Sophomore guard Amanda Tewksbury poured in a game high 15 points in a 63-50 win over America East foe Binghamton on Saturday, February 2. Tewksbury also grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 3 assists and was a perfect 6 for 6 from the free-throw line.

Tewksbury, Boser and Rousseau each score game-high 15 points

The University of Maine women's basketball team knocked off Binghamton, 63-50, Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena in Orono. The Black Bears improved to 6-15 overall and 3-5 in America East, while the Bearcats fell to 6-14 and 4-3 in the league.

Amanda Tewksbury, Brittany Boser and Emily Rousseau each poured in a game-high 15 points for the Black Bears, who improved to 3-1 at home in America East games this season. Boser and Tewksbury each pulled down seven rebounds, while Rousseau snagged three boards and handed out a pair of assists. Senior guard Kris Younan ripped down a game-best eight rebounds.

Erica Carter and Laine Kurpniece paced Binghamton with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Tewksbury and Kurpniece were named the America East Players of the Game for their efforts.

The Black Bears shot 43.5 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the three-point line in the first half to build a 36-22 advantage at halftime. Binghamton raced out to an 11-6 lead a little over four minutes into the contest. However, Maine responded with a 7-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from Tewksbury, to go up 13-11 three and a half minutes later. Binghamton would tie the Black Bears on two separate occassions in the first half, but would never lead the rest of the game.

Rousseau, who netted 13 points in the opening 20 minutes, pushed the Black Bears out to a double-figure lead at 28-17 with 5:21 to go in the frame when she knocked down a three which was one of her five field goals in the first half. Maine led by as many as 16 in the first half, including at 35-19 with 2:16 to go on a pair of free throws from Sandra Vaitkute.

Maine went up by 18 early in the second half as Colleen Kilmurray put in a layup to stake the Black Bears to a 42-24 advantage. Kilmurray scored the initial six points for Maine in the second half, marking the second-straight game she scored at least six of Maine's initial second-half points. In Wednesday night's contest at New Hampshire, Kilmurray came out of the locker room and scored Maine's first eight points.

However, Binghamton fought back and scored 13 of the game's next 15 points to pull within 44-37 with 9:59 to go in the contest. The run was aided by four points apiece from Darryll Peterson and Brianna Thompson. Thompson's steal from Younan and layup immediately at the other end of the court sparked the surge.

Maine never panicked and got back its scoring touch. The lead hovered between 8-to-10 points the rest of the way as Binghamton never threatened to get closer. Tewksbury scored the final six points of the game for Maine to ice the win.

The Black Bears are off until next Saturday when they travel to Baltimore, Md., to face UMBC at 12 p.m., at the RAC. Maine took a 67-55 decision over the Retrievers earlier this season in the America East opener for both teams back on Jan. 5 in Alfond Arena. The game can be heard live on the radio throughout the state of Maine on the Black Bear Sports Network. Fans outside the coverage area can also listen to it live online at www.GoBlackBears.com(.)

Black Bear distance runner David Englehutt put in a solid performance over the weekend at the UMaine Open. Enlgehutt won the 1-mile run with a time of 4:28:07. His time of 2:38:67 in the 1000 meter run notched a second place finish in that event.

Ludwig, Ramos and Englehutt Take First Place Finishes

The University of Maine men's track and field team finished third in the UMaine Open on Saturday. They competed against the College of Holy Cross and Central Connecticut State University. Holy Cross won the invitational.

Jeff Ramos won the high jump event with a leap of 2.00m. David Englehutt won the 1 mile run with a time of 4:28.07 minutes. Englehutt also finished second in the 1000m run with a time of 2:38.67 minutes. Max Ludwig rounded out the Maine winners with a win in the 55m hurdles with a time of 7.81 seconds. Rich Cannon and Matt Berube finished 2-3 in the pole vault with marks of 13'00" and 12'6". Thomas Williams and Carson Hartman finished 2-3 in the long jump with leaps of 6.46m and 6.33m. Skip Edwards finished second in the 400m dash with a time of 49.95 seconds, just 0.03 seconds behind the winner. Matt Holman and Kurt Thibeault finsihed 2-3 in the 500m run with times of 1:07.55 minutes and 1:07.93 minutes. Dan Voner finished second in the 800m run with a time of 1:59.18 minutes. Travis Cook finished second in the 200m dash with a time of 22.75 seconds and Charles Therriault finished second in the 3000m run with a time of 9:04.47 minutes. The Maine 4x400 relay team won with a time 3:25.52 minutes. The 4x880 team finished second.

The Black Bears return to action on Feb. 9 for the Valentines Invitational in Boston, Mass.