Sports

UMaine women’s basketball drops home opener to Bryant, 65-53

By Emily Hodgdon

Posted on Nov. 20, 2011, at 9:29 p.m.

The University of Maine women’s basketball team suffered their second loss of the season at the hands of Bryant University on Saturday, falling 65-53.

Due to unlucky fouls and numerous turnovers, the defeat squashed the Black Bears’ chances of rising above .500 for the first time since the 2007 season.

The Black Bears started the game with unanimous intensity. Sophomore guard Ashleigh Roberts, the team’s top scorer and the America East Conference’s fifth-leading scorer, put UMaine up five points within the first 2 minutes of the game.

However, UMaine’s intensity dissipated when Roberts and senior guard Brittany Williams — who owns the top-ranked field-goal percentage in America East — racked up fouls early in the first period.

In foul jeopardy, Roberts and Williams sat out for the rest of the half. With plenty of playing time to distribute, head coach Richard Barron played nearly his entire bench.

Despite the consistent breaks, the Black Bears’ fresh legs were no match for the Bulldogs’ defense. UMaine freshman guard Courtney Anderson had six turnovers throughout the game, while Roberts, despite her time on the bench, turned over the ball three times.

Senior forward Samantha Baranowski and freshman guard Kelsey Mattice added three more turnovers, altogether totaling a 24-turnover game for the Black Bears.

“They hit a lot of shots and we didn’t rebound very well,” Anderson said. “[Last week at] Rhode Island, we came out with a lot more intensity. You could definitely feel the difference.”

Bryant led the Black Bears 40-26 entering the half. Roberts grabbed her fourth foul 7 minutes into the second half.

“It definitely hurts us,” Barron said, of the team’s foul trouble. “It makes a difference in terms of the rotation.”

Barron was also disappointed with how his team came out in the first half overall.

“We just didn’t look very energetic coming out, on both ends of the floor,” he said. “Somehow, we came out and we didn’t move very quickly on offense or on defense. I don’t know why we had that sort of mentality. If I did, I would’ve changed it.”

The second half of the game proved more successful, despite frequency of turnovers and fouls. UMaine played tighter defense on Bryant, allowing them to score only 25 points in the second half.

The Black Bears came out stronger in the second half, scoring 27 points and out-performing the Bulldogs.

“In the first 2 minutes, we were taking it to the basket,” Williams said. “Once we got into foul trouble, we went down from there. We have to come out in practice and be ready for the tournament coming up.”

The Black Bears travel to Troy University on Nov. 25 for their third away game this season. Following that, the Black Bears will host the Dead River Company Classic tournament on Nov. 26 in the Memorial Gym.

“If we play well, it’s winnable. But if we turn the ball over like we did and don’t go to the boards, we’re setting ourselves up for disappointment,” Barron said. “We have time to practice and work on that.”

Barron is looking forward to the game against Troy and the upcoming tournament, and remains hopeful for the future of the Black Bears.

“It’s been a great experience,” he said of the season thus far. “We’ve got a long way to go. We’re going to learn. We’re going to get better.”

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 20th, 2011, 9:29 pm. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.