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Women's Basketball Falls to Vermont Wednesday
Feb. 15, 2006
ORONO, Maine - Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine) led the University of Maine women's basketball team's charge with 24 points and seven rebounds, but it wasn't enough as the Black Bears dropped a tough 68-65 decision to Vermont Wednesday night at Alfond Arena. The Catamounts snapped a six-game losing streak to improve to 8-14 overall and 4-8 in America East. Maine dipped to 7-15 overall and 3-8 in the conference. Barker scored 16 of her 24 points in the second half, which saw the Black Bears trail by as many as nine to the Catamounts. For Barker, it was the fifth time this season that she scored more than 20 points in a game. Helping Barker was Abby Schrader (Pt. Pleasant, N.J.), as she poured in 14 points. She led the team with five assists while grabbing five boards and blocking a shot. Ashley Underwood (Augusta, Maine) was Maine's other double-figure scorer, as she chipped in 12. The leading scorer for Vermont was Chrissy Battram with 19 points, which was a season high. She also aided in the victory by collecting five rebounds and dishing the ball to her teammates for six assists. A pair of Underwood free throws with 4:39 remaining put the Black Bears up seven at 63-56. However, Vermont countered with a 12-2 run the rest of the way to pull out the three point victory. Battram's layup with less then four minutes to go sparked the run. Her layup a little more the two minutes later put the Catamounts up by one at 66-65. They would not trail the rest of the game. Brittney Cross converted a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to put Vermont up by three. Margret Elderton (Havertown, Pa.) had a chance to tie the game, but her three-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
For the game Maine committed a season-low 10 turnovers while shooting 45 percent from the field (24-of-53). The Black Bears forced Vermont into 15 turnovers, but the Catamounts countered by hitting on 48 percent of their shots (26-of-54).
Maine jumpped out to an early 9-2 lead three minutes into the contest, but Vermont overtook the Black Bears three minutes later with a 14-11 lead on an Ashleigh Cuncic three pointer. Cuncic ended the game with 16 points for the Catamounts. The lead changed hands the rest of the first half, as Maine took a 35-33 advantage into the locker room at halftime. The Black Bears will return to action Saturday when they play host to New Hampshire at 12 p.m. at Alfond Arena. Tickets still remain for the contest. Fans wishing to purchase tickets can do so by calling 581-BEAR or toll-free at (800) 756-TEAM. |
