Rutland, VT - It was more of the same for CM; a blistering tempo and furious defense that once again paved the way. The Mustangs jumped out to a 51-20 lead and coasted for the 6th straight win to start the season, with a 93-54 victory over the Fighting Saints of the College of St. Joseph's.
An aggressive Alex Bessey (Jay, ME) set the pace the Mustangs right out of the gate, connecting on two deep threes for the first 6 points of the game. Bessey finished with a career-high 22 points to go along with 3 steals. Natalie Thurber joined the scoring party early and often herself. Thurber netted 10 first half points and finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assits. Bessey and Thurber each shot 3 of 6 from beyond the arc (6-12, 50%). Kristen Huntress (Harrison, ME) and Ahna McCusker (Barrington, NH) tallied 10 points each. Huntress hit a dagger 3-pointer as time expired in the first half to push the lead from 28 to 31.
Sabrena Eye led the Fighting Saints with 14 points and 6 rebounds.
In all, CM forced 35 turnovers and out-rebounded CSJ by +14.
With the win the Lady Mustangs improve to 6-0 overall and remain at 3-0 in the Yankee Conference. They will travel to Bangor today to take on 3-time defending NAC Tournament Champion, Husson University, in their second and final NCAA DIII exhibition game of the season. The Mustangs will return to Kirk Hall on the campus of Central Maine Community College on Wednesday when they play host to NHTI at 8pm.
