BANGOR – Husson College has spent its season going up against opponents’ bigger, taller frontcourt players.

The Eagles got another tough test Wednesday night against University of Maine-Fort Kent post players Ashley Ames and Arcilla Jeffers, who stand 6-foot-5 and 6-1, respectively.

Shelby Bradford of Lee, who has made a career out of slippery moves in the paint, proved again that size isn’t everything.

The tenacious 5-9 forward maneuvered her way through the paint for 16 points and 11 rebounds, helping Husson grind out a 79-72 women’s basketball victory over UMFK at Newman Gymnasium.

Bradford provided four points, an assist and a steal to spark a game-breaking 14-2 flurry that gave coach Kissy Walker’s Eagles (5-6) the win.

“They were quite a bit taller than us,” said Bradford, who added three steals, two assists and two blocked shots.

“I guess everybody we’ve played so far has been taller than us, so it’s something we’re getting used to,” she added. “I’ve played against Ashley a lot [in AAU ball], so I know she’s going to block me. If I do a little around or look for that open [player] on the back side, that’s usually what’s open.”

The somewhat undermanned Bengals (6-8), who compete in the Sunrise Conference, a member of the NAIA Division II ranks, gave the Eagles everything they could handle.

Ames, a former Dexter High star, led UMFK with a game-high 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting along with 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals. However, she had only six points and four rebounds in the second half.

Frontcourt mate Jeffers complements Ames’ vertical advantage with her strength and quickness. She contributed 10 points and led all players with 18 rebounds, nine of them on the offensive end, to go with four assists and two steals.

“Obviously, you don’t want to get into a half-court game with the Jeffers girl and Ashley,” Walker said. “We didn’t match up size-wise, but we figured Ashley was going to get her share of points and hopefully we could really pressure the ball out front so they couldn’t make the lob pass or the bounce pass in there.”

Husson’s zone and man-to-man full-court presses did yield several turnovers by UMFK, which committed 27 in all.

“It’s frustrating because we are young. Our four guards are freshmen,” said UMFK coach Lucas Levesque.

Jenny Rollins of Corinth set the perimeter offensive tone for Husson with 19 points.

The Eagles also received determined post play from Ashley Bragdon of Newport, who added eight points and six rebounds in the face of UMFK’s bigger inside players.

Husson emerged with a 36-33 rebounding edge and also connected for nine 3-pointers, which helped draw UMFK out of its zone defense.

The Bengals led 64-63 with 7:14 left after Jeffers hit a close-range basket. That’s when Husson ended the suspense.

Bradford opened the critical run with two free throws, then Rollins swished a 3-pointer off a UMFK turnover. Bragdon scored from the baseline off a nifty back-side feed from Bradford, then Noelle Lincoln of Dixmont buried a 3-pointer to give the Eagles a 73-64 lead with 5:07 remaining.

UMFK appeared to run out of gas against a deep Husson team that utilized 10 of its 16 players for at least seven minutes.

“We got a little tired, lost track of people, [gave up] a couple of offensive-board putbacks and the next thing you know a 64-63 game is an 11-point cushion for them in about [two] minutes,” said Levesque, who praised the play of Bradford.

“Shelby’s so crafty and smart down low, we knew that was going to be an extremely tough matchup for us and she made some plays down the stretch,” he said.

Shir Fuchs tossed in 15 points for UMFK, while Leah Ribera added 11 points.

The Eagles clung to a 38-37 halftime lead after leading for most of the first half.

Ames finished the half with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.

UMFK converted 12 of 15 free throws, thanks to its continued aggressiveness on the offensive end.

The hosts connected for six 3-pointers to help extend UMFK defensively, but had trouble establishing a consistent post game.

The Bengals led by as many as six points in the early going, but the Eagles later used an 11-0 run to take a 38-29 lead with 3:11 to play. UMFK outscored Husson 8-0 the rest of the way to make it a one-point game at the break.

pwarner@bangordailynews.net

990-8240

EAGLES 79, BENGALS 72

Fort Kent (6-8) Husson (5-6)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Licata 2 5 2 2 8 Bradford 6 11 4 4 16

Fuchs 4 11 4 6 15 Barden 3 6 8

Garrison 2 3 2 2 6 Al. Brgdn 1 3

Ames 8 12 5 7 21 Rollins 7 17 2 19

Jeffers 5 11 0 2 10 As. Brgdn 3 11 2 2 8

Waltz 0 1 0 0 0 Sewell 0 2 0

Tracey 0 1 1 2 1 Nrswrthy 0 0

Bassue 0 0 0 0 0 Lincoln 2 5 6

Ribera 5 12 0 0 11 Blindow 0 0 2

Archer 3 5 0 7

Sevey 0 1 0 0

Barnes 1 1 0 2

Richards 0 0 0

Plourde 0 0 0 0

Lavertu 3 4 2 8

Totals 26 56 14 21 72 Totals 29 66 12 15 79

UMFK 37 72

Husson 38 79

3-pt. goals – UMFK (6-19): Licata 2-4, Fuchs 3-8, Ribers 1-6, Garrison 0-1; Husson (9-25): Barden 2-3, Al. Bragdon 1-2, Rollins 3-9, Lincoln 2-4, Archer 1-3, As. Bragdon 0-3, Sevey 0-1

Attendance: 150 est.