Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
The University of Maine women’s basketball team trailed for more than three-quarters of Sunday’s game against Boston University, but that didn’t seem to bother the Black Bears.
Sophomore Julie Veilleux hit a jumper to give UMaine a 65-63 lead with 11 seconds remaining and first-year guard Kim Corbitt hit two free throws with two seconds left to seal the 67-64 win in front of 2,108 fans at Alfond Arena.
“I was just looking to be more aggressive in the second half,” Veilleux said of her game-winning shot. “We kept getting close in the second half, but we needed to get over that hump. My shot felt good today and I had an open look and knocked it down.”
The win, UMaine’s 16th of the season against 10 losses, moved the team into a three-way tie for second place in the America East Conference standings. UMaine, BU and Binghamton all have conference records of 9-6 and trail league-leading University of Vermont.
“This win helps our momentum going to the tournament, and BU is a great team,” Black Bear head coach Sharon Versyp said. “All our kids are contributing right now, and that’s what you need heading into the tournament.”
UMaine picked up its fifth win in six games and has beaten every America East team this season except Vermont. Sophomore Heather Ernest led the Black Bears with 14 points, including six of eight from the free-throw line.
“We never give up, no matter what the situation is,” Ernest said. “We knew if we could pull even with them we would win.”
It took UMaine until the 2:54 mark of the second half before it could pull even with the Terriers. Corbitt fed Monica Peterson for a jump shot on the baseline to pull the Black Bears within two and Corbitt hit a pair of free throws to make it 61-61.
UMaine got a defensive stop but couldn’t get a good look and took a 30-second timeout. On the out-of-bounds play, Corbitt threw the ball in off a BU player’s back and fed Veilleux, who knocked down a jumper on the baseline as the shot clock was winding down.
“It’s just something I notice depending on how they defend the inbounds play,” Corbitt said. When asked if she took pointers from one of the men’s players, Corbitt replied with a smile, “No, I think he took pointers from me.”
America East-leading scorer Katie Terhune hit one of two free throws to pull the Terriers within one and teammate Adrienne Norris hit one of two as well to tie the game at 63 with 34 seconds to go.
Veilleux hit her jumper to put UMaine up by two, but Boston University still had a chance. Norris was fouled by Ernest going to hoop with only four seconds to go, but she could make only one of two again and Corbitt corralled the rebound and was fouled by Norris. Corbitt calmly sank both free throws to seal the UMaine victory.
“Kim settles us down when she’s out there,” Versyp said. “Her tempo is different, she likes to run but she’s very calm. She has also been our clutch free throw shooter.”
Corbitt finished with eight points and five big assists for UMaine. Sophomore Melissa Heon added 13 points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. Veilleux scored all of her nine points in the second half and Peterson chipped in with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
“We picked up the intensity defensively in the second half,” Corbitt said. “We tend to do that when we’re behind. We do a good job when we can get defensive rebounds and run.”
Terhune led the Terriers with a game-high 26 points, but she was silent for a good part of the second half when UMaine was making its run. Larissa Parr notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds and Annie Tomasini came off the bench to score nine for Boston University.
“Terhune is a great player, she’s going to knock down the big shots for them,” Versyp said. “We tried to switch on screens in the second half and jam her up a little bit.”
UMaine has just one regular season game remaining, next Saturday when it hosts Hartford University. The conference tournament seedings won’t be set until next weekend, but if the Black Bears can win against Hartford, they would lock up the second spot behind Vermont.
“I think we’re playing good basketball right now,” Ernest said. “But I know we can play better.”
Bangor Daily News