UMPI women fall to Beavers in season-opening hoop contest

by Staff Star Herald
16 years ago

    FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Presque Isle women’s basketball team battled to a 68-46 loss to the UM-Farmington Beavers Saturday at Dearborn Gymnasium.     The game was the season opener for both teams. The Owls are scheduled to travel to Waterville on Friday evening, Nov. 21, to take on the Mules of Colby College. Game time is 6 p.m.
    Leading her UMPI team was senior captain Erica Davis of North Yarmouth, who posted a double-double in the loss with 20 points and 13 boards and was named Sunrise Conference player of the week for her performance.     Emily Moore of Lisbon, in her first official game as an Owl, scored 10 points. The Beavers built a double-digit lead early, but UMPI battled back with a layup by Megan Korhonen of Littleton with 5:23 left in the opening half, cutting the lead to 22-18.
    Korhonen finished the game with six points and four steals. Foul troubled plagued the Owls early on as two of the five starters earned their fourth foul in the remaining minutes of the first half, causing deep rotation in the young UMPI bench.
    UM-Farmington finished the opening half with a 12-2 stretch — highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers by Erin Porter and Samantha Wiley — to take a 34-20 command into intermission. The Beavers outscored the visitors 21-10 over the opening nine minutes of the second half to seal the victory.
    Leading the way for UMF was  Porter, who scored 21 points in the victory. Following Porter, Caitlyn Laflin and Ashley Busque chipped in 12 and 11 points, respectively. Laflin was the team’s leading rebounder at seven, while Amanda Byrne and Wiley each dished out four assists. Byrne finished with three steals.
    Turnovers were a major story of the game, with the Owls accumulating 30 turnovers and the Beavers 20.
    The UMPI men will begin its season by participating in the UM-Farmington Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday.  The Owls take on Elms College at 5:30 p.m. and will play either Newbury College or the host Beavers Saturday afternoon. Game times are 1 and 3 p.m.