The University of Maine at Presque Isle Lady Owls are 4-5 over their last nine games but are playing better with the addition of two key seniors, Brigitte Pratt and Krista Coffin. The newcomers add toughness, intelligence and size to a young and inexperienced squad that had to replace more than 80 percent of last season’s scoring and rebounding.
The improved play has been noticed by the coaches in the USCAA, as the Owls are now ranked 23rd in the USCAA Div. II national poll.
A constant for the entire season has been the outstanding play of junior point guard Darby Toth and senior post Rebecca Campbell. Toth has had to replace the scoring of graduated USCAA All-American Olivia McNally, while also directing the Owls’ patient and deliberate offense. Toth has exceeded expectations, raising her points-per-game average to 17.1, while also leading the USCAA in assists and assists-to-turnover ratio.
Campbell has become one of the nation’s finest rebounders, leading the Great South Athletic Conference in rebounding at 13.9 per contest. Campbell has also become amazingly consistent by registering 13 consecutive “double-doubles” (double figures in points and rebounds).
The senior co-captain is averaging 13 ppg and is also in the USCAA top 20 in field goal percentage, hitting on 45.7 percent of her shots.
“By any measure of a point guard, Darby (Toth) has simply played at an All-American level,” said head coach Doug Carter. “Darby can dominate the floor like no other young lady her size and Becca (Campbell) has been a rock for us this season, she is playing very well for us.”
Summaries of the team’s most recent games are as follows:
UMPI 65, Vermont Tech 41
RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt. — Toth scored a career high 33 points and Campbell had 10 points and 16 rebounds to lead UMPI over Vermont Tech Jan 13.
Toth, playing without backcourt mate Brianna Losee, picked up the slack for the Owls with inspired defensive play that included 13 steals.
“We were undermanned without Brianna and when Sydney (Churchill) went down with an injury, we needed a push and Darby was just unstoppable,” Carter said. “Good players have big games, 33 points is special, but who has 13 steals, grabs six rebounds and still finds a way to dish out seven assists … she is simply a very, very special young lady to be able to do what she does out on the court.”
Coffin had a double-figure scoring night of her own, tallying 10 points and providing a strong, physical presence on the court for the Owls.
SUNY-Canton 55, UMPI 52
RANDOLPH CENTER, Vt — Freshman Losee scored a career-high 19, but the Owls could not hold back the athletic SUNY-Canton Roos, falling by three points on Jan. 14.
The Roos dominated the offensive boards, scoring on most of their 17 offensive rebounds for the game. Campbell secured a game-high 19 rebounds for the Owls, but didn’t have much help from her Owl teammates. She also added 15 points.
The Owls turned the ball over only four times and registering assists on 18 of their 22 baskets.
Vaughn College 62, UMPI 55
QUEENS, N.Y. — The duo of Toth and Campbell turned in strong outings again, but the Owls could not hold back USCAA’s 11th-ranked Vaughn College, dropping a midday affair Jan. 16.
Toth had 24 points and six assists, while Campbell scored 23 and grabbed 16 rebounds but the nation’s leading scorer, Vaughn’s Cianna Peterson connected on 10 of 26 shots to lead all scorers with 27 points.
Vaughn dominated the rebounding by a 63-40 margin.
UMPI 73, Unity 37
UNITY — Backcourt mates Churchill and Losee each scored a game-high 16 points to lead the Owls to a 73-37 victory over the Unity Rams Jan. 19.
The Owls stormed out to a 50-19 halftime lead and never looked back in a match that saw each Owl register at least 16 minutes of playing time and eight score multiple baskets. Campbell had 15 points and 15 rebounds in only 19 minutes of action and freshman Sara Packard scored a career-high eight points and grabbed six rebounds.
UMPI 45, EMCC 39
PRESQUE ISLE — In a Jan. 22 contest at home, the Owls deployed outstanding team defense and hit key foul shots at the end of the game to take a hard-fought 45-39 victory from the visiting Golden Eagles of Eastern Maine Community College
The Owls did not allow the 22nd-ranked Golden Eagles to score a point until more than eight minutes of action had passed in the first period and held the improved EMCC squad to 10 points in the first half. The Owls were up by as many as 15 late in the second half but the pesky Golden Eagle fought hard to make it a game.
Down 38-27 with 3:59 left in the game, EMCC high scorer Bobbie Lynne Chambers scored eight of her 14 points during a 12-3 run that brought the Golden Eagles back within two points (41-39) at the 1:45 mark. Clutch foul shots by Losee and Packard in the last 16 seconds of the game sealed the win for the Owls.
Campbell scored a game-high 16 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the victory to secure her 13th consecutive double-double. Churchill and Toth added eight points each.
SMCC 68, UMPI 58
PRESQUE ISLE — Up by as many as 15 points in the second half, UMPI could not hold onto the lead and succumbed to the pressing defense of the No. 8 ranked SMCC Seawolves, losing the Jan. 24 contest.
The Owls went into halftime with a 37-30 lead and came out on fire, behind three-pointers from Losee and Katie Patenaude to extend the lead to 46-34 in the first two minutes of the second stanza.
UMPI held at 10-point advantage until the 7:19 mark in the second half when SMCC’s Jordan Turner made both of her foul shots as part of a 7-0 run.
Losee nailed a corner three to stop the skid at 5:48, but the Owls would not score again in the period as the Seawolves finished the game on a huge 18-0 run that crushed any Owl hope of getting back into the game.
“Our offensive execution was simply horrendous the last five minutes,” noted Carter. “We could not catch and pass the basketball. This wasn’t a matter of us giving up, the effort was absolutely there, but SMCC played superior defensive basketball and we just could not execute an offense.”
Toth had 22 points and nine assists and Campbell had 15 points and 15 rebounds for UMPI. Losee hit five threes en route to a 16-point total.
CMCC 86, UMPI 71
AUBURN — For the second game in a row, Toth had a stellar performance against a top-10 USCAA foe, but her effort went for not, as UMPI could not contain the explosive CMCC offensive attack, dropping a hard-fought game Jan. 27.
Toth scored 30 points and assisted on five other Owl baskets in the game that saw the Owls shoot 60 percent (27 for 45) from the field and 57 percent (8 for 14) from beyond the arc. For the game, the Owls only turned the ball over 12 times, while forcing the Mustangs into 17 turnovers with hustle and heady recovery on the defensive end.
[Toth] was marvelous tonight,” Carter said. “To play 40 minutes against that tough, physical pressure and simply not back down to one of the toughest defenses in the nation, is just a tremendous feat. Central Maine does everything right with their pressing attack, but Darby was spectacular tonight.”
Campbell had 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Owls and Losee had 12 points and five assists, while hitting two three-pointers.
“We are playing much better”, added Carter. “[Central Maine] has only lost once in four years here on their home court and we did play well enough to win against 95 percent of the teams at this level, but they are no ordinary team — they are a deep and well coached unit.”
UMPI 58, UMM 38
PRESQUE ISLE — The Owls used double-digit scoring from a trio of Owls to defeat the Clippers Thursday.
Churchill had a game-high 14 points, Campbell notched 11 points and 12 rebounds and Patenaude had a career-high 10 points, going three of four from beyond the three-point line.
Toth had seven assists and UMPI committed only nine turnovers. The team is second in NCAA Div. III in fewest turnovers per game.
UMFK 82 UMPI 51
PRESQUE ISLE — On Saturday at Wieden Gymnasium, UMFK used the inside game of Ericka Saucier and the outside shooting of Danielle Carrillo and reserve Sabrina Head to overtake the Owls.
UMPI had no answer for the 6-foot-2 Saucier, who converted eight of 15 shots to score a game-high 26 points. Carrillo and Head each knocked down four three-pointers to add to the Bengal attack. Saucier also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
Toth led the Owls with 22 points, five rebounds and five assists and Campbell added 12 points.
