MMA uses balance to sink Eagles Mariners give coach 100th career victory

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CASTINE – Chemistry on the basketball court can lead to more success than talent alone.

It just so happens Maine Maritime Academy has plenty of both.

The balanced Mariners placed four players in double figures Tuesday night as Craig Dagan earned his 100th career coaching win as MMA posted a 69-53 North Atlantic Conference women’s basketball victory over Husson College of Bangor at Smith Gymnasium.

MMA built a 17-point halftime lead behind a cohesive defensive effort, then stretched its advantage to 28 points with an 11-0 flurry to open the second half while improving to 6-0 overall, 3-0 in conference play.

“They’re the closest team in Maine to us and they’re our biggest rivals every year and we love playing them,” said senior point guard Rebecca Moore of Winthrop, who stuck four 3-pointers on her way to 12 points.

Moore had scored only 14 points in MMA’s first five games.

Julia Knights of Brookton connected for a game-high 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and blocked three shots to lead the way for the hosts, while Shelley Gott-Stilwell of Tremont also scored 12 points. Alyssa Burns of Dixfield contributed 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, two steals and two blocked shots in a well-rounded effort.

“We have amazing chemistry. I think that’s the biggest thing that’s helping us right now, on and off the court,” Moore said.

The Mariners shot 45 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Eagles 38-34.

Husson (3-3, 2-1 NAC) was hampered in the first half as senior center Annie McIntosh of New Gloucester sat out after injuring her right ankle during warmups. She played 15 minutes in the second half, but was held to three foul shots.

“It really threw us out of sync,” said Eagles coach Kissy Walker. “We had a hard time getting any inside game going, which usually opens it up for our outside game.”

Husson tried to attack inside, but MMA responded with a solid defensive effort led by Burns, Knights and Ashley Hayden of Bangor.

Jodie Merchant of Ellsworth paced the Eagles with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Holly Gracie of Frankfort netted 11 points. Leading scorer Shelby Pickering of Lee finished with six points and seven rebounds.

“I thought our interior defense tonight was tremendous,” Dagan said. “Shelby didn’t get any clean looks and even the points that she did get, she had to really work through double-teams.”

Husson welcomed back feisty senior guard Crystal Martin of Calais, who missed the last few weeks with a broken right hand.

MMA set the tone with smothering defense and aggressive transition offense. Knights made a 12-footer from the lane and a 3-pointer to spark a 13-2 scoring run that gave the hosts a 25-10 lead with 8:02 left in the first half.

The Mariners eventually pushed the lead to 20 before taking a 35-18 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

MMA put the game away with a decisive surge to open the second half. Freshman Kelsi Eiane of Harpswell got things rolling with an 18-footer, before Gott-Stilwell sandwiched two 3-pointers around a long-range bomb from Knights to give the Mariners a 46-18 lead with 17:53 remaining.

“We run one offense and the kids are doing a really good job with it,” Dagan said. “We’re only six games in, so we’re still feeling our way through it right now.”

Husson countered with a determined rally. Gracie scored eight points as the Eagles took advantage of their transition attack while manufacturing an 18-5 run that cut the deficit to 51-36 with 11:25 to play.

MMA ratcheted up its defense after that and was able to maintain a comfortable cushion. Husson managed only five assists in the game.

MARINERS 69, EAGLES 53

Husson (3-3) Maine Maritime (6-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pickering 3 11 0 1 6 Moore 4 6 12

Ballard 2 9 2 2 7 Eiane 1 1 2

Archer 0 1 0 0 0 Burns 4 7 10

Merchant 6 10 2 2 14 GottStlwl 3 10 4 4 12

Gracie 4 7 1 2 11 Knights 6 12 18

Wickstrom 0 1 0 0 0 Laney 0 0 0

Winters 0 0 1 2 1 Leeman 1 3 4

Martin 0 4 1 2 1 Franklin 2 8

Barden 0 0 0 0 0 Provncher 0 1

Barnes 1 1 0 0 2 Quimby 0 2 0

Hichborn 0 0 1 2 1 Hayden 1 2 2

Rollins 1 3 0 0 2 Ferry 0 0 0

McIntosh 0 6 3 4 3 Milles 0 0 0

Dow 0 0 0 0 0

Aly. Brgdn 1 1 0 0 3

Ash. Brgdn 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 19 55 11 17 53 Totals 22 49 16 26 69

Husson 18 53

Maine Maritime 35 69

3-pt. goals – Husson (4-15): Ballard 1-4, Archer 0-1, Gracie 2-5, Wickstrom 0-1, Martin 0-2, Rollins 0-1, Aly. Bragdon 1-1; Maine Maritime (9-19): Moore 4-6, Burns 0-2, Gott Stilwell 2-4, Knights 3-5, Franklin 0-1, Quimby 0-1

Attendance: 175 (est.)