Central Maine rides early explosion to 2nd USCAA title in 3 years
An explosive start propelled Central Maine Community College to its second national title in three years.
The Lady Mustangs stampeded out to a 35-16 lead in the first quarter and then fought off a late rally to defeat top-seeded Villa Maria College, 85-78, and claim the Women’s Division II crown at the USCAA Basketball Championships at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus on Wednesday afternoon.
Brooke Reynolds led the way for second-seeded Central Maine (28-2) with an outstanding all-around performance that included 17 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and a blocked shot.
Kristen Huntress also scored 17 points, including five 3-pointers, as the Lady Mustangs put five players in double figures. Jordyn Reynolds – Brooke’s younger sister – also had a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds, Alex Bassey tallied 12 points and Natalie Thurber chipped in with 10 points off the bench.
The victory was Central Maine’s 16th in a row, while the loss was Villa Maria’s first since Nov. 4, stopping its winning streak at 24.
The Lady Mustangs were making their fourth appearance in the USCAA final in six years. They won the title in 2017 while finishing as runner-up in 2014 and last year.
Nina Cray totaled 20 points, 10 rebounds and four steals for the Vikings (25-3), who were seeking their first USCAA title. Shaquana Owens also had 20 points with seven boards, four assist and three blocked shots.
Brooke Reynolds’ basket snapped a 12-12 tie in the opening period and started a 23-4 run for a 19-point lead that Villa Maria could never recover from. An amazing eight different Lady Mustangs scored in the burst, which included a pair 3-pointers by Huntress and one by Thurber.
Central Maine still led by 19 at halftime, 48-29, and pushed the gap up to 24 points when a Thurber 3-pointer made it 63-39 with 2:54 left in the third.
The Vikings refused to fold and responded with a 17-point run that whittled the lead to 63-56 when Cray made two free throws with 9:41 remaining in the fourth.
Reynolds sank a free throw with 9:13 left to snap Villa Maria’s run but Armoni Jordan’s jump shot got the Vikings to within 64-58 with 8:16 remaining.
Villa Maria could get no closer until Tekia Gary’s basket cut the deficit to 77-72 with 59 seconds left. Bessey helped Central Maine seal the victory with a 3-pointer with 36 seconds remaining and a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left to make it 82-72.
Jordan scored 14 points before fouling out for the Vikings and Gary added 11 points.
Brooke Reynolds was selected as the tournament MVP, an honor she also earned in 2017.