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The University of Maine women’s basketball team won its third straight game Sunday against Stony Brook in front of one of their largest home crowds all season. The Lady Black Bears third consecutive conference win was an 88-60 blowout against the America East Conference’s last- placed team.
The Black Bears got off to a good start with a 10-0 run in the game’s first five minutes. They led 24-8 with 10:22 to go in the first half. Stony Brook picked up their offense a bit, but could not stop the Black Bears offense. UMaine knows how important it is to get off to a good start.
“That’s key for us,” said senior Missy Traversi. “Starting strong and starting fast, and just running up and down the court. We had so much energy today and that was huge. Our legs were fresh. We’ve been doing well in practice this past week. We’re just getting better and better every day and that’s just where we want to be right now.”
UMaine poured it on in the second half. They increased their 16-point half-time lead to 28 before it was all said and done.
Traversi led the Black Bears with 21 points. She also added seven assists and four steals. UMaine also got production from a few players who have been quiet as of late. Abby Schrader had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Schrader is well aware of what carried her team to success against the Seawolves.
“We all ran the floor really well,” said center Abby Schrader, “and that’s our game, that’s the Maine game. We did a great job.”
Katie Whittier added 12 points off the bench for UMaine in 23 minutes and also grabbed six rebounds. UMaine coach Sharon Versyp was pleased with Whittier’s play.
“You could see she had a twinkle in her eye today,” said Versyp. “I could just sense it before she went in. She can score. She looked for her shot tonight. She rebounded well for us. I was really pleased with her contribution.”
Monica Peterson and Bracey Barker each chipped in with nine points. Peterson also had nine rebounds.
With the win, UMaine moved into a tie for first place with Hartford. The Black Bears and the Hawks are both 6-2 in conference play. UMaine’s overall record is 10-8, while the Hawks are 12-5.
Stony Brook head coach Maura McHugh, who is in her first season with the team, had only good things to say about UMaine.
“In my opinion, they’re the best team in the conference,” said McHugh. “I think they’re the most balanced. They have good shooters, they hustle, they execute well. I think that right now they’re probably the team to beat in the conference.”
McHugh coached former UMaine star Cindy Blodgett in the WNBA, when she played for the Sacramento Monarchs. Her Seawolve team fell to 2-6 in conference play and 4-13 overall. They are tied for last in the conference with Northeastern and UMBC.
Many of the fans were at the game to see the retiring of jersey number 24, which was worn by Jamie Cassidy who played for UMaine from 1996 to 2000.
“It’s very overwhelming and it’s a great honor to be here in front of all these great fans and my former teammates and family and friends,” said Cassidy, who helped the Black Bears to four straight NCAA tournament appearances. “It’s just very exciting.”
Along with Cassidy, a number of other Black Bear greats took the court at halftime of Sunday’s game. Cindy Blodgett, Martina Tinklova, and a number of others were all on hand.
“She was a lot of fun to play with because she was a star player, and we had fun on the court,” said Martina Tinklova, who graduated in 2000.
Tinklova was a 6-4 center who played three years with Cassidy. Chantal Macream also played three years with Cassidy. She was a 5-6 guard.
“It was awesome to play with her,” said Macream, who graduated in 2001. “She is the best post player I’ve ever played with.”
UMaine continues their conference play Tuesday night when they head to Boston to face Boston University. The Terriers are 4-4 in conference play and 9-8 overall. The Black Bears and the Terriers met in the conference championship game in each of the last two seasons. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m.
