NHTI Women's Basketball's late Comeback Attempt Falls Short at SMCC

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine— The NHTI women's basketball team late comeback falls short falling to Southern Maine Community College, 72-69 in a Yankee Small College Conference matchup Thursday night.

The Lynx trailed by only one point at the half, 36-37 but quickly the deficit grew larger as the SeaWolves opened the second half with an 11-0 run. NHTI clawed their way back and tied the game 59-59 on a three-pointer by junior Melissa Martel (Derry N.H.). Martel scored 10 points on the evening. The lead changed hands four times before freshman Lauren Bisson (Manchester, N.H.) made a layup to put the Lynx up by one (69-68) with 27 seconds left to play. SMCC drove down the court for a layup that was blocked by freshman Maura Hart (Fitzwilliam, N.H.). The rebound was pulled down by junior Jordan Farquharson (Ryegate, Vt.) who made a layup with 14 seconds remaining. The Lynx had multiple opportunities to take the lead before the SeaWolves gathered a defensive rebound to secure the win.

NHTI junior Riselly Deoleo (Manchester, N.H.) led all scorers with 24 points, 12 rebounds, and five steals. Freshman Micheala Biron (Colebrook, N.H.) added a double-double, 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Lynx. SMCC was led by freshman Abigail Ramirez (Methuen, Mass.) and sophomore Emily Hogan (Jay, Maine) scoring 14 points each.  Farquharson finished with 10 points in the win.

The Lynx remain fall to 4-4 and are 3-4 in the YSCC. SMCC improves to 7-3 overall and 5-1 in conference play. NHTI heads home for a weekend tournament against Springfield Tech. on Saturday and YSCC foe Paul Smith's Sunday. The SeaWolves head to Machias to take on in-state rival UMM Clippers Saturday.