SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – The Villa Maria College women's basketball team wrapped up their weekend in Maine with a Halloween matchup against Southern Maine Community College. The Vikings were able to survive a chaotic final minute to the game and defeat the SeaWolves, 75-73. Villa now holds a 2-1 mark, while SMCC kick their season off 0-1.
Villa jumped out to an early double-digit lead with
Shaunessy Bennett, Autumn Adams-Edwards and
Leah McQuiller all hit threes to go ahead 11-2. A couple of minutes later, Bennett scored a layup to put the team up ten points. The SeaWolves settled in and came back to shrink their deficit to two points after one quarter. The second frame saw a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, with neither one able to gain an advantage of more than a couple of points. Every player that touched the court for Villa, scored points and going into halftime, the Vikings trailed 36-33.
In the third quarter, it looked like the Vikings were going to be able to run away with it, outscoring the opposition 25-15, thanks to 12 points by
Danyea Barclay on 5-for-5 shooting from the field. Even in the final frame, Villa held a 70-59 lead with just under five minutes to play. Southern Maine had different plans, they cut their deficit to five points at the three-minute mark, and then tied the game with 50 seconds on the clock. Barclay knocked down a layup to give the team a two-point lead, before then converting two free-throws to extend it to four with 17 seconds left. A controversial foul allowed the SeaWolves to hit three free-throws and cut the deficit to one. Defensively, Villa didn't allow the opponent a shot attempt to end the game, and they walked away with a 75-73 win.
Barclay put out another impressive performance, scoring 27 points on 11-for-17 shooting from the field, collecting five rebounds and swatting away seven shots. Despite being in foul trouble, McQuiller was the second leading scorer with 13 points on 5-for-10 shooting. Adams-Edwards was the other Vikings with double-digit scoring, contributing 11 points, while recording four steals.
The women's basketball team is back in action on Friday, November 5 for their home-opener, as they welcome Beaver County Community College. The game is slated for a 5 p.m. start.
Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Viking's scores and news by following @VillaVikings on Twitter, @villavikings on Instagram and by liking the "Villa Maria Vikings" Facebook page.
