Baltimore, Md. -- The University of Maine women's basketball team led by as many as 12 in the first half but could not hold, falling by a final of 67-59 at UMBC on Thursday evening.

The loss snapped Maine's six game win streak as the Black Bears fell to 18-9, 11-2 America East while UMBC improved to 9-17 and 5-9 in league play.

Anne Simon and Adrianna Smith led the way as each tallied double-doubles in the loss. Simon led all scorers with 22 points and 10 rebounds while Smith added 16 points and five boards.

Maine finished the contest 21-of-60 (35.0) from the floor including a 6-of-24 showing from three point range while UMBC shot 26-for-51 (51.0) on the evening.

The teams traded the lead four times in the opening quarter as the Retrievers put together an early 7-0 run to take a six point edge with 4:10 left in the first.

Maine, which cut the lead to three after one, fought back to tie the game at 18 on a triple from Simon early in the second quarter. The three jump started Maine's impressive second period run as the Black Bears shot 9-of-16 (56.3) in the period while outscoring UMBC 23-10 over the stretch.

A 16-4 Maine run propelled the Black Bears to their largest lead of the game, 34-22. Simon posted 10 points during the stretch as she finished with 15 in the second quarter alone as Maine led by 12 with 1:06 left in the half.

Maine's lead would stand at double-digits, 34-24, entering the half.

UMBC opened the second half with a 16-2 run to take a four point lead, 40-36, with 3:53 left in the third.

A pair of Simon free throws late in the period trimmed the deficit to a pair entering the fourth.

With the UMBC lead still at two early in the fourth, the Retrievers staged a 7-0 run to claim their largest lead of the night, 61-52.

Maine was unable to shrink the lead under five down the stretch, falling in the end by a final of 67-59.

The Black Bears return to action on Saturday when they travel to meet NJIT at 2 p.m.

-UMaine-