Bangor, ME – Fourth-seeded Husson University women's basketball hosted fifth-seeded New England College in a North Atlantic Conference (NAC) Quarterfinal on Tuesday evening. The Eagles (15-11) defeated the Pilgrims (14-12) by a score of 77-62 and secured a spot in Friday's semifinals.

Five minutes into the first half, the teams found themselves tied at 7-7. A Chandler Guerrette (Presque Isle, ME) jumper put the Eagles up 10-7, but NEC responded with a three from Stephanie Parker (Wilder, VT) to tie it at 10-10. Amanda Johnson (Skowhegan, ME) gave Husson a 14-10 lead, but NEC cut it to 14-13 off three points from Marjani Lillard (Bowie, MD). Two jumpers from Chrissy Larrabee (Brooks, ME) gave the Eagles some separation at 18-13, and just past the ten minute mark the score stood at 20-15 in favor of Husson. With minutes left in the half, Guerrette extended the Eagles' lead to 10 points as the team went on a 9-1 run. Husson headed into the locker room up 36-27.

Guerrette led the field with 13 first half points, and Victoria McIntyre (Mars Hill, ME) added nine more for the home team. Rebecca Young (Concord, VT) registered six rebounds for Husson, and Samira Cruz (Orlando, FL) dished out three assists.

Kayla Lawlor (Cocoa Beach, FL) had six points for the Pilgrims. Parker grabbed five rebounds.

At the start of the second half, Husson took its largest lead of the game so far, up 15 points, off a three-pointer from McIntyre. NEC fought back within 10 points, but another McIntyre jumper extended Husson's lead back to 14. A beautiful three from Cruz put Husson up 18 with just over ten minutes remaining in the game. With six minutes to play, a Lawlor layup cut the Eagles' lead to nine points, 63-54. Some big makes from Taylor Blood (Lincoln, ME) gave Husson a 15 point lead with two minutes remaining, and the Eagles closed it out 77-62.

Reigning six-time NAC Rookie of the Week Guerrette scored a game-high 21 points for the Eagles and dished out seven assists. Teammate Young scored 17, and McIntyre added 16 points. Young and McIntyre tied for a team-high seven rebounds apiece. As a team, the Eagles shot 47.1% from the field to NEC's 37.3 percent.

Lawlor was the leading scorer for the Pilgrims with 17 points on the night. Taylor Burgess (Randallstown, MD) put up 13 points, and Katarina Muska (Brimfield, MA) scored 10. Burgess also had a game-high 10 rebounds.

With the win, Husson advances to the NAC Semifinals and will play the top seed Castleton on Friday on the road. Game time is TBD.