ORONO, Maine -- The No. 1 seeded University of Maine women's basketball team (24-9) defeated No. 3 Vermont (22-11) by a final of 64-48 to earn its league-record 10th America East title in front of 1,507 fans on Friday evening.

The win earns Maine its 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2019. The Black Bears will learn the next step in their postseason process during Sunday evening's NCAA Selection Show, broadcast live on ESPN beginning at 8 p.m.

Maine, which improved its record to 10-12 in conference championship games, never trailed in the victory. The Black Bears, who led by as many as 22, outrebounded Vermont 37-27 while shooting 27-of-60 (45.0) from the floor. Maine hit 7-of-13 in the third quarter, outscoring Vermont 17-8 in the period, to pull away in the second half.

Anne Simon was named the Most Outstanding Player of the America East Tournament as she finished the game with 15 points, seven rebounds, and four assists to lead four Black Bears in double-digit scoring efforts. Adrianna Smith, who earned a spot along Simon on the America East All-Tournament team, added 16 points and eight rebounds while Sarah Talon chipped in 12 points and five boards. Olivia Rockwood rounded out the double-figure scoring efforts with 10 points and six boards.

Maine, which turned the ball over just seven times for its third-consecutive single digit turnover performance, forced 13 Vermont giveaways and outscored the Catamounts 16-2 in points off turnovers.

Rockwood opened the game with a triple just 16-seconds into the first quarter and Maine would never relinquish the lead from that point forward.

Rockwood's second triple of the quarter jump started a 5-0 run as Smith's layup gave Maine a nine point edge.

Vermont responded with a 6-0 run, cutting the lead down to three with 6:57 left in the first half.

Maine, leading by four, was able to answer the Catamount spurt with a 10-2 run late in the second quarter. Paula Gallego's triple off a turnover began the run. Seven straight points from Talon followed as her triple late in the quarter gave Maine its largest lead of the half, 34-22.

The Black Bears would enter the break leading Vermont, 34-25.

Maine forced six Vermont turnovers in the third quarter to help it pull away after 30 minutes of action.

Leading by nine early in the third, the Black Bears built a 16 point advantage following a 9-2 run. Three points from Gallego opened the scoring streak followed by a fastbreak layup off from Simon off her own steal. After a Vermont bucket, Rockwood knocked down back-to-back buckets to grow the lead to 16 with 4:51 remaining.

Gallego's triple helped Maine end the quarter with a 4-0 run as the Black Bears lead would stand at 18, 51-33, entering the final quarter.

The 4-0 run carried into the fourth quarter, growing to an 8-0 streak following a pair of baskets from Smith. Her layup with 7:50 remaining in regulation gave Maine its largest lead of the night, 55-33.

The lead would not shrink below 12 the rest of the way as the Black Bears held on to earn their 10th league title, 64-48.



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