Sports

Black Bears can’t stop skid at Agganis

By Meghann Burnett

Posted on Jan. 30, 2006, at 12:00 a.m.

matt montgomery

HOMESICK- The Lady Black Bears struggled Sunday, dropping their eighth straight road game.

The University of Maine women’s basketball team just keeps rolling – in the wrong direction.

The Black Bears never led in the contest as the Boston University Terriers rolled over UMaine, handing them their eighth-straight road loss yesterday afternoon, 81-62. For BU, it was their third-straight win and extended their perfect home record to 6-0.

The struggles for the Black Bears continued to mount when junior forward Katie Whittier was diagnosed with a stress fracture in her left foot Wednesday. Whittier, who leads America East in field goal percentage, was only able to play 14 minutes before taking herself out less than three minutes into the second half.

Freshman forward Brittany Bowen, who has averaged 9.5 points off the bench in the last two games for the Bears, started her first collegiate game in place of Whittier but only played eight minutes and didn’t score.

With the Black Bears’ bench scoring only seven points, junior forward Bracey Barker put the team on her shoulders, matching her career-high with 26 points, including 10-for-10 from the free-throw line, to go along with eight rebounds.

The Terriers jumped out to an 11-2 lead less than three minutes into the first half. The Bears rallied to pull within six after a bucket by Barker and a 3-pointer from junior Ashley Underwood, but BU followed with a 9-0 run and never led by less than 15 points the rest of the way. The Terriers led by as many as 25 in the first half before taking a 41-23 lead at halftime.

Underwood, who is still battling a high-ankle sprain suffered against UMBC nine days ago, finished with 11 points, and senior center Abby Schrader tallied 11 of her own, all in the second half.

The Black Bears aided in their own demise, turning the ball over 13 times in the first half alone, leading to 16 Terrier points. UMaine finished with 23 turnovers, three over their season average, with seven coming from Schrader and an uncharacteristic six from Underwood.

BU senior guard Rachael Vanderwal, who was playing in her 100th career game, led four Terriers in double figures with 17 points, including nine rebounds and three assists.

The closest UMaine got in the second half was 15 points at 61-46.

UMaine returns to action on Wednesday night when it plays host to Hartford at 7:30 p.m., at Alfond Arena.

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