Regarded for much of the winter as the third-best NCAA Division III women’s basketball team in Maine, the University of Southern Maine finished No. 3 in the nation.
USM survived Scranton’s comeback from a 16-point deficit in the second half and held on for a 55-53 victory Saturday in the Final Four consolation game at Batten Center in Norfolk, Va.
Junior Megan Myles of Auburn scored 12 of her game-high 16 points in the first half for the Huskies, who wound up with a school-record 31 wins and USM’s best overall showing since it was national runner-up in 1998 and 2000.
Scranton (28-3) entered the tournament ranked No. 1 in the country, just ahead of Bowdoin and Bates. USM lost to both those in-state rivals in November before a 28-game winning streak that ended in Friday’s 66-60 semifinal loss to Millikin.
The Huskies’ balance betrayed them against the Big Blue, but it returned in force at the Royals’ expense.
Ashley Marble notched nine points for USM, which never trailed. Donna Cowing and Katie Sibley scored eight apiece, and Shannon Kynoch contributed seven off the bench.
Sibley forced three critical first-half steals. She also sank the first of two free throws to help ice the victory with three seconds remaining in regulation.
Down 14 at the half and 53-43 with fewer than eight minutes to go, Scranton scratched back and had two chances to win. The first came when Erin Healy stole the ball from Sibley and thought she had a breakaway lay-up. But USM blocked the bid off Healy’s foot, out of bounds.
Myles missed a 3-pointer at the other end. Allison Matt grabbed the rebound, and Scranton called time out to set up its final shot.
Kelly Lewandowski couldn’t connect. Sibley snagged the huge rebound and drew the immediate foul.
Tara Gemmel led the Royals with 12 points. Taryn Mellody added 10.
USM hit the floor running and rediscovered the range that proved so fickle in its semifinal defeat. Myles and Marble combined for 55 points in the 66-60 loss to Millikin, and only two other players scored.
Against Scranton, seven Huskies got on the board in the first half, alone. Myles started it by sinking her first two 3-point bids, staking Southern Maine to an early 6-2 edge.
Cowing, Sibley and Lindsey Welch each hit a trey in the first half, while USM harassed Scranton into 10 turnovers.
USM’s 14-point halftime lead was its largest of the game to that point. Katie Frost established the 34-20 margin with her first two points of the final four, sinking two free throws after Scranton coach Mike Strong picked up a technical foul.
The Huskies shot 50 percent from both 2- and 3-point range in the first half.
But it wasn’t over. Gemmel fought through foul trouble and scored seven second-half points for Scranton. And Myles’ transition bucket to make it 53-43 was the Huskies’ final field goal.
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