FINAL SCORE: Apprentice School 80, Maine-Fort Kent 66

RECORDS: Apprentice School 10-3, Maine-Fort Kent 6-4

LOCATION: Newport News, VA

ON THE COURT: Senior Courtney Collins scored 16 points to lead four in double figures for the Apprentice School as they knocked off Maine-Fort Kent 80-66 on Wednesday night in a U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association matchup.

The Lady Builders jumped out to an 8-3 lead on a Danita Whitaker jumper with 17:50 left.  Maine-Fort Kent responded with the next six points as a pair of Jennifer Colpitts free throws with 16:48 left gave the Bengals a 9-8 advantage.  Apprentice School went on a 25-7 run over the next nearly 10 minutes to take a 33-16 lead on a 3-pointer from Shanae Hilliard with 6:52 left.

In the second half, the Bengals cut the 11-point halftime deficit to seven on a layup from Colpitts with 16:04 left to trail 46-39.  That was as close as they got in the second half as Apprentice School responded with a 17-5 run over the next 5:09 to take its largest lead of the night at 63-44 on a jumper from Whitaker with 10:55 left.

Hilliard joined the double-figure group with 15 points, hitting on 5-of-8 from 3-point range.  Julissa Riddick had 14 points while Kenya Wilkerson added 11 for the Lady Builders.  Maine-Fort Kent was topped by Colpitts with 22, Samantha Carapellucci with 14 and Alexis Warne with 10.

BEHIND THE BOXSCORE

• Apprentice School was 30-of-60 from the floor (50%), 5-of-15 from 3-point range (33%) and 15-of-30 from the line (50%). 
• On the boards, the Lady Builders out-rebounded UMFK 54-29 as Whitaker had 14 and April McCoy added 11. 
• Apprentice School blocked a season-high eight shots with Riddick and McCoy having three apiece.
• Riddick, after back-to-back single-game highs in rebounds last weekend, set a season-high in points with 14.

GRAND FINALE

This is the final game in the current gymnasium – the Lady Builders will christen the new Apprentice Athletic Center on January 17 with a 5:30 pm tip against Bennett College in the Martin Luther King Classic.

NEXT UP

The Lady Builders travel to Ferrum, Virginia on Sunday to face the Panthers in a 2 pm tip in Swartz Gymnasium.  Ferrum is currently ranked #21 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll.