University of Maine
Brown
Wood Tallies 25 Points to Lift Maine over Brown, 58-53
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BANGOR, Maine -- Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) poured in a career-high 25 points as the University of Maine women's basketball team (2-3) defeated Brown (1-5) by a score of 58-53 at Cross Insurance Center on Saturday afternoon.
Wood went 5-for-7 from 3-point range while pulling down five rebounds and adding two assists and two steals. Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) added 12 points and five boards in the victory as the Black Bears shot 38.9-percent (21-for-54) from the floor.
The Black Bear offense got off to a quick start, powered by an early 5-0 run from Wood to take an five-point lead just under four minutes into the contest.
Maine stretched its lead out to seven when Sheraton Jones (Anaheim Hills, Calif.) kicked a pass out to Wood who knocked down her second 3-pointer of the half, building Maine's lead out to 18-11 with 7:51 to play in the half.
With Maine leading by six and under five-minutes to play in the first half, Brown was able to piece together a 6-0 run to knot the game at 22-22. A late layup from Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) gave Maine a two-point edge heading into the break.
Wood was solid in the opening 20-minutes of play, going 3-for-3 from beyond the arc to help her lead all scorers with 11 first half points.
Maine's offense sputtered a bit early in the second half and Brown was able to capitalize. The Bears forced a tie at the 12:41 mark which started a 7-0 run, giving Brown a 41-36 lead with 11:04 to play.
The Black Bears came alive following the Brown run as they matched the sprint with an 8-3 run of their own. Mikaela Gustafsson's (Sodertalje, Sweden) brought Maine within three before Brown's Janie White hit a three to extend Brown's lead out to six; its largest of the game. But Maine refused to relinquish the momentum as back-to-back transition 3-pointers from Lauren Bodine (Louisville, Ky.) tied the game at 44-all.
Heise kept the offense going as her back-to-back makes finished off a Maine 10-0 run and regained the lead for the Black Bears at 48-44 with 6:17 to play.
Brown cut the lead down to a pair but Maine answered with a jumper from Wood and four-staight points by Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) to take its largest lead at 52-46 with three minutes left in regulation.
The Bears were able to chip Maine's lead back down to three before Wood hit a leaner from the free throw line with the shot clock down to three to snap the momentum. The make gave Wood 25 points on the day, a new career-high for the junior.
Maine kept Brown in check the rest of the way, securing a 58-53 victory.
The Black Bears meet ACC foe Boston College tomorrow at 1 p.m. to cap off the Thanksgiving Round Robin tournament.
-U-M-
