Biddeford, ME — BIDDEFORD, Maine – Rallying from a 10-point fourth quarter deficit (46-36) with an 13-2 run to snag a 49-48 lead with 3:30 to play, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's basketball team nearly fell just short of take a season-opening win over the University of New England Noreasters as UNE outscored USM 9-2 to close out the game for a 57-51 win in a non-conference game Tuesday night at Harold Alfond Forum. Both teams were playing in their season opening game. The Records: Southern Maine (0-1) University of New England (1-0) How It Happened: - UNE jumped out to an 18-7 first quarter lead connecting on 7-of-15 from the field (45 percent) led by five points from Keegan Dunbar. Conversely, the Huskies were sluggish from the field in the opening 10 minutes shooting under 20 percent. - USM won the second quarter 14-13 and trailed 30-22 at the break. Husky junior Amy Fleming scored eight of her game-high 16 points in the quarter. - Both teams were even scoring 14 points each in the third quarter, and USM trailed 44-36 as Husky sophomore Maria Degifico (South Portland, Maine) and UNE's Cameron Watkins traded baskets to end the third quarter scoring. - UNE scored the first basket of the fourth and lead by 10, 46-36, before USM stormed back with a 10-0 run capped by a three from Fleming and featuring six points from junior Franny Ramsdell (Wells, Maine). - UNE and Ramsdell traded a pair of free throws and the Huskies' led 49-48 with 3:30 to play before the Noreasters converted an offensive rebound and a put back to start a 4-0 mini-run to lead 52-49. - Ramsdell scored her 10th point of the quarter on the Huskies' next possession on a layup to make it 52-51 in favor of UNE, before the Noreasters closed the game outscoring USM 6-0 in the closing minutes. The Huskies went 0-1 with three turnovers in the final 90 seconds. Inside The Stats: - Fleming led USM with 16 points, eight rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block. Ramsdell had 12 points, four rebounds, one assist and two steals, shooting 5-for-12 from the floor. Degifico finished with 10 points, two assists and two steals. Junior Ashlee Aceto (South Portland, Maine) had eight rebounds, while classmate Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H.) had seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and four points. - UNE's Keegan Dunbar had 12 points, eight rebounds, three assist to pace the Noreasters. Cameron Watkins added 11 points. - Snagging 11 offensive boards, UNE scored 15 second-chance points, and scored 14 points off of USM's turnovers. The Huskies had nine second-chance points on 13 offensive rebounds (including four from Gould) and scored six points off of UNE's turnovers. Up Next: Southern Maine hosts Keene State College on Saturday (1:00 pm) in an early season Little East Conference game.