Posted: Feb 25, 2014
SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine – The University of Maine at Augusta women's basketball team entered the Yankee Small College Conference Elite Eight Tournament as the third seed, and walked away ranked second following the most successful playoff run in women's basketball history.
The Moose defeated the University of Maine at Machias and second seeded Southern Maine Community College before falling to number one seed Central Maine Community College Sunday afternoon in the championship game. It was the first championship game appearance in the history of UMA women's basketball. Despite the loss, the tenth ranked Moose still have a shot of receiving a bid to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association National Tournament in Uniontown, Pennsylvania.
Bids will be announced Wednesday.
In the process of making history, sophomore Arreonte Lee (San Antonio, Tex.) made history of her own, scoring her 1,000th point on a lay-up that put her team ahead for good in the waning minutes of the semi-final win against Southern Maine Community College. Lee hit the mark in only two seasons, and was 40 points away at the conclusion of the regular season.
"We kept this news away from the team to ensure it would have no impact on our performance," Head Coach Jennifer Laney said. "When Arreonte hit the milestone, it was the exact surge we needed to finish the game with a win. We are all so proud of her accomplishment."
Lee joins Jennifer Lola as the second 1,000 point scorer this season and the fourth in the past three years for the Moose. For the tournament, Lee averaged 19 points per game. The Moose were led by freshman Jamie Plummer (Richmond, Maine), who averaged 23.6 points and 12 rebounds per game over three games. Fellow Freshman Courtney Jicks (Lake Charles, La.) was named Outstanding Defensive Player for the tournament.
UMA concludes the season with a 15-10 record.