University of Maine
Central Conn. St.
Black Bears' Late Charge Comes Up Just Short at Central Conn. State, 53-48
11/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Coach Barron Postgame
NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- The Black Bears opened up the 2011-12 season with a tough battle, fighting back from 11 points down and cutting the Central Connecticut State lead to just two very late but ran out of time, dropping the opening contest 53-48 to the Blue Devils. Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) paced the Maine attack with 16 points and six rebounds while Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) chipped in a nine point effort to go along with a career-high eight rebounds.
Williams kicked off the scoring in the 2011 season for the Black Bears when Roberts was able to find her on a great cut through the lane to give Maine an early 2-0 lead. After a bucket and a three gave the Blue Devils a 5-2 lead, freshman Amber Dillon (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) and the Black Bears would go on a run to take an 8-5 advantage. Dillon would flash through the lane as Corinne Wellington (Rochester, N.Y.) found her with a nice pass and Dillon was able to lay the ball in before forcing a Blue Devil turnover, sprinting the court and getting the lay-in and the foul to put the Black Bears up by three. The points were Dillon's first of her career.
The Blue Devils battled back to take a 16-10 lead with 9:00 to play in the first half on back-to-back hoops by Johnna Fisher and ending the run on a three from the left foulline extended by Danielle Davis. Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine) would put an end to the Blue Devil run as she took the outlet pass coast-to-coast for the lay-in, and the first points of her Black Bear career.
The teams would trade baskets and possessions for the remainded of the first half while the Blue Devils built a 27-18 lead on a foulshot and a bucket by Jaclyn Babe.
Wellington paced Maine in the first half with four points and four rebounds while Dillon also added four points and a pair of steals. Jaclyn Babe and Lauren Arbogast each tallied six points for the Blue Devils in the opening half while Kaley Watras added five boards.
Maine would storm out of the gates in the opening minutes of the second half, powered by the offense of Roberts who hit an early bucket before racing down the court and drawing a foul on a made layup, cutting the Blue Devil lead to five, 27-22. The Blue Devils staged a quick 4-0 run to regain a nine point advantage before Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) answered hit a nice left-handed runner in the lane for Maine. Roberts and Shareka Maner (Spring Hill, Fla.) would also hit jumpers for Maine as the Black Bears would trail by just four, 33-29 with 11:45 to play in the second half.
Central Connecticut would push its lead to eight, 38-30, before the Black Bears switched to a full court press, pressuring the ball hard and causing the Blue Devils to turn it over. Maine would take full advantage of the turnovers as it would stage a 13-6 run over a two minute span, fueled by seven points by Roberts, to cut the Blue Devil lead to just two, 44-42, with 3:50 to play.
With the Blue Devil lead at 48-46 with a minute to play, Kirsten Daamen would grab an offensive board and lay the ball in to build the lead to 50-46. Williams would race down the court and work her way through a few screens, freeing her up for a dribble drive around the right side of the bucket. Williams would lay the ball off glass and in, bringing Maine back within two. However, the Blue Devils knocked down three out of six free throws down the stretch to take the win by the score of 53-48.
The Black Bears return to action when they travel to take on Rhode Island on Sunday at 2 p.m.
-U-M-
