University of Maine
Vermont
Maine Drops Contest at Vermont, 71-54
2/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BURLINGTON, Vt. -- A second half surge from Vermont proved to be too much for Maine to overcome as the Black Bears fell 71-54 to the Catamounts. The loss slips Maine back to 6-21 and 3-11 in America East action while Vermont improves to 10-18, 4-11 in league play. Corinne Wellington (Rochester, N.Y.) netted 14 points and pulled down four rebounds to earn Maine's America East Player of the Game.
Maine received solid production off its bench with 31 points including nine points and nine rebounds from Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.). Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J.) added six points and six boards while Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) chipped in five points and five rebounds.
Ashley Hoyt was named Vermont's America East Player of the Game as she totaled 13 points and nine rebounds. Niki Taylor led Vermont with 16 points.
Neither team could create much separation early as the teams would trade baskets before the Black Bears used a 4-0 run on back to back jumpers by Amber Dillon (Jamacia Plain, Mass.) and Danielle Walczak (Lee, N.H.) to take a 12-11 lead with 7:44 gone in the opening half.
Vermont rebounded, going on an 8-2 run over the next 1:30 started with three points by Hoyt, to grab a four point edge, 18-14, with 10:44 remaining in the half.
The Catamounts extended their lead to six on a jumper by Hoyt before Maine answered with a 4-0 run. Baranowski started things by drawing a foul and hitting both free throws. With the shot clock ticking down on Maine's next possession, Roberts found Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) with a skip pass. Williams was able to knock down the deep two to bring Maine within a pair 24-22.
Once again trailing by four, Maine responded with six unanswered points. Roberts worked her way inside for two before Wellington knocked down a pair of free throws to tie things at 28. Two more free throws, this time by Roberts, gave the Black Bears a 30-28 lead with 3:10 to play in the first half.
Leading by one, a layup by Wellington gave Maine its biggest lead of the contest, 33-30 at the half. Wellington paced the Maine attack with a game-high nine first half points while Baranowski added six points and six rebounds.
Baranowski found Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine) on a nice back door cut for two to extend Maine's lead to 35-30 early in the second half. However, a 5-0 run capped off by a three by Kayla Burchill tied things up at 35-all.
With Maine leading by three, the Catamounts capitalized on six-straight free throws and a layup to regain the lead, 43-38, with five minutes gone in the second half. Vermont extended its lead to six before Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) nailed a three to cut the lead in half. However, the Catamounts matched it as Tierra Shumperty hit a three, jump starting an 8-0 run, building the Vermont lead to 59-48.
Vermont added to its lead with a 12-2 run to take a 71-52 lead with 1:04 to play in the second half. The Black Bears got a late bucket from Roberts on a nice look inside by Baranowski but would run out of time, dropping the America East contest 71-54 to Vermont.
The Black Bears return to action on Wednesday, Feb. 22 with its final regular season road game of the season when they battle New Hampshire at 7 p.m.
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