UMF nips MMA for title, NCAA spot

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BANGOR – Heading into Saturday afternoon’s North Atlantic Conference championship, the University of Maine-Farmington women’s basketball team had a strangely familiar feeling.

“Two years ago we played Husson in the championship and they had beaten us twice in the regular season,” said junior Kari Simpson. “We won, but didn’t get a bid to the NCAAs.”

The following season, the NAC was granted an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III national tournament and the Maine Maritime Academy Mariners took the title and their first-ever trip to the big dance.

“They beat us twice already this season in two close games,” said Simpson. “We wanted to win this one for the seniors.”

The second-ranked UMF Beavers took care of business Saturday and outlasted the top-seeded Mariners 55-53.

The Beavers move to 24-4, 17-2 in the NAC and the Mariners finish at 23-5 and 17-2.

Coming off a 41-point clinic in UMF’s semifinal win over Lasell, Simpson poured in 20 points, pulled down eight boards and had four steals.

The play of the tournament wasn’t one of Simpson’s 19 field goals however.

With the game tied at 53, Simpson dished the ball to senior Melissa Sawyer for a wide-open layup, putting the Beavers up 55-53 with 1:35 remaining.

“She looked for her shot all day,” said UMF head coach Jamie Beaudoin. “But when it came right down to it, it was her simple pass to Sawyer that sealed it for us.”

Simpson was named the tournament’s most valuable player.

Maine Maritime junior Julia Knights proved to be the lone offensive spark for the Mariners. Knights tossed in a game-high 23 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

UMF’s defense forced 21 Maine Maritime turnovers and held both NAC Player of the Year Alyssa Burns and first- team all-conference selection Michelle Gott to nine and seven points, respectively.

“We tried to put a lot of pressure on the ball,” said Beaudoin. “The pressure our guards put on made it easier to defend and slowed down Burns, Gott and Knights near the basket, which is where they are most effective.”

Junior Karen Sirois tallied 12 points for the Beavers and recorded six steals and three assists.

Both teams hauled in 37 rebounds, but 21 of UMF’s 37 came on the offensive glass.

“You can’t beat good teams turning the ball over 21 times, especially with big turnovers down the stretch,” said MMA coach Craig Dagan. “Julia played really well, but when the other two don’t play well together, we’re in big trouble.”

The Mariners had the ball with eight seconds left in the game, but Burns’ turnaround baseline jumper fell just short as time expired.

“We knew they had a height advantage and that they all could handle the ball really well,” said Simpson. “It was all about heart down the stretch.”

Simpson and Sirois, along with Knights and Gott, were named to the all-tournament team.

The seedings for the NCAA tournament will be announced Monday morning.

BEAVERS 55, MARINERS 53

UM-Farmington (24-4) Maine Maritime (23-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Byrne 0 1 0 0 0 Moore 0 0 0

Boyd 2 4 1 2 5 Grant 0 3 0 0

Cyr 1 5 0 0 2 Leeman 0 2 0 0

Rideout 1 6 0 0 2 Marshall 2 6

Wiley 2 3 0 0 4 Robitaille 0 0

Simpson 4 14 9 12 18 Burns 1 7 9

Johnson 1 2 0 0 2 Johnson 1 3 2

Porter 2 3 0 0 4 Gott 3 8 7

Sawyer 2 8 0 0 4 Hayden 3 5 6

Sirois 4 11 3 9 12 Knights 8 12 23

Berry 1 3 0 0 2

Totals 20 60 13 23 55 Totals 18 46 14 19 53

UM-Farmington 29 55

Maine Maritime 27 53

3-pt. goals – UM-Farmington (2-13): Simpson 1-3, Sirois 1-4, Byrne 0-1, Cyr 0-1, Rideout 0-1, Porter 0-1, Boyd 0-2; Maine Maritime (3-8): Marshall 2-3, Knights 1-1, Grant 0-1, Leeman 0-1, Gott 0-2

Attendance: 400