Augusta, ME - Battling foul trouble and ice cold shooting from beyond the arc, the Mustangs found themselves trailing by 14-points heading into the 4th quarter. The defense cranked it up, holding the Moose to just 7 points in the final quarter, and a Destiny Mora Lopez layup with less than 4-seconds remaining in the game would seal the victory.
Ella Lavigne had yet another scoring outburst, putting the entire USCAA on notice. She finished with 31 points, 12 rebounds, and 9 steals while shooting 64% from the floor. Lavigne was the only Mustang forward not in foul trouble the entire game, and relentlessly attacked the rim, scoring all of her points inside the paint or on the foul line. Fellow first-year standout, Jolien Defoort, was the only other Mustang in double figures. Defoort also scored all of her points in the paint, finishing with 10.
Chantel Ouellette scored 4 huge points in the 4th quarter and drew 2 more offensive fouls. She is now on pace to break the single season charge record (17, Jenny Schlim 2016-17), as she currently sits at 10.
Due to foul trouble, all 13 players on the roster saw action in the first half of the game. Managing different lineups, the Mustangs were still able to dish out 17 assists on 23 made baskets. They also shot a 22-28 (78.6%) from the foul line.
After the game, Head Women's Basketball Coach, Andrew Morong, commented, "This was a big win for us. We battled a lot of adversity through the first three quarters and our young team responded with a lot of heart down the stretch. We were never rattled and stayed the course. We wanted to score 50 points in the paint tonight, and we were very close to that. I am incredibly happy for Destiny who made the biggest shot of her basketball career. She scored the first points of the game in less than 4 seconds, and scored the last points of the game with less than 4 seconds - now that is a fun stat line! And, what can I say about Ella. She is the real deal, getting it done on both sides of the floor. She did not shut her motor off once tonight."
With the win the Mustangs improve to 7-1 overall and 2-0 in the YSCC. They will be back in action this weekend, with a Saturday-Sunday YSCC double-header. On Saturday, they take on Paul Smith's (NY) at 4:00pm - and on Sunday, they host Vermont State Randolph at 4:00pm.
