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Women's Basketball's Late Rally Comes Up Just Short in Loss to Harvard
Nov. 23, 2007
ORONO, Maine - Four Black Bears scored in double-figures, but it wasn't enough as the University of Maine women's basketball team dropped a tough 82-78 decision to Harvard on Friday night in the opening round of the 2007 Dead River Company Classic at Alfond Arena in Orono. For the second-straight game, junior forward Colleen Kilmurray paced Maine in scoring while also pouring in a career-high in points. Kilmurray netted 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field, while pulling down six rebounds. Freshman guard Emily Rousseau chipped in with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including going 4-of-7 from behind the arc. It marked the third time in four games this season a freshman has scored in double-figures, as Tanna Ross turned the trick in the opening two games of the season. Brittany Boser logged a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, marking her second double-double of the season. Senior guard Kris Younan came off the bench to give Maine 12 points and five rebounds. Lindsay Hallion and Niki Finelli scored 20 and 19 points, respectively, for Harvard in the win. Emily Tay totaled a game-best 12 assists in the contest. The Black Bears fell to 1-3 on the season, while Harvard improved to 2-2. Maine will face Quinnipiac in the Classic's consolation game on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Crimson will face Hofstra at 6 p.m., in the tournament's championship game. Hofstra advanced to the championship earlier in the day by downing Quinnipiac, 54-51, in the tournament's opening game.
Harvard's largest lead of the game was a 70-53 advantage with a little under 10 minutes to go in the contest. The Crimson looked liked it had seized the entire momentum in the contest, but Maine rallied and made it a game. The Black Bears outscored Harvard, 25-12, over the final nine minutes of the contest. Kilmurray sparked the late rally with four of the initial eight Maine points. Back-to-back three pointers from Rousseau and a Boser layup trimmed Harvard's lead to 79-78 with 1:11 to go. Hallion answered Boser's layup with a running jumper in the lane on the following possession to put the Crimson up 81-78 with :55 remaining.
Maine came back down the court and had three opportunities to tie the game with three's following a pair of offensive rebounds by Younan. However, none would fall and a late foul by Kilmurray enabled Emma Markley to ice the game for Harvard at the other end by making a free throw with :17 left to cap the scoring at 82-78. Maine out-rebounded Harvard by a 33-32 margin. The Crimson also committed more turnovers than Maine, 20-19. The Black Bears held a 26-19 lead midway through the first half, but Harvard scored 21 of the half's final 31 points to grab a 40-36 lead heading into the locker room at halftime. Younan paced Maine with eight points in the opening 20 minutes, while Kilmurray netted seven. The game versus Harvard marked the second-straight game the Black Bears faced a defending conference champion who competed in last season's NCAA Tournament. The Crimson were crowned champions of the Ivy League last season and were picked to win the league again this season. Maine also played host to Holy Cross last Sunday at the Alfond, as the Crusaders were the defending Patriot League champions. A crowd of 2,105 was on hand to watch the Black Bears face Harvard. Tickets still remain for both of Saturday's games in the Dead River Company Classic and can be purchased by calling 581-BEAR or toll-free at (800) 756-TEAM. |
