Mustangs Win Home Opener

AUBURN - Central Maine Community College freshman Ella Lavigne didn't have time to be nervous in the final minutes of a game against Bryant and Stratton of Albany in the Mustangs' home opener on Friday night.

 Levigne, a Colorado native, scored four of her 15 team-high points and came up with a crucial steal and rebound to help the Mustangs (2-0) shake off the Bobcats with an 82-75 victory in a women's basketball game.. The soft-spoken Levigne went seven-for-eight from the free-throw line, pulled down 15 rebounds and was credited with five steals.

 "I am glad I had my teammates backing me up on the bench," Levigne said. "(I was) a little (nervous, but we just pushed past it and used it in a positive way. I had a lot of fun and we are going to be back at it tomorrow."

 CMCC coach Andrew Morong was certainly impressed with Levigne's efforts.

 "She went for 15 points, 15 rebounds, four-for-four down the stretch on the foul line - not a bad day for a freshman," he said. "She was just cool, calm and collective and that is rare for a just turned 18 year old."

 The Mustangs kept their distance from the Bobcats in the first half, building a 45-37 lead at halftime, but Bryant and Stratton rallied in the second half to take the lead with three minutes left in the game.

 Morong said the game was "unnecessarily close" for the Bobcats.

 "I think we are a young team and we are going to have a lot of peaks, a lot of valleys and I thought our peaks weren't quite as high they were earlier during the week and our valleys were certainly a lot lower, but that is expected with a young team," Morong said. 

 Marney Rees and Rosa Prieto each scored 12 points for CMCC. The Bobcats were led by Janessa Iyana Jones (game-high 16 points), Mickia Freeney (15) and Fatima Bakayoko (14).

Story by Tony Blasi