CASTINE--The Maine Maritime Academy women's basketball team on Saturday clinched the No. 1 East Division seed in the upcoming North Atlantic Conference Tournament after a convincing 79-55 victory over local rival Husson University at Smith Gymnasium. The Mariners improve to 19-4 overall and 12-0 in the NAC-East, while the visiting Eagles drop to 13-11 on the season and 10-2 in the conference.

Maine Maritime Highlights

• Senior Erianna Moore led all student-athletes with 21 points on 7-for-9 shooting from three-point land and season-high eight assists (against just one turnover).
• Classmate Makenzie Monzon (6 points) notched nine rebounds, seven assists and three steals.
• Senior Sydney Briscoe (6 points) added eight rebounds.

Husson Highlights

• Lilly Roy and Maci Beals led the Eagles with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
• Jordyn Lengle led the team with seven rebounds.

How it Happened

• Maine Maritime jumped out to a 20-6 first quarter lead and never looked back.
• The Mariners continued their strong start in the second to go up 38-15 at the intermission.
• Maine Maritime continued to lead by 20-plus points in the second half, including its biggest of the day at 70-37 on a layup by sophomore Hailey Blanchard (6 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds) with 4 minutes and 53 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
• Husson was held to a .305 field goal percentage.
• Maine Maritime outscored the Eagles 12-3 on second-chance points.

Beyond the Boxscore

• Husson leads the all-time series 25-23, but MMA has won the last six meetings; the Mariners, however, are 15-10 at home versus HU.
• Maine Maritime has won three-straight to start the month of February after going 10-2 in January.
• The Mariners celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day all week long, culminating today with autographed posters by MMA student-athletes, photo opportunities, lacrosse shootout, soccerball juggling contest and other activities.

Next Up

• Maine Maritime will close the regular season with a pair of home games against NAC opponent UMaine-Presque Isle on Friday (5:30 p.m.) and non-conference foe UMaine-Fort Kent on Saturday (1 p.m.).