CASTINE, Maine – Maine Maritime Academy women's basketball defeated Lyndon State College 57-37, on Tuesday night in North Atlantic Conference (NAC) quarterfinal action inside of Smith Gymnasium.

With the win the No. 4 seed Mariners improve to 19-7 overall and will travel to Vermont to take on the top-seeded Castleton Spartans on Friday night in the NAC semifinals at 6:00 pm. With the loss the Hornets conclude their season at 14-12. 

The Hornets struck first with a jumper from Kelsey Jacobs, but the Mariners scored four-straight to take a 4-2 lead at 7:46. Gabrielle Foy hit a three-pointer to give Lyndon a 5-4 advantage just seconds later but Maine Maritime's Alayne Felix (Mahopac, N.Y.) added four-unanswered points to give the Mariners an 8-5 lead with just under six minutes to play in the first quarter. Lyndon closed the gap to one with 3:24 to go, but the Mariners began to pull away, taking a 15-9 lead into the second quarter.

A layup from Felix stretched the Mariners' lead to 17-9 early in the second quarter, but the Hornets responded with an 8-2 run to close the gap to just two (19-17) at 6:11. Megan McLean (Eliot, Maine) splashed a three to spark an eight-point run for the Mariners at 4:24 and Maine Maritime carried a 10-point lead (34-24) into halftime. 

The Mariners held the Hornets to just four points in the third quarter and nine points in the fourth quarter to pull away for the 57-37 victory.

Felix led the Mariners with 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Melinda Ogden (Searsport, Maine) added 13 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals and McLean ended the evening with seven points, and a game-high six assists.

Lyndon's Mikayla Hodge tallied a double-double with a game-high 17 points and 14 rebounds and also chipped in with two steals.

Maine Maritime shot 42.3 percent from the floor, while the Hornets shot 22.0 percent, and the Mariners held a 41-40 edge in rebounds. 

2018 NAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
All start dates/times are subject to change

Quarterfinals • Tuesday, February 20 (at higher seeds)
No. 4 Maine Maritime 57, No. 5 Lyndon 37 - Boxscore
No. 3 Husson 56, No. 6 New England College 45 - Boxscore

Semifinals • Friday, February 23 (at Castleton)
No. 4 Maine Maritime at No. 1 Castleton - 6:00 p.m.
No. 3 Husson vs. No. 2 Colby-Sawyer - 8:00 p.m.

Championship • Saturday, February 24 (at Castleton)
Semifinal Winners - 2:00 p.m.

For the Interactive Tournament Bracket - click HERE.
For the Printable (PDF) Tournament Bracket - click HERE.