Women’s Basketball concludes season with win over Maine Fort Kent

BUFFALO, N.Y. --- Carlow University women's basketball concluded the 2024-25 season with a 75-54 win over No. 6 seed University of Maine Fort Kent in a USCAA Championship consolation game Wednesday morning.

The Celtics ended the season 12-13 overall with the win over the Bengals (11-12).

Carlow exploded for 27 points in the fourth quarter while simultaneously holding Maine Fort Kent to just nine points to secure the win. The Celtics hit 10 three-pointers and outrebounded the Bengals, 59-39.

Emiley Hillgartner (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) led Carlow with a game- and season-high 20 points and five assists. Sydney Carr (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin HS) added 16 points, and Nina Cano (Greenville, Pa./Greenville HS/Grove City College) contributed a double-double 15 points and 18 rebounds. Emma Aubrey (Bristol, Tenn./Sullivan East HS) pulled down 10 boards, and Shaelyn Clark (Kittanning, Pa./Armstrong HS) tallied 10 rebounds, five steals and three assists.

The teams traded leads throughout the first quarter, with a last-second trey by the Bengals tying the game at 15-all before Hillgartner found Josie Horne (Waynesburg, Pa./Waynesburg Central HS) for a layup at the buzzer.

Maine Fort Kent gained a marginal advantage in the second quarter before a three-pointer by Hillgartner handed Carlow a 20-19 lead.

The Celtics gained a seven-point lead, holding Maine Fort Kent scoreless for over three minutes until Cece Bell landed a trey to cut Carlow's advantage to four. A layup and a free throw saw the Bengals trailing by one, but Carlow stayed in front, 32-27, heading into halftime.

Carlow pushed its lead to 10 midway through the third quarter. A two-minute scoring drought capped the third quarter, but not before back-to-back layups from Nysia Ortiz saw Maine Fort Kent trailing by three heading into the pivotal fourth quarter.

The Celtics gained a 10-point lead four minutes into the quarter and outscored the Bengals 15-4 through the rest of the game.

Carlow outscored Maine Fort Kent 32-24 in the paint, while the Bengals outscored the Celtics 19-16 off the bench.

Ortiz led the Bengals with a double-double 18 points and 10 rebounds. Karolyn Baptiste added 10 points, three assists and two steals off the bench, and Tobie Yocum contributed 10 rebounds in the effort.