Orono, Maine -- Caroline Bornemann led three Black Bears in double-digits as Maine earned a season sweep of New Hampshire with a 80-67 victory over the Wildcats on Wednesday evening. With the win, Maine locked up the right to host an America East quarterfinal contest at Memorial Gymnasium on Wednesday, March 1.

Bornemann hit the first four triples she took as she finished with a game-high 22 points to lead Maine's scoring efforts while snatching seven rebounds and dishing out a pair of assists. Anne Simon, who returned to action after missing the last eight games due to an injury, poured in 19 points to go along with five steals, four assists, and three boards. Adrianna Smith stretched her double-digit scoring streak to 18 in a row with 19 points with seven boards and four assists.

Maine, which shot 10-of-15 in the first quarter, finished the evening 27-of-56 (48.2) from the floor with eight triples and a season-high 18 free throws. The Black Bears forced 16 turnovers with a season-high 10 steals, leading to a 21-8 edge in points off turnovers and a 17-0 margin in fast break points.

Both teams got out to a hot start, each shooting above 50-percent over the game's opening 10 minutes. Bornemann, who went 3-for-3 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, hit a triple with 17-seconds left in the first quarter to give Maine a 26-21 edge after one. 

Maine would never look back.

Bornemann's triple to end the first jump started a 15-0 Maine run as the Black Bears reeled off 12 unanswered points to start the second quarter.

Buckets from Sera Hodgson and Simon, each come off turnovers, started the second quarter sprint before Sarah Talon's triple off a feed from Simon extended the lead out to 12. Talon followed the triple with a driving bucket. A free throw from Abbe Laurence concluded the run to give Maine its largest lead of the half, 36-21.

Still leading by 15 with under three minutes remaining in the second quarter, the Wildcats were able to piece together a 6-0 run to trim the lead back to single-digits, 45-36.

Simon tacked on a pair of free throws to send Maine into the break with a 47-36 lead.

Maine's lead would remain at 10 midway through the third before the Black Bears charged forward with a 7-0 run. Talon got things started with a beautiful backdoor cut on a smooth feed from Smith before Simon's steal resulted in a bucket for the senior on the other end. The Black Bears, once again working off a steal, pushed the lead to 17 when Simon found Jaycie Christopher for a triple.

The lead would shrink to 15 before Olivia Rockwood's triple to end the third gave Maine its largest advantage of the evening, 67-49.

A 10-2 run by the Wildcats to start the fourth cut the lead back down to 10. However, it would be as close as the visitors would get as Maine responded with a 7-0 run before capping the game with an 80-67 decision.

The Black Bears conclude the regular season on Saturday when they host Binghamton at 1 p.m. on Senior Day.

-UMaine-