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.
In their first action under new head coach Richard Barron, the University of Maine women’s basketball team came on late in the second half to take care of the University of New Brunswick 78-62 in an exhibition game Sunday afternoon in the Alfond Arena.
Sophomore guard Ashleigh Roberts led the Black Bears in scoring in the exhibition with 13 points, while junior forward Shareka Maner tallied a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
“[We] learned some things we need to get a little better at, like getting up and down a little quicker, transition,” Maner said.
“We got to see another team,” Barron said, “see where things aren’t quite as scripted.”
The Black Bears had trouble slowing down Varsity Reds sophomore guard Claire Colborne. Going a perfect 4-4 from beyond the arc, Colborne finished with 22 points.
“There are a lot of causes for concerns, but we know that,” Barron said. “That kid’s a good shooter and we’re going to have to learn to adjust. Obviously we don’t have anyone who can shoot like that, so we don’t see that on a daily basis.”
The Black Bears shot a lowly 1-8 from 3-point range compared to 7-15 for New Brunswick. But Barron stressed the importance of obtaining more shots and more chances — which the Black Bears did — taking nine more shots and 14 more free throws than their opposition.
“We talked about how that team’s a better shooting team than we are, so we need to beat them with quantity, not quality,” he said. “We needed to get more shots than they get. I think we did that, especially in the second half.”
Absent from the game was junior guard Amber Smith, the Black Bears’ third-leading scorer last year. When asked about her absence, Barron didn’t offer anything up.
“I’m just going to say she didn’t play,” he said.
The Black Bears got on the board immediately, winning the tip and connecting on their first basket of the game, a lay-in by senior guard Brittany Williams.
The Black Bears hit the boards early on as well, picking up seven offensive rebounds in the first half — the first one good for a put-back by Roberts.
Junior forward Corinne Wellington and freshman guard Rebecca Knight were the first two off the bench for UMaine, which was followed by the 3-pointer for Colborne.
The frantic pace kept the game close, as transition opportunities were in abundance for each team. Midway through the first half, UMaine freshman guard Amber Dillon made a spectacular save underneath the Varsity Reds’ basket for Roberts to lay in.
A nice post move by freshman forward Danielle Walczak gave the Black Bears the lead at 18-17.
The Black Bears opened up a larger lead late in the half, but a three by New Brunswick sophomore guard Tamara Tompkins kept the game close at halftime, 31-26 in favor of UMaine.
Colborne opened the second half up with a three for the Varsity Reds, but Roberts followed that up with a 3-point play of her own.
The Black Bears started the second half sloppy before settling in midway through, moving a five-point lead to double digits in a couple of plays. A layup by Williams extended the Black Bears’ lead to 13 and they never looked back, winning by 16 with a final score of 78-62.
“I thought we did a better job of working toward the rim in transition and starting with an inside presence,” Barron said. “Shareka likes to drift out to the perimeter and we weren’t really trying to establish our inside game. That put a lot of pressure on our perimeter players. When we forced them to collapse, that opened things up for our perimeter players.
“If there’s been a surprise coming in this year, I’d say it’s been the way Shareka’s performed this year, based on what I was led to believe, which is great,” he added. “We expect that to continue. We’ve got to get her to attack the basket better. She’s got to learn how to play low and rip it through and not just settle for the jump shot.”
There was an emphasis on how the Black Bears would perform under their new coach, and Roberts mentioned how the new look has opened up chances for everybody.
“Last year, everybody knew what there was [in the team] and the freshmen had to figure out where they fit,” she said. “This year, with a new coaching staff, everybody’s role is redefined. It’s a real opportunity for everybody.
“Everything’s different. I feel like I’m a freshman again,” Roberts added. “I feel like it’s more competitive this year than last year.”
