JOHNSON, Vt. — A fourth quarter rally by the Northern Vermont University-Johnson women's basketball team fell short as the University of Maine Farmington Beavers captured a 55-48 victory over the Badgers on Saturday afternoon.
Junior Lindsey LaPerle (Bethel, VT) led the balanced offensive attack for the Badgers with 15 points, going 3-6 from behind the arc. Kaitlyn Brouard (Milton, VT) and Mariah Ramos (Lebanon, NH) each pulled down seven rebounds for Johnson. The Beavers were led by McKenna Brodeur with 14 points on 5-11 shooting. Molly Folsom chipped in 10 points of her own for the Beavers.
Mariah Ramos put the Badgers on the board first, sinking a three after gathering an offensive rebound. The Badgers executed their offense well, taking an early 10-5 lead over the Beavers. With five minutes remaining, the Beavers' Kasey Talarico entered the game and led the Beavers on a 9-0 run to take a 14-10 lead over Johnson going into the second quarter.
The Beavers extended their lead to six points early in the second quarter despite a solid defensive effort by the Badgers. The teams traded baskets throughout the quarter, but the Badgers went to the locker room down 26-20. Coming out of halftime the Badgers continued to lock down on defense and were commanding on the offensive boards, but they struggled to find a rhythm offensively. A pair of layups and 4-4 free throw shooting kept the Badgers within reach as the Beavers led 38-29 entering the final frame.
The Badgers were facing a 14-point deficit with 7:54 remaining in the final period before they recovered and went on a 15-4 run to close the gap and bring the game within three points. McKenna Broudeur sank a free throw with 38 seconds remaining to give the Beavers a 50-46 lead. Sophomore Devin Libby (Burlington, VT) answered with a layup to bring the Badgers within two with 24 seconds remaining. Forced to foul, the Badgers were unable to capture the victory, eventually falling 55-48 to the Beavers.
Johnson moves to 2-13 overall and 0-6 in the North Atlantic Conference in the loss. The University of Maine Farmington Beavers improve to 4-10 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
NEXT UP
The Northern Vermont University-Johnson women's basketball team will return to action at home on Tuesday, January 15th versus Plymouth State University. The women's game is set to begin at 7:30pm following the men's 5:30pm contest.