Gorham, ME — GORHAM, Maine – Juniors Tamrah Gould (Manchester, N.H.) and Amy Fleming (Berwick, Maine/Noble) combined for 21 points and 10 assists to lead a balanced offensive attack as the University of Southern Maine Huskies defeated the Keene State College Owls 55-41 in a Little East Conference women's basketball game Saturday afternoon at Hill Gymnasium. Facing each other for the 66th time in series history, Southern Maine now lead the series 47-19 and has defeat the Owls in four consecutive games, including a 55-45 win in the 2022 LEC semifinals. The Records: Keene State (0-2, 0-1 LEC) Southern Maine (1-1, 1-0 LEC) How It Happened: - After a slow start offensively for both sides, as neither team shot above 22 percent and both offensive combined for 6-for-29 from the field, KSC led 7-6 after the first quarter. - Southern Maine found its offense in the second quarter outscoring the Owls 19-7 to lead 25-14 at the break. Gould, sophomore Maria Degifico (South Portland, Maine) and freshman Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) each had five points in the first half. Fleming had two points and five assists. - KSC bounced back in the third doubling the Huskies up 18-9, to make it a one possession game at the break. KSC's Grace Furze tied the game up at 32 as part of a 9-0 Owl run, but Degifico answered on the Huskies next possession to put her team up 34-32 at the break. Junior Ashlee Aceto (South Portland, Maine) came up with a big steal to close out the half as KSC had the last possession. - Clinging to a two-point lead, USM scored the first 12 points of the second half to extend its lead to 46-32 with 4:58 to play. Defigico keyed the pivotal run with a jumper, while Vaughan, Fleming and junior Franny Ramsdell (Wells, Maine) each scored. Gould had four of the Huskies 12 points in the run. - A bucket from KSC's Rylee Burgess slowed the USM offense momentarily, but Southern Maine's Aceto hit a jumper and freshman Emma Haskell (Hampden, Maine/Hampden Academy) buried a three from the top of the circle for a quick five point swing and a 51-34 lead with 3:26 to play. - Both teams exchanged points in the final minutes and Gould put USM up 55-39 with a jumper with 27 seconds to play before KSC's Lilly Krysinski hit a bucket with second left for the 55-41 final. Inside The Stats: - Gould led all scorers with 11 points (5-for-10), adding four rebounds, two assists and a steal. Fleming finished with 10 points, eight assists, three steals and a rebound. Degifico added nine points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals. - Vaughan was 3-for-5 off of the bench for seven points, adding four rebounds and four steals, while Ramsdell had nine points and a game-high 10 rebounds. - Aceto had a career-best six steals. Up Next: Southern Maine travels to Husson University on Wednesday (6:00 pm) and then hosts Bates College the following Tuesday (5:30 pm) in non-conference action.