LOWELL, Mass. -- The University of Maine women's basketball team outscored UMass Lowell 30-12 in the second half to help it cruise to its 10th-straight victory, downing the River Hawks 60-41 on Wednesday evening.

The win, which moved Maine to 12-0 all-time against UMass Lowell, improved the Black Bears to 21-7 overall and 14-1 in the America East. The Black Bears have put themselves in prime position to clinch the America East Regular Season title, and home court throughout the America East Playoffs, with a win Saturday at Binghamton.

Tanesha Sutton tallied her second consecutive double-double, leading the way with 19 points and 10 rebounds after going 8-of-11 from the floor. Dor Saar aided the attack with 12 points and three assists while Blanca Millan contributed eight points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

Maine's offense was once again highly efficient as the Black Bears assisted on 18 of their 23 field goals. Maine finished the contest with 10 triples, marking its 11th double-digit 3-point performance of the season.

The Black Bears also cleaned up the offensive glass, grabbing 16 offensive rebounds while controlling the overall rebound battle by a 38-24 margin.

The first half featured 10 lead changes and three ties as neither team was able to gain separation over the opening 20-minutes.

After the River Hawks jumped out to a four point lead, Maine fought back when a 3-point field goal from Saar put the Black Bears on top by a pair with four minutes gone.

The teams would trade the lead three more times in the first period. UMass Lowell ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to take an 18-13 lead into the second.

The Black Bears staged a 10-4 run over the first five minutes of the period to regain the lead. The sprint started with Fanny Wadling cashed in on the hoop and the harm for a 3-point play. Saar's fast break, pull-up triple cut the lead to one before Millan found Sutton for two to give Maine the 23-22 advantage.

The River Hawks knotted the score at 26-26 before a 4-0 run from Sutton helped send the Black Bears into the break with a 30-28 lead.

The Black Bears would not trail again.

Maine stormed out of the half, putting together a 15-1 run to open the quarter. Back-to-back treys from Parise Rossignol and Saar extended the lead to 16. The River Hawks snuck in a bucket, their first field goal over a 9:36 span, but Kelly Fogarty had the answer, knocking down a triple to give Maine a 17-point lead late in the third.

The deficit would not sink under 16 points the rest of the way.

Leading 51-35 with 6:34 remaining, the Black Bears reeled off 5-0 run to give them their largest advantage of the night. Two free throws from Sutton and a triple by Millan put the Black Bears on top by 21 with just over four minutes remaining to put the game out of reach.

The Black Bears moved to 12-0 all-time against UMass Lowell with a 60-41 final.

Maine wraps up the regular season on Saturday when it travels to meet Binghamton at noon.

-UMaine-