University of Maine
UMBC
Women's Basketball Defeats UMBC for Sixth-Straight Win
1/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BALTIMORE, Md. -- Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) tallied her fourth double-double of the year as the University of Maine women's basketball team (14-6, 6-1 America East) picked up its sixth-straight win after downing UMBC (6-14, 1-6 AE) by a score of 56-42.
Wood finished the contest with 14 points, 11 rebounds, five steals and three assists, tallying the 13th double-double of her career. Sigi Koizar (Vienna, Austria) also added 14 points while Bella Swan (Farmington, Ut.) matched a career-high with eight points.
Maine, which held its opponent under 50 points for the third-straight game, went 18-for-45 (40.0%) from the field, including hitting 7-of-19 from 3-point range, and knocked down 13 out of 18 free throw attempts (72.2%).
Maine opened the contest 3-for-3 from beyond the arc, beginning the match-up on a 10-2 run to take an early lead out of the gate.
UMBC cut the lead down to three before Maine's offense began to take control. The Black Bears built their lead back up to six before a layup from Wood and 3-pointer from Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) gave Maine a double-digit lead, 22-11, with 6:14 to play in the opening half.
The Retrievers chopped Maine's lead back down under double-figures but the Black Bears answered with another charge. A 5-0 run, capped with a 3-pointer from Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine), gave Maine its largest lead of the half, 27-13.
UMBC put together a 7-0 run as it continued to chip away at the Maine lead. However, the Black Bears closed the half strong when Swan drew a foul on a make and knocked down her free throw to jump start a 5-0 run to end the half. The surge gave Maine a 32-20 lead heading into the break.
Maine continued to lead by 10 but it was UMBC who started hot in the second half. The Retrievers went on a 7-2 run to cut Maine's lead all the way down to five. The run was halted when Koizar hit a deep three, putting the Black Bears back on top by eight at the midway point.
UMBC once again cut the lead down to five but the Retrievers' sprint was met with five straight from Koizar. Maine's run continued when Wood slashed to the hole for a pair, drawing the foul, and hitting a free throw to push Maine's lead back up to 13.
Maine's lead would not sink under double-digits the rest of the way as the Black Bears hung on for their sixth-straight victory, 56-42.
Next up for the Black Bears is a home clash with New Hampshire when the Wildcats visit the Cross Insurance Center on Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.
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