WATERVILLE, Maine - The University of Maine at Farmington women's basketball team fell behind early and were unable to dig themselves all the way out of the hole, falling on the road to Thomas College in an important North Atlantic Conference (NAC) battle, 57-45.

Thomas jumped out to a 12-2 lead in the opening eight minutes and 15 seconds of the 1st quarter as the Beavers missed six of their first seven shot attempts and turned the ball over four times. The Beavers did settle in however, closing the quarter on a 6-0 spurt to cut the deficit to 12-8 heading into the 2nd quarter. 

Three consecutive layups from Sky Kubwalo to open the 2nd quarter pushed Thomas' lead back up to 10 with 7:28 left to play in the half. Senior guard Maddy White (Waldoboro, Maine) drilled a three to put an end to the Terriers' run. But a few possessions later, Emily Parent hit a three of her own and Samantha Fortin hit a layup on a nice feed from Parent to give the Terriers a 23-11 lead. White responded with another three to briefly silence the crowd.

After taking a 27-16 lead into the 3rd quarter, Thomas opened the half on a quick 5-0 run, extending their lead to 16. 

Layups from Melissa Mayo (Bridgton, Maine) and Ruby McMinis (Wells, Maine), and a pair of  free throws from Sarah Poli (Benton, Maine) sparked a 6-0 spurt for Farmington to pull back within ten. But once again Thomas had an answer as a layup from Jay Jordan and three from Hannah Coolen pushed the lead back to 15. 

After Thomas led by as much as 17 in the 4th quarter, the Beavers were able to cut the lead down to 9 with three minutes to play after a three from Grace Dwyer (Manchester, Maine) and a three-point play from White. But that was as close as the Beavers got as Thomas hit free throws down the stretch to ice the game. 

Poli led the Beavers with 12 points and nine rebounds. White finished with nine points while Dywer pitched in with eight.

Thomas was led by Coolen who scored a game-high 18 points off the bench. Kubwalo added a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 13 rebounds. 

Following the loss the Beavers dropped to 8-16 on the season with a 4-8 record in NAC play and currently sit in 5th place in the NAC East Division. Thomas improved to 9-13 with a 6-5 record in NAC play.

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The Beavers will host the University of Maine at Augusta on Saturday afternoon in what will be Farmington's Senior Day. Game time is set for 3:00 PM with the senior ceremony scheduled to take place prior to tip-off.