Plummer turns in monster game as Moose advance to Final Four
February 20, 2014
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine – Freshman Jamie Plummer (Richmond, Maine) saved her best performance for the playoffs, scoring a game and season-high 37 points and ripped down 21 rebounds as the University of Maine at Augusta women's basketball team defeated the University of Maine Machias 88-76 Thursday afternoon in the first round of the Yankee Small College Conference.
The third seeded Moose will play the winner of Southern Maine Community College and New Hampshire Technical Institute game on Saturday afternoon.
"The heart of our team shined through in today's game," Head Coach Jennifer Laney said. "We went into the half up by three and it was our freshman who really stepped up for us in the second half. It just goes to show that on this team, it can be any anyone, any night."
Fellow freshman Courtny Jicks (Lake Charles, La.) also had one of her best games of the season, nailing three triples as she scored 18 points and dished out eight assists while netting ten rebounds. Arreonte Lee (San Antonio, Tex) was also in double-digits for the Moose, with 13 points.
Despite the final score this was a game that included seven ties and 20 lead changes with Machias leading by as many as seven in the first half. The Clippers were led by Vanessa Patterson who scored 21 points, while teammates Randi deWitt and Emma LeGallais scored 18 and 16 points respectively. Breanna Nicely also hit double digits for Machias, with ten points and a team-high 13 rebounds.
The Clippers jumped out to the early lead in this game, opening up with a 9-2 run over the first five minutes of play. The Moose answered with a 7-0 run, highlighted by five points from Plummer. Head Coach Jennifer Laney's team carried a 44-41 lead into the locker room. In the second half, Plummer and Jicks combined for nine of the next 11 points, helping UMA open up a lead they would never relinquish.
Machias closed what was a 17 point second half deficit to within six with 3:39 remaining in regulation, but foul trouble plagued the Clippers over the final few minutes of play, as Venessa Patterson, Emma LeGallais and Kristi Wright each fouled out.