Franklin, MASS.- Fueled by a 21-9 second quarter advantage, Dean College women's basketball defeated Maine-Augusta 58-50 on Thursday at Pieri Gym in Franklin, MA.

The Bulldogs were led by Vianah Smith.  Smith came off the bench for Dean, and scored 20 points with 6 steals.  Chelsea Johnson came back strong with 18 points, and Iindia Pina scored 9 points and had 9 steals.

Dean trailed 13-11 at the end of one, but stormed back in the second period to take the lead for good.  Smith scored the Bulldogs first 7 points of the quarter on two layups and a triple, giving Dean a 18-15 lead with 6:47 left in the quarter.  Stellar defense from the Bulldogs down the stretch and baskets from Johnson and Pina, gave Dean the lead 32-22 at the break.

The second half was a seasaw battle, with the Moose trimming the lead multiple times, only to see the Bulldogs respond every time wih a run of their own.

Maine-Augusta was able to cut the lead to 6 midway through the third on a pair of hoops from Morgan Card, but Dean quickly pushed the lead back to double digits. The Moose responded by cutting the lead down to 3 with a 7-0 run to end the third quarter, capped by a made free throw from Jamie Plummer. 

A jumper, a layup, and two made free throws from Vianah Smith gave Dean a 48-39 lead 2 minutes into the final frame.  Again, a scrappy Maine-Augusta team showed perserverance.    A jumper from Lindsey Clark and back to back lay-ins from Caitlin LaFountain, slashed the lead to 48-46 with 4:41 remaining in the 4th.

Cllutch hoops from Johnson, Pina, and Fataya Larry allowed Dean to hold on down the stretch, and two free throws from Johnson swelled the lead to 11 with under a minute to play, putting the game out of reach.

The Bulldogs held a 27-6 advantage in points off turnovers, and outscored the Moose 16-4 on fast break points.

The Moose out rebounded Dean 38-21, and held a strong advantage at the free throw line, shooting 78% to Dean's 46.

The win improves the Bulldogs to 13-5 and drops Maine-Augusta to 9-8.

Dean plays next at Daniel Webster on Saturday at 1:00.

Maine-Augusta plays St. Josephs (VT) Sunday at 1:00 at Unity, ME.