University of Maine
Va. Commonwealth
Women's Basketball Drops Contest to VCU
11/24/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (1-5) fell to visiting Virginia Commonwealth (2-3) on Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena by a score of 74-58. Brittany Wells (Indianapolis, In.) led the Black Bears in scoring with 14 points as she went 2-for-5 from beyond the arc. Liz Wood (Catlet, Va.) added nine points and four rebounds for Maine while Danielle Walczak (Lee, N.H.) scored eight to go along with five rebounds.
The Rams had four scorers in double figures, led by Robyn Parks' 22 points and 12 rebounds. Zakia Williams added 16 points while Kaneisha Atwater and Janniina Koivunen each scored 11.
VCU raced out to an 11-point lead before the Black Bears began chipping away. Corinne Wellington (Rochester, N.Y.) worked the ball on the post before dishing a pass out to Sophie Weckström (Espoo, Finland) who knocked down a three. Following the make, Wellington ripped down a defensive board and hit Weckström with the outlet. Weckström moved the offense before finding Wells for a quick jumper to bring Maine within six midway through the opening half.
The Rams responded with a 17-6 run over the next four minutes to grab their largest lead of the game at 18 with 4:15 to play in the first half.
Wells had the hot hand for the Black Bears in the final minutes of the second half as the freshmen knocked down seven-straight points to bring Maine back within 11. Maine kept the pressure on as a jumper by Wellington at the buzzer sent the game into the half with the Black Bears trailing by 10.
Wells led Maine in the first half as 12 of her total 14 points came in the opening half on 5-for-9 shooting including a pair of three pointers. Maine shot 38.9% from the field in the opening half while the Rams went 15-for-33 (45.5%).
After a VCU hoop to start the second half, the Black Bears went on a 6-0 run to cut the lead to just six after trailing by as many as 18 late in the first half. Walczak started the Maine run with a layup before Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) hit a pair of free throws. Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) forced a steal for the Black Bears before scoring off the turnover on an assist from Walczak. After a VCU make, Walczak found Wood on the left wing for a three-pointer as the Black Bears trailed by just five, forcing the Rams into a timeout.
VCU responded out of the timeout with a 10-0 run to extend its lead to 15 with 12:14 to play in the closing half.
The Rams' lead grew to 17 with 6:33 to play in the half before Wells found Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) in transition for a three to cut the lead to 14.
The Black Bears got the lead down to 13 but ran out of time as the Rams took the contest 74-58.
Maine returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 1 as it travels to face Florida Gulf Coast University at 4:45 PM.
-U-M-
