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Women's Basketball Defeats Binghamton 59-56
Feb. 10, 2007 ORONO, Maine - Ashley Underwood led Maine in scoring for the third-straight game, this time netting 19 points, to lead the Black Bears to a 59-56 win over Binghamton on Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena. The win pushed Maine's record to 12-10 overall and 6-5 in America East. The Bearcats dipped to 8-15 and 4-6 in league play. The win also gave Maine a firm grip on sole possession of fourth place in America East. The Black Bears will conclude their three-game homestand on Tuesday night when they play host to third-place Vermont at 7:30 p.m., at Alfond Arena. Tickets are still available for the game and can be purchased by calling 581-BEAR or toll-free (800) 756-TEAM. The largest Alfond crowd of the season, 2,180 fans, witnessed Maine's win over Binghamton as the Black Bears are jockeying for position in the league standings as the America East Championship will be held in four weeks.
Underwood's game-high point total against the Bearcats, has her scoring average at 23.3 points per game in the last three contests. She netted 21 at New Hampshire last Saturday and followed with a career-high 30 in Wednesday's victory over Albany. Classmate Bracey Barker just missed tallying her second-straight double-double, as she scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds. She also added two blocks to her point and rebound totals. A pair of freshman also provided big sparks in the win for the Black Bears. Sandra Vaitkute came off the bench to score a career-high 10 points on 3-of-3 shooting and ripped down five rebounds. She also blocked a pair of shots and had a steal. Vaitkute became the fourth Black Bear this season to register their first-career double-figure scoring game, joining Kris Younan, Amanda Tewksbury and Abby Greene. Greene was the other rookie to provide a spark for Maine as she scored three points, grabbed four rebounds, handed out four assists and swiped three steals. None of the three steals were bigger than her last one as she swiped the ball away from Binghamton's Laura Sario in the closing seconds to thwart a possible last second shot and seal Maine's win.
Greene's last second heroics on the defensive end would not have been possible if it wasn't for a late rally by the Black Bears. Maine led by as many as eight at 49-41 with 7:09 to go, but the Bearcats scored 11-straight points to go up 52-49 with 4:16 remaining. Kris Younan kick-started the rally with a driving layup along the baseline and Underwood followed moments later with a three-pointer in transition to put Maine up 54-52. The teams traded baskets for the next minute before Shea Kenney hit a layup to pull Binghamton with one at 57-56 with 13 seconds left. However, Barker hit a pair of free throws to put the Black Bears up three and Greene preserved the late lead with the steal of Sario at midcourt. The Black Bears were 24-of-28 at the free throw line, while Binghamton attempted just eight free throws, making just four. Maine also out-rebounded Binghamton 34-31. The Black Bears also avenged a 54-49 loss to the Bearcats back on Jan. 10, at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y. Binghamton had entered Saturday's contest riding a three-game winning streak versus the Black Bears. Binghamton got off to a hot start in the game making eight of its first nine shots and taking an 18-9 advantage. However, the Black Bears fought back and outscored the Bearcats 19-11 over the final 11 minutes of the half to only trail 29-28 at the intermission. Underwood paced Maine with eight points in the opening 20 minutes, while Barker chipped in with seven. The win marked just the second time under Ann McInerney that Maine won a game when trailing at halftime. |
