South Portland, ME - It is always interesting when the Mustangs and the Southern Maine Community College Seawolves get together, and Wednesday night, proved to be another intense battle between two top ranked teams. Led by the unrattled leadership of Kristen Huntress (Harrison, ME) and Natalie Thurber (Wells, ME), the Mustangs led wire to wire, defeating SMCC 74-62 on the road.
Huntress once again filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, 5 steals, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. Thurber was not too far behind, finishing with 12 points, 6 steals, and 5 assists. First-year standout Abby Nadeau (Wales, ME), who was starting in her send game back after missing almost 5 weeks due to injury, scored a career-high 12 points and pulled down 5 rebounds. Not to be out-done, first-year Eliza Brault (Ossipee, NH) scored a sensational 15 points on 5 of 7 shooting.
The relentless pressure of the Mustangs forced 36 turnovers, 24 of which came via steals. With 14 girls seeing action, CM was able to keep a tempo the SMCC just could not overcome. The Seawolves got as close as 3 numerous times, but the Mustangs had an answer to every SMCC run.
Amanda Brett of SMCC recorded an impressive double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. During the game, she also became the all-time leading scorer in SMCC Women's Basketball history. A tremendous accomplishment for the hard-working junior.
The Mustangs have now won 9 straight and improve their record to 12-1 overall and 8-1 in the YSCC. They now sit atop the YSCC standing and the USCAA National Coaches poll. They will be back in action on Friday, when they travel to take on Bryant & Stratton College (Albany) at 6pm at Sage College. They will finish out the semester on Saturday with a 12:30pm game at CCRI in Warwick, RI.