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ORONO – With three senior forwards that started at least 12 games last season, the decision as to whether or not the entire trio would be in the starting lineup seemed like a no-brainer for head coach Anne McInerney.
As it turns out, the decision wasn’t so easy.
“We’re not in a position to start all three of them because then we don’t have any firepower coming of the bench,” said McInerney.
Met with a hug and a smile from her coach as she exited the game with four minutes remaining, Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa made the most of what she was given in the game.
The 6-1 sixth man finished with four points, four rebounds, six assists, three blocked shots and a steal as the Black Bears thumped the Tribe from the College of William & Mary 66-46 Saturday night.
“It’s a credit to her and the team game she wanted to play because she did exactly what our intention was,” said McInerney. “She was a big spark plug and worked the high-low, rebounded and defensively kept the pressure on when [Katie Whittier and Bracey Barker] were in foul trouble.”
The Black Bears used solid man-to-man defense in a scrappy 10-player rotation to hold the Tribe to just four points in the opening 11 minutes of the second half to take a commanding 56-32 lead and never looked back.
“Our defense sparks our offense and when we play really intense defense it gets everyone pumped up and gets us motivated,” Hugstad-Vaa said.
Senior forward Bracey Barker had a game-high 16 points to go along with seven rebounds and four assists, and senior Katie Whittier finished with 13 points.
Reigning Colonial Athletic Association Conference Player of the Year Kyra Kaylor, who has been limited due to an achilles tendon injury, scored only nine points, all in the first half.
“They play as a unit, they move the ball well and make you play defense until you make a mistake,” said William & Mary head coach Debbie Taylor. “We didn’t get good looks tonight, but we didn’t do a whole lot to help ourselves get good looks.”
The Tribe’s Devin James notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Kaylor pulled down eight boards.
A three-pointer apiece from Barker and freshman Abby Greene, along with six-straight points from Whittier opened the second half to give UMaine a 43-30 lead with 13:50 remaining.
“It was definitely a team win tonight,” said Barker. “I think everyone came in and did their role and I know we have a lot of freshmen and they are new but they are getting it quick.”
Freshman Amanda Tewksbury had six points and four assists in her first collegiate action, while classmate Tiffany Colon came off the bench to score eight points.
“We are a work in progress and I was excited to see what we were going to be all about tonight,” McInerney said. “I can’t speak more highly of our seniors, putting this team on their backs tonight and showing the younger players what it takes.”
The Black Bears travel to Minnesota, home of both Hugsted-Vaa and Greene, to face Middle Tennessee State in the first round of the Golden Gopher’s Tip-Off Tournament next weekend.
