University of Maine
Hartford
Strong Second Half Leads Women's Hoops over Hartford
1/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
W. HARTFORD, CONN. -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (9-6, 1-1 America East) used a 40-22 second half scoring advantage to lead it to its first league victory, 68-57, at Hartford (8-9, 2-1 AE) on Saturday afternoon.
Sophie Weckstrom (Espoo, Finland) poured in a career-high 21 points, going 8-for-13 from the floor and knocking down a trio of 3-pointers, to lead the way for the Black Bears. Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) scored in double-figures for her 12th time this season as she chipped in 17 points while Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) hit the double-figure mark for the fourth straight game with 13 points.
Maine finished the game 26-for-58 (44.8 percent) from the floor, hitting 8-of-26 from 3-point range, and matched a season high with 13 steals. The Black Bears came out on top of the rebound battle as they grabbed 29 boards to Hartford's 25 and benefited from a 23-11 points advantage off turnovers.
The game featured back and forth action throughout the first three and a half minutes until Hartford was able to put together a 8-0 run with 3-pointers from Amber Bepko and Christie Michaels to put the Hawks on top 11-5.
The Black Bears cut the Hartford lead down to four on a 3-pointer from Heise. Hartford answered with a 10-0 run over the next 2:45 before adding a jumper from Morgan Lumb, giving the Hawks a 28-17 advantage with 4:11 to play in the half.
Maine began to chip away at the lead when Mikaela Gustafsson (Sodertalje, Sweden) and Koizar hit back-to-back layups to began an 8-3 sprint for the Black Bears.
Trailing by 10, Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) knocked down a 3-pointer to send Maine into the break trailing 35-28.
Maine came out of the half on a roll as it began the half on a 14-5 run. The Black Bears' offense entered the second have clicking as Weckstrom's 3-pointer tied the game at 40. Wood, the conference's leader in steals, completed the Maine run when she forced a turnover and sprinted down court, cashing in on a fastbreak layup to give the Black Bears a 42-40 advantage 6:39 into the second half.
Maine's relentless defense continued to lead to solid production on the offensive end. Weckstrom hit two of three free throws after a double technical on Hartford. The free throws proved to be the start of an 11-1 Maine run, ending with a baseline leaner from Weckstrom. The bucket gave Weckstrom a new career-high 18 points and inflated Maine's lead to 59-46.
Hartford managed to close within nine late in the second after a 7-2 run. However, the Black Bears would go 4-for-6 down the stretch from the free throw line to secure its first league win of the year, 68-57.
The Black Bears return home for an America East showdown with UMass Lowell Wednesday evening at 7 PM.
