Buffalo, NY – CMCC Women's Basketball defeated Penn State-DuBois, 77-55, in the USCAA national tournament quarterfinals. The #1 ranked Mustangs outscored the #8 seeded Nittany Lions by 20 points in the first half and never looked back, picking up the win to advance to Friday's semifinals.
Central Maine started the game well, opening up a 7-0 lead after three minutes with baskets by Josie Friend, Hunter Hartsgrove, and Breanna Dwyer. The offense did struggle through the middle part of the opening stanza though, going nearly five minutes without a point and missing seven straight shots. CMCC's full court press defense wreaked plenty of havoc early, forcing 12 turnovers.
Abilene Corson returned to the floor and restored order with layups on two straight possessions to make it 11-3. Ava Smith had a good finish to the quarter, using her height well to get inside looks and make easy shots, giving the Mustangs a 17-6 advantage after ten minutes.
Caitlyn McCoy had the hot hand to start the second, knocking down a pair of threes on back-to-back possessions. The tournament favorites continued to steadily increase their lead, going up by 19 midway through the quarter. Small bursts, like a layup by Julie Darres followed immediately by a steal and three-pointer for Dwyer, made things difficult for Penn State-DuBois to find any momentum. At the halftime horn, Central Maine led 37-17.
If there were any concerns in the locker room about consistent scoring, those were answered when the game resumed. CMCC scored on four of its first five possessions to lead 47-19. PSU did improve after the break as well. Eden Wonderling, Elizabeth Hungiville, Natalie Bowser, and Navaeh Spaeth all found ways to score to keep the game from becoming a blowout. The Nittany Lions' 20 points in the third quarter more than doubled their first-half output, but the Mustangs improved as well, scoring 25 to lead 62-37.
Head coach Andrew Morong continued to mix his deep roster into the game, giving all 17 healthy players a chance to contribute. Darres hit two free throws to make it a 29-point lead, the largest of the game, with 9:04 left. Kennedy Lampert and Cassie Ririnui added points, while Keilani Horne and Anais Balla Zambo got in on the act down the stretch. The game slowly wound its way to the end and a 77-55 victory.
Smith (13), Hartsgrove (11), and Dwyer (10) all finished in double figures, and 12 different players scored for CMCC. Smith filled up the stat sheet with a team-high eight rebounds and six blocks, while Darres had a game-high four steals. Three players also hit double digits for PSU-DuBois. Wonderling had a game-high 14 with Hungiville and Bowser each scoring 13. All three players also recorded double-doubles with 10, 14, and 13 rebounds respectively.
Despite the comfortable win, both teams struggled with similar shooting stats. Central Maine's field goal percentage finished at 32.3% and Penn State-DuBois hit 33.9%. The Mustangs were buoyed by 27 offensive rebounds, and the defense forced 43 total turnovers, more than double their own 20 committed. The size advantage helped as well with 46 of their points coming in the paint.
CMCC is now 9-4 all-time in opening games of the USCAA national tournament, including 8-1 during this stretch of nine straight appearances on the national stage. The Mustangs have a day off before their semifinal game on Friday when they'll face another Nittany Lions squad in Penn State-York. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:00 pm at Villa Maria College.
