JOHNSON, Vt. – Johnson State College was unable to overcome the Mariners in their last home game of the season, falling 58-35 at Carter Gym. The Badgers wrap up the regular season with a record of 5-20 overall and 2-16 in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) play. The Mariners finished 14-11 on the season and 11-7 in conference play.
Deanna Brandstetter (Newport, Vt. / North Country) and Mary Richardson (Brattleboro, Vt./Brattleboro) paced the Badgers scoring eight points each while Ashley Jones (Jeffersonville, Vt. / Lamoille) supplied six towards the Badger's effort. Freshman Lazrin Schenck (Shelburne, Vt. / Champlain Valley Union) led the hosts on the glass with five rebounds.
The Mariners were paced by senior Casey Everest (Portland, Maine/ Deering) who recorded a game-high of 16 points and five rebounds while junior forward Leah Jackson (Dedham, Maine / Brewer) notched 15 points, eight boards and five steals.
Maine Maritime jumped out to an early 12-5 lead following a lay-up by the Mariners' Rebekah Campbell to with 14:28 left to play in the opening half. The Badgers trailed the visitors for the remainder of the half despite a nine point effort as time ran down. The badgers ended the stanza behind the visitors by 10 with a score of 23-13.
The Mariners kept the Badgers at a safe distance putting as much as 30 points between the teams at the 9:53 mark. Johnson's Richarson sank a clean three pointer to close the gap to 20 just over a minute later, and the team rallied to score 15 more during the remainder of the half, but weren't able to catch their opponents. The buzzer sounded ending the game 57-35.
Johnson went 58.3% from the charity stripe while the Mariners made an even 65% overall. Both teams were below 50% for total field goals ending with 25% for Johnson and 35.7% for the hosts.
Johnson has not qualified for post-season play. The Mariners are entering the play-offs season at 4th seed and will face fifth place Me.-Farmington on Tuesday night at home.