University of Maine
New Brunswick
Defensive Effort Leads Women's Basketball Past New Brunswick
11/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BANGOR, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team forced 31 turnovers and limited New Brunswick to just 16 second half points as it defeated the visiting Varsity Reds 80-34 on Monday evening at the Cross Insurance Center.
Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) led all scorers with 15 points on 7-for-14 shooting to go along with four rebounds and five steals. Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) provided a punch off the bench as she chipped in 12 points and three assists while Sheraton Jones (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) added 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
The Black Bears held New Brunswick to 18 points in the opening half and matched the Varsity Reds first half scoring effort while forcing 18 turnovers.
Maine came out with a ferocious defensive attack, opening up with full court pressure and holding New Brunswick without a point throughout the first 4:25. The Black Bears used a 21-6 run to open up a 15 points lead over the opening 10 minutes.
New Brunswick cut the Maine lead down to 11 before the Black Bears broke out an 11-2 streak, keyed by six points from Wood, to take a 34-14 advantage with just under five minutes to play.
Maine continued to build on its first half lead in the closing minutes with a 3-pointer from Sophie Weckstrom (Espoo, Finland) before Lauren Bodine (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down a trey off a set play to give Maine a 42-18 lead at the break.
Maine continued to climb its lead early in the second half. A trio of freshmen in Parise Rossignol (Van Buren, Maine), Christiana Gerostergiou (Thessaloniki, Greece) and Kirsten Johnson (San Diego, Calif.) knocked down back-to-back jumpers to end a 20-6 run, building Maine's lead to 62-24 with nine minutes left in the second half.
The Black Bears' lead swelled to 40 after Bella Swan (Farmington, Ut.) found Johnson underneath for a quick bucket.
Maine's offense did not miss a beat down the stretch as Jones worked in the paint, drawing a pair of fouls and hitting four free throws to give Maine its largest lead of the night at 46. The Black Bears kept their lead for the final minute as they took the victory 80-34.
Maine begins regular season play on Friday, Nov. 14 when it travels to take on Bryant at 7 p.m.
-U-M-
