Mustangs Rampage Past Panthers in Semifinals, 112-43

Auburn, ME – CMCC Women's Basketball advanced to the YSCC Tournament championship game with an emphatic 112-43 victory over #4 Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. The Mustangs had 14 players score at least one field goal and five finished in double figures, including a game-high 16 points from All-Conference selection Ava Smith.

The Yankee Small College Conference regular season champs wasted no time setting the tone for the afternoon. Smith opened the game with back-to-back layups and combined with Breanna Dwyer to put the hosts up 12-4 after four minutes. Central Maine's swarming full-court press forced the Panthers into 12 turnovers in the first quarter. By the time the first ten minutes were up, the Mustangs had a 22-10 lead.

CMCC added another 22 points in the second quarter with nine different players contributing, as head coach Andrew Morong rotated 16 total onto the floor. The defense also limited ACPHS to just six points, putting the reigning champions up by 28 heading into the locker room.

The third quarter was where the game got blown wide open. The Mustangs came out hot to start the second half and exploded for 41 points. A tiring Albany squad coughed the ball up 17 times against the relentless pressure, with Kennedy Lampert making three of the team's 12 steals in the quarter. Hunter Hartsgrove had an impressive sequence, knocking down a three-pointer, draining another triple off a steal, and laying the ball up in, all in a span of just 31 seconds.

The contest was decided at that point, but there was still a fourth quarter to play. Lampert scored all 10 of her points in only five minutes of work in the final stretch. Mikela Alvarado and Julie Darres both came off the bench to hit their first shots of the day. When the final horn sounded, Central Maine had a 69-point victory for a statement win in their first postseason game of the year.

Smith pulled down eight rebounds to go along with her 16 points, second most on the team behind Anais Balla Zambo's 11. Hartsgrove (14), Dwyer (13), Tibbetts (13), and Lampert (10) joined the Casco, ME native in double figures. Balla Zambo finished with nine points while fellow internationals Josie Friend and Keilani Horne each contributed eight. CMCC shot 47.9% from the field but had more than double the number of shots attempts of ACPHS who finished 10-for-45. That was thanks in large part to a 57-22 advantage in rebounds and 48 forced turnovers. Sam Howland had a team-high 12 points for the Panthers who finish their season 16-8 overall.

The Mustangs next head into the YSCC Tournament title game on Sunday in a rematch with the only team to defeat them this season, the UMaine-Augusta Moose. Central Maine plays for its ninth straight conference championship at noon.