University of Maine
Maine Maritime
Balanced Scoring Attack Leads Black Bears Over Maine Maritime, 73-37
11/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ORONO, Maine -- Eleven Black Bears etched their names into the scoring column on Tuesday evening as the Maine women's basketball squad routed Maine Maritime Academy 73-37 in The Pit. The win moves Maine to 3-3 on the season as the Mariners slip back to 2-2. Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) paced the Maine attack with 10 points as she went 2-for-2 from beyond the arc while Maine's America East Player of the Game Shareka Maner (Spring Hill, Fla.) had nine points and five boards.
The Black Bears used an 8-0 run 8:30 into the first half to take a 15-6 advantage. Anderson and Kelsey Mattice (Cicero, N.Y.) fueled the run as the freshmen guard duo knocked down back-to-back three pointers which Maine followed with a jumper in the lane by Samantha Wheeler (Derry, N.H.) to hold a healthy advantage early.
Alexis Bennett put a stop to the Maine run with a jumper of her own at the 9:14 mark. Bennett led all scorers with 13 points as the junior went 6-for-10 from the field.
Maine would bounce back as Wheeler's free throw would jump start another Maine run. Wheeler was followed by an old-school three-point play by Danielle Walczak (Lee, N.H.) who laid the ball up and in while drawing a foul and knocking down her free throw. Maine's 11-0 run would continue as Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) found Maner down low for two. Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J.) followed with a pair of free throws off a turnover by Maggie Smith on an offensive charge call. Freshman guard Amber Dillon (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) sealed off the run as she forced a steal and raced down court for a fastbreak layup to put the Black Bears up 17 with 3:18 to play in the half.
The Mariners would cut things to 14 before Anderson buried a three off a set play feed from Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) with just seven seconds to play in the half, sending Maine into the locker room leading 29-12.
Maine would continue its offensive attack early in the second half as Roberts capitalized off a Walczak steal, laying the ball through the cylinder to give Maine a 20 point advantage just 2:24 into the second half.
The Black Bears would pull away midway through the second half as it would break out on a 17-1 run over a four minute span to take a 64-31 lead. Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine) powered the Maine run as she knocked down six points with two steals in the four minute run.
Maine would continue the attack, building its lead to 37 on a pair of free throws by Anderson with 36 seconds left and eventually take the victory, 73-37.
With the four-game homestand coming to a close, the Black Bears will now travel to Annapolis, Md. where they will battle George Washington on Friday, Dec. 2 at 3:30 p.m. in the opening game of the Navy Classic. Maine will follow that up with another 3:30 p.m. affair on Dec. 3 when it faces host Navy.
-U-M-
