University of Maine at Augusta uses strong third quarter to defeat women's basketball team 61-51 on day one of NHTI Holiday Inn New Year's Classic

University of Maine at Augusta uses strong third quarter to defeat women's basketball team 61-51 on day one of NHTI Holiday Inn New Year's Classic

The Berkeley College women's basketball team had its two-game winning streak snapped on Saturday afternoon, falling to the Moose of the University of Maine at Augusta by a score of 61-51 on the first day of the NHTI Holiday Inn New Year's Classic. The game was played in Concord, New Hampshire. With the loss, the Knights slipped to a record of 2-5 on the 2017-2018 campaign, while the University of Maine at Augusta won its third consecutive game to improve to 11-2.

Despite the loss for Berkeley College, Ayana Ratliff connected on nine of her 13 attempts from the charity stripe to finish with a game-high 29 points. She also led all players on the day in the steals category with five, while snatching five rebounds, recording two assists, and swatting two shots. Ebony Lofton converted on all four of her field goal attempts to finish with eight points and a team-high nine rebounds, and Ashley Duplan and Jaiyamoira Myers added five points apiece.

Leading the way for the Moose in their victory was Kate Stevens, as she posted a double-double with 14 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists while playing 39 minutes. Sidney Moore and Dominique Lewis dropped-in 15 points apiece, and Caitlin LaFountan finalized her afternoon with 12 points, 13 caroms, and a game-high six assists.

The Knights fell behind 5-0 in the opening 3:09 of action – and later trailed by scores of 11-7 and 13-10 before finishing the session on a 5-0 run to take a 15-13 advantage after 10 minutes of play. Berkeley College's Crystal Miller converted on a layup with five seconds left in the quarter to give the Knights their first lead of the game.

1:28 into the second quarter, Berkeley extended its lead to four points – 17-13 – when Ratliff would drop-in a layup. The University of Maine at Augusta would respond with an 11-0 run over the ensuing 5:12 to grab a 24-17 edge. The Moose showed their versatility during the spurt, as five different players scored during it.

Ratliff would finally halt the University of Maine Augusta's run by spearheading a run for the Knights, as she connected on a three-point basket with 2:55 remaining in the half to pull Berkeley College to within four points at 24-20. The Knights would then score six more consecutive points to close the session on a 9-0 run. Berkeley College would go into the locker room with a 26-24 edge.

In the early stages of the second half – 18 seconds in to be precise – Lewis would drain a three-pointer to give the Moose the lead for good – 27-26. The University of Maine at Augusta would never trail again from there, out-scoring Berkeley College by a whopping margin of 23-10 for the third quarter, and eventually building its lead to as many as 16 points late in the fourth quarter. The Moose would win the game by 10 points.

The University of Maine at Augusta connected on 37.3 percent of its shots on the afternoon (22-59), compared to 30.5 percent for Berkeley College (18-59). The Moose held a slight edge in the rebounding department, snatching 41 boards to the Knights' 37. Berkeley won the turnover battle, committing just 14 miscues while forcing 17 Moose mistakes. The Knights outscored the University of Maine at Augusta 28-24 in the paint, while also scoring six fastbreak points to the opposition's four. The Moose tallied 17 assists on the afternoon compared to seven for Berkeley College.

The Knights will return to action tomorrow afternoon, as Berkeley College will take on NHTI on day two of the NHTI Holiday Inn New Year's Classic. Start-time for that contest is scheduled for noon.