Women’s Basketball Wins 8th Straight YSCC Tournament

South Portland, ME – The CMCC Women's Basketball team made it eight YSCC Tournament championships in a row with a 74-61 win over UMaine Augusta on Sunday afternoon at SMCC. The Mustangs scored 29 points in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Moose, turning a one-point game into a 13-point victory.

Rosa Prieto scored a team-high 17 points to pick up tournament MVP honors and Chantel Ouellette was named the Most Outstanding Defensive Player, finishing with two steals, four rebounds, and drawing several charges. YSCC Player of the Year Ella Lavigne was held to just two points in the first half but found her form in the second to finish with 13, extending her streak of scoring double figures in every game she's played this season.

"I'm so proud of them (Ouellette and Prieto)," Lavigne said in a postgame interview. "They've worked all season for it, they deserved it. I was one of the biggest advocates for Chantel coming back so I was super happy about that. And Rosa has been battling through adversity all year and she got the moment she deserved today."

"Even with two of our top three scorers out for the year, our depth was always our strength," said head coach Andrew Morong. "That is CMCC basketball through and through. Every one of these eight years we've been the deepest team on the court. I love our program because every player can contribute, and everyone knows that their number could be called at any time. This was not just about this game, this was a collection of a lot of blood, sweat, and tears over the last six months."

Central Maine got off to a bright start with Ouellette scoring the first two baskets of the game followed by a Lavigne layup and a Riley Hebler three-pointer to make it 9-0 after four minutes. The #2 seed was hampered by early foul trouble in the first half though. Lavigne, Prieto, Ouellette, and Hebler all picked up two personal fouls leaving them restricted to the bench for most of the opening 20 minutes. UMA took advantage and took the lead on a Sage Fortin layup in the final minute to lead 15-14 after the first quarter.

The Moose continued their run into the second quarter, scoring 12 unanswered points to go up 22-14 with 6:49 remaining before halftime. However, that eight-point lead was as high as the gap would get. Hebler and Jenny Chaput each drained a triple to make it a one-possession game. Autumn Peterson knocked down a three-pointer with a minute remaining to cut the deficit to 28-32 heading into the locker room.

Coach Morong returned to his starting five to begin the third quarter, and Lavigne made an immediate impact. The WBCA and USCAA All-American had seven points in the first four minutes to put CMCC back on top 37-34. The lead seesawed back and forth with shots from Bella Petrocci and Lillian Cox making it 39-37 before Prieto and Ouellette evened it at 42-42. Peterson splashed her second three late in the quarter to make it 45-44 Central Maine going into the fourth.

That was where the game broke open. Fortin made a layup to give UMA a one-point edge, but the Mustangs took the lead for good on a Prieto three-pointer seconds later. CMCC had ten straight points to separate themselves and the Moose had no time to reply, trailing by double digits for the final five minutes of the game. When the horn sounded at the Hutchinson Union Building, Central Maine were YSCC Tournament victors for the 12^th time in program history and eighth season in a row.

"Our first half, we had four starters with multiple fouls," coach Morong said after the game. "The kids on our bench just proved that they were ready. They helped us weather the storm. We could have been down 15 points in the first half. This was just a total team effort, and because they were able to do what they did our starters were rested, and we took off in the fourth quarter."

Prieto (17), Lavigne (13), Ouellette (12), Chaput (12), and Hebler (11) all finished in double digits. Peterson had six on a 2-for-3 shooting night and Ava Smith pulled down nine rebounds to go along with three points. All 13 players that were dressed saw the floor. CMCC ended the game shooting 48.1% from the field but had a rare instance of being outrebounded 31 to 27 and committing more turnovers with 15 compared to UMA's 14. The Moose had 19-point performances from Fortin and Alisyn Alley in the defeat, which ended their 22-game winning streak.

Central Maine now moves on to the USCAA National Tournament in Buffalo, NY. The Mustangs will be the #2 seed in the ten-team field, playing their first game on Wednesday, March 12^th. CMCC will face the winner of #7 UC Clermont and #10 Penn State DuBois from the play-in game. The Mustangs are looking for their fourth national championship in program history.