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Women's Basketball Defeats UMBC on Senior Day
Feb. 24, 2007
ORONO, Maine - Bracey Barker pumped in 24 points and Ashley Underwood followed with 23 to help lead the University of Maine women's basketball team to a 79-72 victory over UMBC on Saturday at Alfond Arena. The win snapped a two-game losing streak for Maine and pushed the Black Bears' record one game over .500 at 13-12 overall and 7-7 in America East. The game was also special as it was Senior Day at The Alfond. Prior to the contest, Barker and Underwood were joined by Katie Whittier and Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa as the four seniors were honored at mid-court for their four years of commitment to the program. Barker hails from Bar Harbor, Maine, Underwood from Benton, Maine, Whittier from New Gloucester, Maine and Hugstad-Vaa from Apple Valley, Minn. Hugstad-Vaa netted 11 points and grabbed three rebounds, while Whittier chipped in a solid six points, four rebounds and three assists. All four were in the starting lineup for their final game at Alfond Arena. With the win, Maine assured itself that it can finish no lower than sixth in the America East regular season standings. The Black Bears have two games left in the regular season as they are fighting for position in the America East Tournament on March 8-11 at the Events Center in Vestal, N.Y., on the Binghamton University campus. UMBC, who had won two straight entering Saturday's contest, dipped to 13-15 overall and 6-9 in the league. The victory also gave Maine the regular season sweep over the Retrievers and improved their record to 7-1 all-time against UMBC.
Sharri Rhode led UMBC with 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Kristin Drabyn added 14 points and Brittnie Hughes chipped in 10 for the Retrievers. For their efforts, Barker and Rhode were named the America East Players of the Game.
Following the pre-game ceremony, the Black Bears raced out to an 8-0 lead a little over three minutes gone by in the first half. Barker keyed the early surge with back-to-back three pointers. Maine extended its lead to 13 at 17-4 five minutes later and led by as many as 17 on numerous occassions in the opening 20 minutes. Barker led Maine with 14 points in the first half as the Black Bears took a 36-22 lead into the locker room at intermission. The Black Bears opened up their largest lead of the game at 42-24 with 17:13 to go in the contest on a pair of Hugstad-Vaa free throws. However, the Retrievers fought back in the second half and managed to keep the contest close. UMBC pulled to within six on numerous occassions and once to within five. But Maine would not be denied this win on Senior Day. The Black Bears went 10-for-10 from the free throw line in the final minute to seal the seven-point victory. Underwood was 8-for-8 from the stripe, while Barker converted the other two free throws. The Black Bears return to action on Tuesday when they travel to Hartford to face the Hawks at 7 p.m. in Chase Arena. The game is the America East TV Game of the Week and can be seen live on NESN. |
