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Women's Basketball Falls to Stony Brook Wednesday Night
Jan. 17, 2007
ORONO, Maine - Ashley Underwood scored a team-high 17 points, but it wasn't enough as the University of Maine women's basketball team was downed by Stony Brook, 79-66, on Wednesday night at Alfond Arena. The Black Bears dipped to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in America East, while the Seawolves ran their overall mark to 8-9 and 4-1 in the league. Underwood was one of four Black Bears to score in double figures, which also included Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa (13 points), Katie Whittier (12 points) and Bracey Barker (10 points). Whittier also added four rebounds and four assists in the contest, while Hugstad-Vaa tallied a pair of blocks and steals, respectively. Mykeema Ford led all scorers with 27 points for Stony Brook. She was 8-of-14 from the floor, including a perfect 11-for-11 mark from the free throw line. Jessica Smith registered a double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Underwood and Smith were named the America East Players of the Game for their efforts. The game was close for the first eight minutes as the score was knotted at 12-12. However, the Seawolves went on 20-10 run over the next eight minutes to open up a double-digit lead at 32-22. The run was aided by 11 points from Smith, while Inbar Orion capped it with a pair of free throws. Stony Brook would never relinquish the lead the rest of the game. The Black Bears shot 58 percent from the floor in the opening 20 minutes, but 12 turnovers led to their 41-31 deficit at halftime. Underwood paced Maine with 10 first-half points, including a three-pointer which came nearly three feet behind the three-point line.
Stony Brook led by as many as 16 points in the second half at 50-34 on a Smith layup with 15:56 remaining. However, the Black Bears responded and chipped away at the deficit, trimming it to seven on two occassions, including at 66-59 with 4:01 to go on a Barker layup. That was as close as Maine would come to getting back into the contest. Stony Brook sealed its fourth-straight win by converting 11-of-12 free throw attempts in the final 1:15.
The home contest was the first of six for Maine in its next eight contests. The Black Bears return to action on Saturday night at Alfond Arena when they play host to Boston University at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for the contest and can be purchased by calling 581-BEAR or toll-free at (800) 756-TEAM. Saturday's night's contest will be "Pink Out" Night as the program supports the fight against breast cancer. Maine will wear pink t-shirts during warmups and on the bench during the game, while cheerleaders will throw others out into the crowd. |
