CASTINE, Maine – Sophomore guard Michelle Fauci (Boxford, Mass.) caused a turnover and fed classmate Angela Tucker (Lynn, Mass.), whose layup with 15 seconds left in overtime snapped a 59-all tie and enabled the Wentworth women’s basketball team (4-2) to defeat Maine-Fort Kent (4-3), 61-59 in the first game of the Mariner Classic, played at Maine Maritime Academy.
The Bengals took command early, using a 10-3 run to open the game and would build its lead to 11 (25-14) with 6:47 left. However, the Leopards shut Fort Kent’s offense down, going on a 14-2 run to close the half and take a 28-27 lead into the locker room.
Wentworth opened the second stanza with a 14-4 run over the first 5:23, which included five points apiece from Tucker and sophomore guard Jessie Coffey (Wakefield, R.I.), and led 42-31 with 14:37 remaining. Over the course of the next 3:40, Fort Kent held the Leopards scoreless and tied the game at 42-all with just under 11:00 to play. Wentworth responded with a layup from Fauci, a three pointer from Tucker, and a layup from freshman forward Kirsten Vallone (Avon, N.Y.) to take a 49-42 lead with 7:36 left.
The Bengals clawed their way back to tie the game at 53 on a layup from freshman Shir Fuchs (Herzeliya, Israel) with 2:46 left and took a 55-53 lead on a freshman forward Alisa Licata (Yucca Valley, Calif.) basket with 1:35 left. Wentworth knotted the game at 55-all on a basket from freshman forward Meaghan Healey (Merrimack, N.H.) with 38 ticks left. Both teams would have a chance to win the game in regulation, including a shot by Tucker with less than five seconds left.
Healey’s layup with 3:38 left drew first blood in the extra session and she scored 10 seconds later on a put back to give Wentworth a 59-55 lead. However four consecutive points by the Bengals tied the game with 1:37 left. After Fauci missed the go-ahead basket late, she caused a turnover and fed Tucker, who would put Wentworth up for good. Tucker was not done, though, as on the ensuing possession she caused a turnover which denied Fort Kent the opportunity to attempt to tie the game.
Tucker finished the game with a career-high 22 points on 7-for-14 shooting from the floor, including four three pointers. Healey notched a career-high 13 points off the bench, while Vallone scored 12 points, grabbed 10 boards, and had six steals. Fauci, who played all 45 minutes, had seven rebounds, four assists, and eight steals. For Fort Kent, Licata and freshman forward Arcilla Jeffers (St. Kitts, SKB) each had 16 points.
Wentworth plays Maine-Machias Sunday at 1:00, while the Bengals play the host Mariners immediately following the conclusion of the first game.
Official Basketball Box Score Maine-Fort Kent vs Wentworth 12/01/07 1:00 pm at Castine, Maine -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VISITORS: Maine-Fort Kent 4-3 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 10 Alison Licata....... * 6-7 4-4 0-0 1 5 6 2 16 1 5 0 2 41 12 Shir Fuchs.......... * 2-13 0-7 0-2 0 4 4 0 4 4 1 0 2 40- 20 Amber Garrison...... * 3-8 0-3 0-1 2 4 6 0 6 4 7 0 5 41 32 Geneice Bassue...... * 0-2 0-0 3-5 2 4 6 5 3 0 1 0 1 17 52 Arcilla Jeffers..... * 7-12 0-0 2-2 2 5 7 5 16 0 3 1 0 22 25 Amanda Tracey....... 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 4 4 1 2 1 5 0 1 26 42 Tara Waltz.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 12 50 Ashley Ames......... 3-7 0-0 6-6 2 2 4 3 12 0 6 2 0 26 TEAM................ 3 3 6 2 Totals.............. 22-51 4-14 11-16 13 32 45 16 59 10 30 3 11 225 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-25 36.0% 2nd Half: 11-21 52.4% OT: 2-5 40.0% Game: 43.1% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-7 28.6% 2nd Half: 2-5 40.0% OT: 0-2 0.0% Game: 28.6% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 7-10 70.0% 2nd Half: 4-6 66.7% OT: 0-0 0.0% Game: 68.8% 2,1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOME TEAM: Wentworth 4-2 TOT-FG 3-PT REBOUNDS ## Player Name FG-FGA FG-FGA FT-FTA OF DE TOT PF TP A TO BLK S MIN 05 Angela Tucker....... * 7-14 4-7 4-5 0 0 0 1 22 2 1 0 2 39 10 Michelle Fauci...... * 1-5 0-1 1-2 3 4 7 2 3 4 4 0 8 45 15 Kirsten Vallone..... * 6-17 0-1 0-0 4 6 10 2 12 2 3 0 6 41 23 Jessie Coffey....... * 4-10 1-2 0-1 1 1 2 0 9 3 2 0 1 40- 32 Emily Cring......... * 0-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 5 0 0 2 0 3 14 03 Whitney Alvarez..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 21 Sam Vinciguerra..... 0-1 0-0 2-5 0 0 0 2 2 0 1 0 0 3 24 Meaghan Healey...... 5-14 0-1 3-4 0 4 4 1 13 2 3 0 0 33 25 Margo Ward.......... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 34 Meaghan Gardner..... 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 TEAM................ 5 3 8 4 Totals.............. 23-65 5-12 10-17 14 19 33 13 61 13 21 0 21 225 TOTAL FG% 1st Half: 9-25 36.0% 2nd Half: 11-31 35.5% OT: 3-9 33.3% Game: 35.4% DEADB 3-Pt. FG% 1st Half: 2-4 50.0% 2nd Half: 3-5 60.0% OT: 0-3 0.0% Game: 41.7% REBS F Throw % 1st Half: 8-13 61.5% 2nd Half: 2-2 100 % OT: 0-2 0.0% Game: 58.8% 2 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Officials: Technical fouls: Maine-Fort Kent-None. Wentworth-None. Attendance: 250 Score by Periods 1st 2nd OT Total Maine-Fort Kent............... 27 28 4 - 59 Wentworth..................... 28 27 6 - 61 Points in the paint-UMFK 20,WIT 26. Points off turnovers-UMFK 17,WIT 15. 2nd chance points-UMFK 7,WIT 5. Fast break points-UMFK 0,WIT 0. Bench points-UMFK 14,WIT 15. Score tied-5 times. Lead changed-3 times. Last FG-UMFK OT-01:37, WIT OT-00:15. Largest lead-UMFK by 11 1st-06:47, WIT by 11 2nd-14:37.