University of Maine
George Washington
Maine Falls in Tight Contest to George Washington, 54-46
12/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Maine and George Washington would engage in a tight battle in the opening round of the Navy Classic. A game which saw seven ties and nine lead changes would eventually go to the Colonials who pulled ahead a bit at the end, taking the game 54-46.
Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J.) had a solid game for Maine as she totaled eight points and eight rebounds. Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) also tallied eight points while Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) pulled down a career-high six rebounds in a game-high 36 minutes of play. Maine drops to 3-4 on the season while Danni Jackson led the Colonials to their fourth win with 10 points.
The Colonials built their lead to 17-11 at the 10:57 mark of the first half as Megan Nipe would knock down one of George Washington's six first half three pointers.
The Black Bears would respond, busting out a 7-1 run over the next 2:43 seconds to tie things up at 18-18.
After Nipe's three, Amber Smith (Ipswich, Mass.) would put an end to the Colonial run as she knocked down a jumper from the left side. Maner then ripped down an offensive board and went right back up strong, laying the ball in and cutting the Colonial lead to two. After a free throw by George Washington's Sara Mostafa, Maner would pull down another board and outlet as Maine would sprint down the floor, working the ball around until Anderson buried a three to tie things at 18-all.
Maner would continue to work hard on the boards as she would pull down another defensive board that would eventually lead to a Roberts layup to give the Black Bears a 20-18 advantage with 7:48 to play in the opening half. Maine would continue on its 8-0 run as Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) moved the ball, finding Roberts who knocked down a jumper. Amber Dillon (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) would give the Black Bears their biggest lead of the half, 23-18, on a made free throw.
The Colonials would battle back, going on a 5-0 run of their own to tie it by at 23-23 with 2:28 to play in the half. Nipe would hit her second three of the half before Kristin Aldridge netted a a pair of points. Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine) regained a two point lead for Maine with a jumper before Jackson's three gave the Colonials a one point edge with 2:08 to play in the first half.
Jackson would break out on a fastbreak, laying the ball up and in to extend the Colonial lead to three, 31-27 before Corinne Wellington (Rochester, N.Y.) would work hard, forcing the ball up and in off the left block to cut the lead back to just two, 31-29, at the half.
The Black Bears battled tough in the opening minutes of the second half, taking a 39-37 lead as Knight found Baranowski for a turn around lay-in with 13:41 remaining in the half.
George Washington would once again respond as it put together a 7-1 run over the next four minutes with Nipe capping the run with a jumper, giving the Colonials their biggest lead of the game at 47-40 with just under 10 minutes to play.
Maine would chip away at the George Washington lead, piecing together a 4-0 run on back-to-back jumpers by Dillon to cut the lead to just three 47-44 with 8:13 to play in regulation. However, the next eight minutes would not see much scoring as the Colonials would take the contest 54-46 on Jackson's jumper with no time remaining.
The Black Bears continue play in the Navy Classic as they will battle host Navy tomorrow at 3:30 p.m.
-U-M-
