BANGOR – Husson College had a chance last Friday to lock up the No. 1 seed for the North Atlantic Conference women’s basketball tournament.

Instead, the Eagles dropped a tough decision to league rival Maine Maritime Academy of Castine.

Tuesday night, Husson knew there would be no second chances if it didn’t play well.

Shelby Bradford scored 14 of her game-high 23 points in the first half as the Eagles built an early lead on their way to a 75-65 NAC quarterfinal victory over Johnson State College of Johnson, Vt., at Newman Gym.

Coach Kissy Walker’s team (16-10) advances to Friday’s semifinal game against MMA, a 65-25 winner over Elms, on the home court of Castleton State College in Castleton, Vt.

“We had a real frustrating loss Friday and we knew we had to come out hard and put teams away. It’s a new season,” said Ashley Bragdon, who provided 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists in only 19 minutes of action.

Castleton State and Becker meet in the other semifinal.

Husson led from start to finish, taking advantage of crisp passing and good shot selection against the Badgers’ 2-3 zone. Bradford and Ashley Bragdon controlled play down low in the early going, while Alyssa Bragdon provided perimeter punch.

The Eagles started to pull away with a 9-2 flurry 81/2 minutes into the half.

Lindsay Barnes scored from underneath off a Bradford feed, then Bradford made a nifty baseline cut to convert a Barnes pass that resulted from a Jenny Rollins steal.

Samantha Cutting slowed the surge with two free throws for Johnson State (11-15), but Rollins drained a 3-pointer off a post kick-out from Bradford and Bradford scored on an offensive rebound to give the hosts a 25-15 lead with 9:24 left in the half.

“We came out focused as a team and played together well,” Ashley Bragdon said. “Watching film [Monday] night really helped. We saw the gaps in their zone, so we knew where to be at the right time.”

Husson also set the tone defensively, pressing full-court and guarding the Badgers’ slippery guards one-on-one. JSC managed only 28 first-half points on 31 percent shooting.

“We played them full player-to-player defense,” Walker said of the approach that got Husson a 73-63 victory earlier this month. “Then, when we got that lead, we rotated different people and tried to give everybody an opportunity to do something.”

Husson extended its lead to as many as 16 points in the first half, shooting 54 percent from the field while also going 10-for-10 from the foul line.

The Eagles demonstrated plenty of balance as Rollins contributed nine points and five rebounds and Laura Archer tallied eight points. Husson placed 12 players in the scoring column.

The hosts extended the lead to 59-37 and substituted freely in the last 12 minutes.

Husson outrebounded the Badgers 43-30.

“We knew we had to come out hard because it’s anyone’s game, any day,” Bradford said. “Now it’s win or go home, so we’ve got to win.”

Jenna Lewis tossed in 21 points for the Badgers, going 11-for-13 from the foul line. Casey Rusin added 14 points, and Claudia Martineau had 13 with five rebounds.

pwarner@bangordailynews.net

990-8240

EAGLES 75, BADGERS 65

Johnson State (11-15) Husson (16-10)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Rusin 5 22 3 4 14 Bradford 7 14 9 10 23

Lewis 4 5 11 13 21 Barden 0 0 0

Dolan 3 8 2 2 8 Al. Brgdn 2 6

St.Cutting 2 9 2 2 7 Rollins 3 10 9

Martineau 6 13 1 2 13 As. Brgdn 4 12

Lilligreen 0 2 0 0 0 Sewell 0 0 1

Driscoll 0 1 0 0 0 Nrswrthy 1 3

Sa.Cutting 0 1 2 2 2 Lincoln 0 1 2

Allen 0 0 0 0 0 Archer 3 5 8

Hassard 0 2 0 0 0 Sevey 1 6 3

Barnes 1 2 2 4

Richards 0 1 2

Plourde 0 1 0 0

Lavertu 1 3 0 2

Totals 20 63 21 25 65 Totals 23 54 21 26 75

Johnson State 28 65

Husson 43 75

3-pt. goals – Johnson State (4-18): Lewis 2-3, St. Cutting 1-5, Rusin 1-10; Husson (8-17): Rollins 3-7, Al. Bragdon 2-3, Archer 2-4, Sevey 1-2, Plourde 0-1