By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

MONMOUTH – In less than a minute, Nikki Emery seized control of Friday night’s basketball game and put it in the hip pocket of her Winthrop Ramblers.

The senior guard provided the needed spark as Winthrop posted a 53-41 victory over Monmouth in the regular-season finale.

Emery scored nine straight points in the first quarter, turning a 4-4 game into a 13-4 Ramblers lead. It was a deficit the Mustangs could never overcome.

“Nikki Emery played very well that first quarter,” said Monmouth coach Rick Amero. “We tried to sag on (Emilie) Knight and get help on (Katie) Pushard. She hit two 3s and had a big shot in transition. I think Nikki Emery was the real difference maker. She really stepped it up.”

Emery finished with 13 points. Knight added 20 points and 17 rebounds for Winthrop (10-8), which expects to land in the 10th spot in Western Class C and earn a preliminary match with either Boothbay or Traip.

“It’s a great win before the playoffs,” said Emery. “We’re ready to start the playoffs and have a preliminary game, no matter who it is.”

Jill Armstrong led the Mustangs with 15 points and Brittany Scirica added eight. Monmouth (9-9) expects to still land a playoff berth after last year’s 2-16 season. The Mustangs may draw a preliminary game at Kents Hill, Jay or Boothbay.

Both squads missed their first five shots and struggled to ignite things offensively. The first field goal came with 4:33 left in the quarter. With the game tied 4-4, Emery drilled a 3-pointer with 2:27 left.

“I had confidence in myself, and it went in,” said Emery. “That really boosted the team’s morale.”

Emery wasn’t through. She hit another trey 20 seconds later. She then scored on a drive and was fouled, converting a traditional three-point play for a 13-4 lead.

“It definitely boosted our confidence,” said Emery. “We just went from there. It was a motivating kind of thing. We knew what we had to do , and we just went out and did it.”

The Ramblers utilized Knight’s advantage in the post and received a spark from Amanda Garwood off the bench to build a 29-14 lead by halftime. Garwood and Pushard each had eight points.

Monmouth couldn’t match Winthrop’s offense, shooting just 3-for-24 in the first half.

“We were kind of coming down and settling for the first shot instead of having a little bit more patience and running our offense,” said Amero.

Monmouth did a nice job forcing the Mustangs to operate from the outside, taking away quality shots in the paint.

“That may have been one of our best efforts control-wise,” said Winthrop coach Lonney Steeves. “We ran the stuff we wanted to run. Defensively, we did a much better job against them than we did last time.”

Monmouth did surge in the second half, but each time the Ramblers answered, producing easy baskets off its press.

“Against Carrabec, they made some mini runs and we answered that, and that’s big for us,” said Steeves. “We have the offensive firepower and do that, but we haven’t consistently done it all year.”