Orono, Maine -- Blanca Millan registered her fourth double-double of the season to help lead the Black Bears to a 77-60 victory over the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Maine's home opener at The Pit inside Memorial Gymnasium.

Millan, who moved into 21st on the America East all-time scoring list, finished with 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds, five assists, and six steals. Millan was joined in the 20 point club by Anne Simon who tallied a season-high 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the floor.

Maine, who has now won seven in a row on its home court, featured an aggressive defense in the win, turning 18 NJIT turnovers into 28 points, while posting double-digit steals (10) for the second time this season. The Black Bears, who entered the contest ranked 38th in the country in team turnovers, gave it way just nine times in the meeting.

The Black Bears were especially impressive in the second quarter where they outscored NJIT 21-10 in the period while shooting 56.3 percent (9-of-16) over the 10 minute span.

Maine closed the first quarter on a 4-0 run after Millan banked in a three at the buzzer, while drawing the foul. The make set the tone for the second quarter as the Black Bears built an 18 point lead later in the period.

With a nine point cushion in the second, back-to-back triples by Simon and Saar began a 12-3 run. Simon's fast break bucket, off a feed from Millan, lifted Maine to a 39-21 advantage at the half.

The Highlanders would not go quiet as they were able to close the gap to just five in the third. NJIT opened the quarter with a 15-2 run as Ellyn Stoll's jumper with 5:38 to play in the period trimmed the lead to 41-36.

Maine was able to rebound in a big way, staging an extended 34-10 run to put the game away. The run began with a 9-0 run, sandwiched between a pair of old fashion three-point plays by Simon and Millan and a straight-away triple from Fanny Wadling, extending the lead back out to 14.

After NJIT chipped the lead back down to 10, Maine answered with a 21-2 sprint. The Black Bears, who held NJIT to just a pair of points over a span of 6:47, used the run to propel them to the largest deficit of the game, 75-46, with 4:08 to play.

The Black Bears cruised down the stretch, holding on for a 77-60 victory in the home opener.

The two teams closed the series on Sunday, Jan. 10 at 1 p.m.

-UMaine-