ORONO, Maine -- No. 2 Maine earned a trip to its fifth consecutive America East Championship game after defeating No. 3 UMass Lowell, 67-54, in the America East semifinals in front of a sold out crowd of 1,336 at 'The Pit' on Sunday afternoon.

With the victory, Maine advances to the America East Championship where it will meet No. 1 Stony Brook on Friday, March 13 at 5 p.m. live on ESPNU at Island Federal Arena.

Anne Simon led all scorers with 21 points to go along with eight rebounds and four assists while Maeve Carroll cashed in with her third-straight double-double, finishing with 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Maddy McVicar and Kelly Fogarty rounded out four Black Bears in double-figures, each finishing with 11 points.

Despite being outrebounded 57-31, including giving up 26 offensive boards to the River Hawks, Maine continued its theme of resiliency, battling through early foul trouble to eventually capture the victory. The Black Bears, who forced 20 UMass Lowell turnovers, limited its own mishaps to single-digits (8) for the second consecutive game. Defensively, Maine held the River Hawks to just 18-of-64 (28.1) from the floor and a 7-for-26 (26.9) mark from 3-point range.

After falling behind by five early in the first quarter, Maine rebounded to outscore UMass Lowell 22-10 in the second period. A 21-10 swing propelled the Black Bears to an eight point lead at the break. With Maine trailing by two late in quarter, the Black Bears ended the second on a 10-0 run. Triples from Fogarty and McVicar put the Black Bears on top by six before McVicar's short jumper at the buzzer sent Maine into the break holding a 35-27 edge.

Maine continued to roll into the third, beginning the quarter with a quick 4-0 run to extend its lead out to 12.

However, UMass Lowell would roar back. The River Hawks were able to piece together a 12-2 run to cut the lead to just two with 4:16 remaining in the third quarter.

But it would be as close as the River Hawks would get.

Simon ended the UMass Lowell run with a triple as Maine would enter the final quarter with a 46-41 advantage.

It was Simon again with a big shot to start the fourth. A triple from the America East Rookie of the Year began a 10-2 Maine run as the Black Bears opened up a 13-point edge with 7:13 remaining.

The River Hawks cut the lead to single digits, 56-48, one more time but it would be as close as they would get. Maine responded to the brief UMass Lowell run with a 7-1 stretch of its own. The run gave Maine its largest lead of the game, 63-49, with just over two minutes to play.

The Black Bears sealed the deal down the stretch, advancing to their fifth-straight America East title game with a 67-54 victory over UMass Lowell.

-UMaine-