CASTINE – Tatum Welch (Newport, ME) scored 18 points and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough as the Maine Maritime women’s basketball team lost a close game to the University of Maine at Farmington Beavers in their conference opener Tuesday night at Margaret Smith Gymnasium.
MMA dropped to 4-8 overall and 0-1 in the North Atlantic Conference while the Beavers improve to 4-8 overall and 2-0 in the NAC.
The Beavers were led to victory by junior Caitlyn Laflin (Farmingdale, ME), scoring a game high 20 points and grabbing a team high 9 rebounds. Senior Erin Porter (Bangor, ME) chipped in with 14 points while point guard Amanda Byrne (Winslow, ME) led the team with 4 assists.
Ashley Tilton (Lubec, ME) played outstanding, contributing a career high 13 points and 5 rebounds to go along with 2 assists. Kelsi Eiane (Harpswell, ME) continued her strong play, scoring 9 points, grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists. To go along with her 7th double-double of the season, Welch also had 3 assists, 3 blocks, and 4 steals while freshman Sam Goda had 7 points and 7 rebounds.
The Beavers got off to a quick start in the contest, bolting out to a 10-4 lead before the Lady Mariners inched back to within two at 10-8 on consecutive baskets by Tatum Welch. UMF upped the lead to 13 points over the next 8 minutes and with 4:47 left in the first half the Beavers led 27-14.
MMA settled in on both ends, finishing off the half on a 7-0 run, and went into the half trailing by just 6 points, 27-21.
The Beavers once again got off to a quick start to begin the second half and built a 10-point lead behind the efforts of Laflin, who scored 6 straight points. MMA wouldn’t go away and made another comeback, scoring on four consecutive possessions to take the lead with just under five minute to go at 46-45. The lead changed hands two more times before the Beavers would take the lead for good after a three-point play by senior Amanda Byrne (7 points).
Trailing by two points, MMA missed four consecutive free throws, and UMF capitalized taking a 58-54 lead with 17 seconds to go. After a UMF turnover, the Lady Mariners scored on a Sam Goda (Eliot, ME) offensive rebound and putback with 6.6 seconds left. MMA fouled on the inbound play and sent Erin Porter to the line. Porter made 1 of 2 and gave the Beavers a 59-56 lead. MMA went the length of the court and at the buzzer, Jenna King’s (Old Town, ME) three-point attempt rimmed out securing the win for the Beavers.
