The University of Maine women’s basketball continued to roll last week, starting Wednesday night when they dominated their trip to the University of Massachusetts-Lowell before taking down Stony Brook University at home.
Black Bears blow out Lowell
UMaine ran an efficient offense all night, shooting just under 60 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from beyond the arc. They also locked down on the Riverhawks defensively, who shot 29.4 percent from the field and 25 percent from beyond the arc.
Third-year forward Liz Wood led all scorers with 21 points on the night, adding six boards and five assists. Third-year guard Chantel Charles continued her hot streak, chipping in 12 points.
Both teams came out of the gate firing offensively, with the score tied at 16-16 halfway through the first frame.
Charles was able to put the Black Bears ahead, converting an and-one layup before nailing a three-pointer on the following possession. Third-year guard Lauren Bodine chipped in a pair of three-pointers before the end of the half, which ended in a 45-26 UMaine advantage.
Bodine, who has been quiet so far this season, connected on all four of her three-point attempts for 12 points on the night.
UMass Lowell third-year guard Jasmine McRoy hit a pair of three-pointers to cut into the UMaine lead to start off the second half, but good team offense from the Black Bears kept the Riverhawks at arms length.
McRoy scored a team-high 14 assists with three boards.
UMaine showed their depth in the second half with the game in hand, as 34 of their points came from the bench.
The Black Bears dominated the undersized Riverhawks on the boards, outrebounding them 36-22.
UMaine second-year guard Sigi Koizar was the main facilitator for the Black Bears offensively, dishing out five assists and grabbing four boards.
UMaine outlasts Stony Brook
The Black Bears played their first tightly contested game on Saturday since Feb. 1, upending Stony Brook 57-49.
Liz Wood was the player of the game, scoring 17 points and recording 10 boards. Koizar was the leading scorer with 21 points.
“We got punched in mouth the beginning of the first half,” Wood said. “But we responded well and I think that’s important for us, especially when we head into tournament time.”
The Black Bears got out to a rocky start, finding themselves in a 20-12 hole halfway through the first frame.
Fourth-year guard Courtney Anderson cut the lead to five with a big three-pointer that Wood followed up with a three of her own. Third-year forward Bella Swan and Koizar hit back-to-back layups to take a slim advantage.
Stony Brook second-year guard Christa Scognamiglio had 11 first-half points for the Seawolves and would go on to lead the team with 14 points and three boards.
The Seawolves would fight back to take a two point lead but a layup from Wood and three-pointer from Koizar before the half would give the Black Bears a 30-28 advantage at the half.
The Black Bears had some issues keeping the ball offensively, turning the ball over 14 times. This allowed Stony Brook 18 points off of turnovers, while the Black Bears had just four.
“I can put different players in different positions and that causes some mismatch problems,” Stony Brook head coach Caroline McCombs said.
Koizar started the second half off on a familiar note, hitting a three-pointer to spark a quick 7-0 UMaine run.
Stony Brook had a strong performance from fourth-year guard Jessica Ogunnorin, who chipped in nine points with seven rebounds.
The Black Bears switched from their matchup zone defense to a man defense and were successful in the man, holding the Seawolves to 36 percent shooting from the field for the game.
Free throw shooting down the stretch won the game for the Black Bears, who did not score a basket in the last 7:37 due to the amount of free throws they took. Koizar lead the way with nine of her 21 points coming from the charity stripe.
“It’s just another free throw,” Koizar said. “It’s the same distance as practice, it’s the same ball. Just a routine play.”
The large crowd at the Cross Insurance Center was buzzing near the end of the game, urged on by an excited Barron.
“Towards the end of the game we needed the crowd,” Barron said. “We needed the crowd to get behind us so I was trying to implore them to get up and cheer.”