ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (9-10, 2-2 America East) carried a 31-28 lead into the half but were unable to hold on, falling at Stony Brook (8-8, 1-2 AE), 55-41, on Saturday afternoon.

Naira Caceres led the way for Maine with a career-high 11 points to go along with eight rebounds. Tanesha Sutton added nine points while Sigi Koizar returned from injury with eight points and five rebounds in 28 minutes.

The Black Bears finished the game 18-for-54 (33.3%) from the floor, with a 3-for-19 mark from beyond the arc. Stony Brook shot 47.9-percent. Maine struggled in the second half, shooting just 19.2-percent and being outscored 27-10.

Maine got off to a hot start, mustering 17 first quarter points. The teams traded hoops over the opening five minutes before Sutton went on a 5-0 run of her own, ending with a triple to put the Black Bears up by four. Stony Brook regained a two point lead before the Black Bears closed the half on a 5-0 run to take a 17-14 lead into the second quarter.

Koizar, who missed the previous three games due to injury, cashed in a on a bucket early in the second beore a layup from Sutton gave Maine its largest lead of the game, 21-16.

A 10-2 Stony Brook run gave the home team a three point edge with four minutes left in the half. The Black Bears had the answer as a 5-0 sprint put Maine back up by three, a lead it would take into the break.

Maine struggled in the third quarter as it was outscored 16-4 by Stony Brook and trailed 44-25 heading to the fourth.

Stony Brook's lead grew to 12 on a 3-pointer from Christa Scognamiglio with 7:55 to play. Maine continued to fight, putting together a 4-0 run on back-to-back buckets by Koizar, to chip the lead to eight.

However, it would be as close as the Black Bears could get. Stony Brook would take the America East league victory by a final of 55-41.

Maine has a quick turn around as it hosts Hartford on Monday at the Cross Center. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. For tickets, please visit TicketMaster.com or the Cross Insurance Center box office.

-UMaine-