ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team battled back from a 12-point first quarter deficit to earn the right to play in its fourth-straight America East Championship game after a thrilling, 66-51 victory over UAlbany in Sunday's America East semifinal contest held at The Pit in historic Memorial Gymnasium.

The Black Bears, who have now won 13 in a row, will host No. 2 Hartford in a rematch of last year's championship game on Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m. with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line. Tickets are available now by phone at 207.581.BEAR, in-person by visiting the Alfond Arena box office or online at GoBlackBears.com/tickets.

Maine, which will appear in the league championship game for the 18th time, outscored UAlbany 32-19 in the second half to earn a come from behind victory over the Great Danes. The Black Bears hit 23-straight free throws in the win, finishing the day an impressive 24-of-26 from the charity stripe. Tanesha Sutton poured in 21 points to finish in double-figures for the seventh consecutive game after hitting 9-of-10 free throws, pulling down seven rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Dor Saar went 10-of-11 from the charity stripe, totaling 16 points and five assists while Blanca Millan chipped in 16 points, seven boards and three steals.

The Black Bears, who went a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line in the second quarter, won the rebounding battle, 41-35 including a 14-7 advantage on the offense boards.

Maine fell behind early, shooting just 4-of-16 in the first quarter and 2-of-11 over the first nine minutes. The Great Danes used Maine's slow start to build a 17-5 advantage late in the first before carrying a 10-point edge into the second period.

The Black Bears, trailing by 11 early in the second, began to chip away when Saar found Parise Rossignol for three. Rossignol was fouled on the make as her four-point play ignited an 11-1 swing in Maine's favor. Saar continued to work the offense, finding Maeve Carroll for two to trim the deficit to four. Saar was fouled on a 3-point attempt and went to the line where she knocked down all three of her attempts to bring Maine to within one.

UAlbany was able to push its lead back to three but Maine continued to cash in from the charity stripe. Two free throws from Rossignol cut the advantage back to one before Saar electrified the Memorial Gym crowd with a triple to give Maine its first lead of the afternoon.

The Black Bears closed the half on an 8-4 run to take a 34-32 lead into the break.

Millan's triple in the third gave Maine a 40-36 lead. A bucket from Kyara Frames with 3:09 left in the third would be UAlbany's final bucket of the period. Maine closed out the third on a 6-0 run as Fanny Wadling's late layup sent the game into the final quarter with the Black Bears holding a 46-38 edge.

Sutton began the fourth with a make while drawing the foul. Her free throw extended the lead to 11 before UAlbany was finally able to hit a bucket to end its 3:22 scoreless drought.

The Great Danes would trim the lead to seven with 2:59 to play but were unable to close the gap further.

Rossignol dialed up another triple, extending the lead to 10 while jump starting a 9-0 Maine run. Six free throws later, the Black Bears would find themselves with their largest lead of the contest, 64-48, with 48-seconds to play.

Maine closed out the contest with two more free throws to help send it back to the America East Championship with a 66-51 victory over the visiting Great Danes.

-UMaine-