Gorham, ME — LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Meg Nardelli hit two free throws with three seconds remaining in regulations and the SUNY Oneonta Red Dragons earned a defensive stop to hold off the University of Southern Maine Huskies 55-51 in game one of the 2022 D3hoops.com Classic in a non-conference women's basketball game at South Point Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Nardelli and Clara Culeton each had 11 points to lead SUNY Oneonta. Huskies' freshman Vanessa Vaughan (Hantsport, Nova Scotia) scored a career-high 20 points to lead Southern Maine. The Records: Oneonta (8-3) Southern Maine (2-6) The meeting is the first between the two programs in women's basketball action How It Happened: In a closely contested match-up, Oneonta fought off the Huskies. The Dragons led by nine, 50-41, early in the fourth before USM closed the gap with an 11-3 run. Vaughan had four of the Huskies' 11 points in the run, while freshman Emma Haskell kickstarted the effort with a three-pointer. The Huskies led 28-27 at the half, but the Dragons took the lead from the Huskies with a 20-13 third-quarter effort. Vaughan and junior Amy Fleming each had eight first half points, while Tamrah Gould had six points, two assists and two steals Inside The Stats: Vaughan scored her career-best 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor, adding four rebounds. Fleming finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three steals, three blocked shots and two assists, while Gould had 10 points, four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot. Southern Maine scored 19 of its 51 points off of Oneonta turnovers. The Dragons outrebounded USM 50-27 and 21-9 on the offensive boards, scoring 17 of their 55 points via second chance buckets. Up Next: Southern Maine faces Montclair State on Thursday (7 pm EST) in its second game of the 2022 D3hoops.com Classic. The Huskies return to action at home on January 4 (5:30 pm) against Little East Conference opponent Plymouth State University.