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Twelve University of Maine women’s basketball players combined to put 72 points on the board and the Black Bears held off the University of Albany, 72-45, in their second-to-last home game Wednesday night.
The victory was a total team effort, as head coach Sharon Versyp subbed frequently and used 11 players in the first half alone. Juniors Heather Ernest and Melissa Heon led the way with 17 and 13 points, respectively.
The Black Bears extended their winning streak to 16 games and improved their record to 20-4 and 13-0 in America East Conference play. UMaine has three games remaining against Boston University, the University of Vermont and a meeting against the University of Hartford this Saturday.
The Black Bears opened the game with an easy bucket just 15 seconds into play. Despite their usual slow start at home, Heon was able to feed Ernest under the basket for an uncontested layup.
Albany came out in a 2-3 zone, defensively, but the Black Bears were patient in the first half and put 31 points on the board. UMaine shot 33 percent from behind the three-point line, while scoring 14 points in the paint.
Though UMaine is the conference’s best scoring team, Versyp usually credits a tenacious defense for its offensive spark. Once again, this was the case Wednesday night, as the Black Bears held the Great Danes to their lowest scoring half of the year with 12 points on 25 percent shooting.
“If your offense isn’t going, you need to rely on defense. That’s what we have done and we will continue to do,” Versyp said.
Versyp was pleased with her team’s execution in the first half, saying she was excited about the Black Bears’ play for the majority of the game. The third-year head coach also said she was proud of how her team attacked Albany’s defense.
“They came out in a 2-3 zone, and we did do a good job, but once we started running and playing tenacious defense, it all came together,” she said.
Ernest said tackling the zone was a matter of doing what the Black Bears were taught.
“We knew what we needed to do to break down their defense. We just needed that extra pass,” Ernest said.
The junior forward also said she was proud of her team’s patience when it came to finding the open man.
The Black Bears and the Great Danes played even in the first 10 minutes, but several Black Bears contributed to a 9-0 run that had UMaine leading 19-7 with less than nine minutes remaining in the first half.
Junior Julie Veilleux began the run by taking a charge underneath the Albany basket at 10:41. Ernest then added consecutive baskets, followed by an Albany turnover and a Veilleux three-pointer to give the Black Bears their first double digit lead of the game.
UMaine would also add a Kim Corbitt basket at the buzzer to make the UMaine lead 31-12 going into the locker room.
The Great Danes nearly tripled their points total in the second half, but it was too late for the University of Albany, as UMaine had built a 30-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining to play.
Senior captain Ellen Geraghty hit one of her two threes of the game, and Ernest followed with a conventional three-point play to give the Black Bears a 61-31 lead at 9:04.
The Black Bears did not take the Great Danes lightly, and despite a large lead for most of the game, Versyp wasn’t pleased with her team’s defense in the second half.
Heon believes the team must play hard for the remainder of the season.
“They had nothing to lose. Everyone wants to knock us off, it’s a fact. We have to play hard,” she said.
The Black Bears will travel to Hartford on Saturday for a second meeting with Hartford. Though the Black Bears were able to knock off the Hawks, 74-64, in overtime at Alfond Arena, Feb. 1, Heon knows there will be a challenge ahead of her team.
“Playing on the road is going to be a big deal,” Heon said. “We’ve got to play hard all the time.”
