

Simpson 7 22 4 4 19 Burns 7 12 16

Johnson 0 7 2 2 2 Johnson 1 2 2

Porter 0 1 0 0 0 Gott 3 12 8

Sawyer 8 16 1 4 18 Hayden 3 5 7

Ross 0 0 0 0 0 Knights 5 13 8 18

Sirois 2 13 1 3 5

Totals 22 71 12 18 60 Totals 26 63 11 14 65

UM-Farmington 26 60

Maine Maritime 27 65

3-pt. goals – UMF (4-21): Byrne 0-1, Boyd 2-2, Rideout 0-2, Simpson 1-8, Johnson 0-1, Sawyer 1-3, Sirois 0-4; MMA (2-15): Moore 0-2, Grant 0-1, Leeman 0-1, Burns 0-1, Johnson 0-1, Gott 2-6, Knights 0-3

Attendance: 150 (est.)