Women’s basketball pulls off the upset over Fort Kent
The University of Maine at Augusta women’s basketball team secured what was arguably the biggest win of the season Tuesday night when the Moose defeated Division II’s University of Maine Fort Kent, 73-64 in a gritty match up between two of the best teams in the country.
AUGUSTA, Maine - The University of Maine at Augusta women's basketball team secured what was arguably the biggest win of the season Tuesday night when the Moose defeated Division I's University of Maine Fort Kent, 73-64 in a gritty match up between two of the best teams in the country.
Fort Kent (16-5) came into the game ranked second in USCAA Division I while UMA (18-6, 10-0 YSCC) sits in fourth place in the latest Division II Coaches' Poll. Fort Kent plays an independent schedule while UMA sits atop the East Division of the Yankee Small College Conference heading into the final week of the regular season.
While winning the conference championship would secure the Moose a spot in the USCAA National Championship Tournament, the victory tonight could help head coach Jennifer Laney's team win an at-large bid regardless of the conference outcome.
In a game that included eight ties and 18 lead changes, the Moose converted on six of the final eight free-throws in the last minute of play to nail down the win. Freshman Caitlin Lafountain (Topsham, Maine) hit a pair foul shots with 1:05 remaining to give UMA the lead, 70-68. After each team missed opportunities on both ends of the court, it was Lafountain who came up with a crucial steal to give UMA possession with 14 seconds remaining.
Senior Darby Toth (North Port, Fla.) stepped to the line and cooly both of her free shots to extend the lead to four points, and Jamie Plummer converted on one of two from the charity stripe with three seconds remaining to set the final score at 73-68.
LaFountain had a monster game for UMA, with a team-high 23 points and 20 rebounds to go along with four steals and a pair of assists. The freshman was 8-16 from the floor, including a pair of triples and a perfect five-for-five from the line. LaFountain's 20 rebounds was a career best, improving on her previous personal record of 16 boards at Bates College earlier this season.
Plummer scored 19 points for UMA to go along with nine rebounds, and Toth shot 50% from the floor on the night including a pair of three-pointers in scoring 18 points.
UMA returns to action at home on Thursday when the team hosts the University of Maine-Machias in conference play. The women play at 5:30, while the men play at 7:30.