A tale of two programs, from two countries, playing two different styles of basketball: North of the border, Coach Claire Mitton’s University of New Brunswick Red Bloomers have been toiling away in their home city of Fredericton, having fundamental basketball skills repeatedly drilled into their heads. In the states, the Husson College women’s basketball team has spent the better part of the season beating up on a majority of the NAIA’s District 5 patsies.

Friday night at the Newman Gym in Bangor, Canadian fundamentals taught U.S. flashiness a lesson.

The final score: U-New Brunswick 72, Husson College 62.

“We just key in on the fundamentals every day in practice. We just beat it to death,” said Kara Palmer, the 5-foot-11 UNB forward who burned Husson for 16 points and 16 rebounds. “It really pays off in the end.”

The win moved UNB to 16-5 on the season while Husson, ranked seventh in the NAIA Division II rankings, fell to 19-3.

If Husson officials lowered all six baskets which hung from the gym rafters and offered up 11 games of one-on-one to decide this contest, the multi-talented Braves probably would have pulled out the win.

In a game of five-on-five, however, UNB’s quick ball movement and disciplined style of play caught Husson off guard far too often for Coach Kissy Walker’s liking.

New Brunswick grabbed a 14-7 lead 6:15 into the game. Back-to-back Husson hoops by Steph Lebel and Vicki Mazerall (a team-high 15 points) cut the lead to 14-11 with 13:04 left.

UNB, however, went on a 10-2 tear to open up a 24-13 advantage with 8:05 left in the half. By halftime, the Bloomers held a 39-29 lead.

Coming out of the locker room, the Bloomers did not let up, kicking off the half with a 17-4 run, pushing the score to 56-33 with 10:35 remaining. Palmer and Jennifer Hale (16 points) had four points each during the spurt.

Walker, looking for a combination that would put forth the effort she desired, went to a lineup of junior guard Kristi Wildman, sophomore forward Michelle Hamlin (playing with an aggravating hip injury), and freshmen Tracy Parker, Steph Shaw, and Amy Dyer.

The unit responded with spirited defensive pressure, which turned into a 9-2 run for the Braves and cut the lead to 57-42.

A Hamlin jumper, a conventional 3-point play by Wildman, another Hamlin jumper, and two more Wildman foul shots accounted for Husson’s best offensive run of the game.

But, with 7:42 left, Shaw picked up her fourth foul, sending Walker to the bench. Husson then lost its momentum and New Brunswick responded with a 5-0 mini-run, building the lead back to 20.

Six unanswered Husson points chopped the lead to 14 (62-48 with 4:53 left). The Braves then held UNB without a shot for the next 26 seconds.

An airball by Palmer fell into the hands of teammate Tracy Lordon, who made the followup layup with :01 on the shot clock, and, in effect, breaking Husson’s back.

“You’ve got to give UNB a lot of credit,” said Walker, a usually happy-go-lucky coach who was steaming after the game. “Their pressure got to us. Offensively, we weren’t very patient. They outplayed us.”

Anne Cote had 13 points and seven rebounds for Husson while Darci Collins grabbed seven rebounds.

Red Bloomers 72, Braves 62

U-New Brunswick Husson women

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Swift 9 3 2 1 7 Cote 13 4 6 4 13

J.Hale 12 5 6 5 16 Mazerall 12 6 5 2 15

Jackson 3 0 8 7 7 Wildman 6 3 4 3 9

Lordon 5 3 0 0 6 Collins 4 1 5 4 6

Palmer 13 4 12 7 16 Lebel 9 3 5 3 9

B.Hale 2 2 3 3 7 Newman 0 0 0 0 0

Forman 2 2 0 0 4 Shaw 2 1 0 0 2

Flieger 5 3 0 0 7 Grant 1 0 0 0 0

Mowat 1 1 0 0 2 Parker 3 1 2 2 4

Polchies 3 0 0 0 0 Dyer 0 0 0 0 0

Hamlin 5 2 0 0 4

Totals 55 23 31 23 72 Totals 55 21 27 18 62

U-New Brunswick 39 72

Husson women 29 62

3-pt. goals: UNB (3-11): Flieger 1-3, J.Hale 1-2, Palmer 1-2, Polchies 0-2, Jackson 0-2; Husson (2-5): Cote 1-1, Mazerall 1-1, Grant 0-1, Collins 0-1, Parker 0-1.