The University of Maine women’s basketball team had their final tune-ups Monday night when they hosted the University of New Brunswick for an exhibition. The Black Bears won their second exhibition contest 80-34 of the season and appear ready for the 2014-2015 season to begin.
Defensive pressure highlighted the first half for UMaine in which they put full-court pressure on the Varsity Reds, forcing 18 of their 31 turnovers.
Third-year forward Liz Wood led the way for the Black Bears, scoring a game-high 15 points and swiped five steals while pulling down four boards.
Second-year guard Sigi Koizar had a terrific game, scoring 12 points and dishing out three assists with a pair of steals.
The Black Bears never trailed Monday night and jumped out to an early 9-0 lead. At one point UMaine led 23-8 but saw New Brunswick crawl back to make it a 11 point game, though it was the closest they would get for the rest of the game.
Wood made a pair of layups and Sigi Koizar, followed by a 3-pointer from third-year guard Sophie Weckstrom to open things up. Weckstrom scored eight points off the bench and chipped in an assist and a steal.
The Black Bears took a commanding 42-18 lead into the second half, punctuated by a 3-pointer from third-year sharpshooter Lauren Bodine.
UMaine head coach Richard Barron called off the full-court press in the second half, opting to let his defense get set. The results were 13 turnovers and holding New Brunswick to a 27.3 percent field goal percentage. New Brunswick finished with a 31.7 percent on field goals, while the Black Bears shot 48.5 percent and 31.2 percent from beyond the arc.
“I think we played well in the half-court zone,” Wood said. “I thought we forced a lot of shot clock violations in the first half that we can really start to take advantage of.”
The Black Bears featured five young players in their final 10 minutes of play, including third-year transfer Bella Swan and second-year forward Sheraton Jones.
“Of course, there were things that made me want to pull my hair out,” Barron said. “But I thought they did well and thought they did well playing together.”
Jones led the way, scoring 10 points and showing a nose for the ball, pulling down seven rebounds and recording a steal in just 8 minutes of play.
UMaine outscored the Varsity Reds 38-16 in the second half, cruising to their 46-point victory.
Second-year New Brunswick guard Laura Kaye led the scoring for the Varsity Reds, chipping in seven points and pulling down five boards but committing a game-high seven turnovers.
Turnovers were the story of the game, with 27 of UMaine’s 80 points coming off of New Brunswick miscues. The Black Bears, on the other hand, committed just 11 turnovers and saw the Varsity Reds convert them into seven points.