The Maine Black Bears got 21 points and five rebounds from Sigi Koizar Friday evening, but fell to the Clemson Tigers out of the ACC 69-61 in non-conference womens basketball action at Littlejohn Coliseum in Clemson, South Carolina.
Maine would trail early in the first quarter as the Tigers jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Black Bears responded and took a 20-16 lead after the opening 10 minutes of action, and then took their biggest lead of seven early in the second quarter. Clemson rallied back to tie the game at 29-29 at halftime.
A back and forth third quarter saw the Tigers outscoring the Bears 18-14, and headed into the final period with a four point lead at 47-43.
Clemson ran off 10 straight points to open the fourth quarter, including a pair of three point field goals from Victoria Cardaci, to take the biggest lead of the contest at 57-43. Maine got back within seven points a few times in the final quarter, but got no closer in falling to 3-5 on the season. Clemson is now 8-0. Clemson shot 31 foul shots in the game, compared to just 10 for Maine. The Black Bears also turned the ball over 18 times, compared to just nine for Clemson.
Tanesha Sutton chipped in with nine points for Maine, while Laia Sole contributed eight. Nelly Perry filled up the stat sheet with 21 points, four rebounds, six assists, a block, and four steals to lead the Clemson Tigers. Danielle Edwards had 20 points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals as the Tigers remained unbeaten.
Maine returns home Wednesday night to host Northeastern at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor at 7 p.m. Clemson takes a week off before returning to action at home Monday, December 12 at 7 p.m. against Oregon.
UME (3-5) 20 9 14 18- 61
CLE (8-0) 16 13 18 22- 69
Field goals/Pct- Maine 23-55, 41.8% Clemson 20-50, 40%
Three point/Pct- Maine 9-25, 36% Clemson 8-20, 40%
Free throws/Pct- Maine 6-10, 60% Clemson 21-31, 67.7%
Turnovers- Maine 18 Clemson 9
