Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team carried a 30-28 lead on Tulane into the fourth quarter but was unable to hold on. The Black Bears were outscored 14-4 in the fourth quarter and ultimately defeated by the Green Wave by a 42-34 final in the opening round of the Tip-Off Tournament.

The Black Bears will take on Harvard, who fell to Dayton, 72-66, on Saturday at 4 p.m.

"Defensively I'm really happy with our kids," commented head coach Amy Vachon. "This team is a young team, they are still trying to figure out their roles and embrace them. I have no doubt they will. They'll figure it out and when they do, it will be fun to watch."

Tanesha Sutton led the way for UMaine, recording her second career double-double after a 13 points, 10 rebounds performance.

"Tanesha's a rock," said Vachon. "She does a lot for us. She definitely is our hardest worker out here."

Both teams finished the action under 30.0% from the floor. The Black Bears went 14-for-53 (26.4%) while Tulane hit just 14 of its 49 attempts (28.6%).

It was a cold first half for both teams, who combined to go 13-for-52 from the floor in the opening 20-minutes.
 
Maine started off hot, hitting its first two field goals before taking a 6-0 lead on free throws by Sutton and Millan.
 
Kolby Morgan's 3-pointer midway through the first quarter cut the lead to one, coming at the end of a 7-2 run by the Green Wave.
 
Jumpers by Julie Brosseau and Millan answered the Tulane sprint, extending Maine's lead out to 12-7 with 2:49 left in the first.
 
Tulane rattled off an 8-2 run, taking its first lead of the game 2:22 into the second quarter on a triple from Kayla Manuirirangi.
 
The teams traded the lead over the final seven minutes of the half before Meredith Schulte's late jumper sent Tulane into the break with a 19-16 advantage.

Tulane looked to pull away late in the third quarter when Kolby Morgan's jumped put the visitors up by four with just over a minute in the period.

However, Maine rallied to close out the quarter strong. Kelly Fogarty's first career bucket, a triple, cut the lead to one before Millan's steal led to a 3-pointer by Parise Rossignol. The make put Maine on top, 30-28, heading to the final period.

However, the Black Bears hit just 2-of-14 attempts in the fourth quarter and were outscored 14-4 over the final 10 minutes as Tulane pulled away for a 42-34 victory.

Maine is back in action on Saturday as they close out the Tip-Off Tournament by hosting Harvard at 4 p.m. Dayton and Tulane will meet at 2 p.m. to crown the tournament champion.

-UMaine-