Members of the University of Maine women’s basketball team celebrate their America East championship win over Hartford on Friday, March 9, 2018 in Bangor. Photo by Chris Lessner.
BANGOR, Me- For the first time since 2004 the University of Maine women’s basketball team is headed back to the NCAA Tournament. The Black Bears put five players in double figures to defeat the Hartford Hawks 74-65 in the America East championship game Friday before a huge crowd of 3,373 fans at the Cross Insurance Center.
Maine excited the fans early in this one. The Bears started a sizzling 5-6 from the floor, including a trio of three pointers from Julie Brosseau to take a 15-8 lead. Brosseau had 11 points in the quarter, but after the hot start Maine went 0-6 the rest of the opening 10 minutes and an 11-3 Hartford run had the Hawks up 19-18 after one quarter.
Neither team had more than a two point lead in the second quarter and the teams went to halftime tied at 36-36. Maines top scorer Blanca Millan was held to just four points in the first half.
Millan and her teammates picked up the offense and defense in the third quarter. With the score 46-44 Maine, the Bears went on a 14-3 run to end the quarter and gave them a 60-47 edge headed to the fourth quarter. Millan exploded for 11 points in the quarter, including six big points during the run that gave Maine some breathing room. “My teammates they came to me at halftime. They said let go of what happened and start over”, said Millan. Head coach Amy Vachon said about her star player, “I honestly didn’t know she only had four points at halftime. I never worry about Blanca. The kid is a stud, she comes to play when she needs to come to play, and she did today.”
Millan would add seven more points in the final quarter as Maine would build the lead to as many as 16, and Hartford would get no closer than the final margin of nine. Vachon said, “I just want to give Hartford a ton of credit. Coming into this environment is not easy. They gave us a great shot, played a great game. That first half was definitely up and down and back and forth, so credit to them and to Kim (coach Kim McNeill) she does a great job with them.”
Hartford ends the season with a record of 19-13, and was in the championship game for the first time since 2015. The conference #6 seed was led by Jannelle Harrison who had 13 points. Sierra DeCosta had 10 points. Lindsey Abed added nine points and eight assists. Jade Young also chipped in eight points and six rebounds, while Mary Pattinson also added eight points. Coach McNeill said, “Congratulations to the University of Maine. That’s a very good team out there. I am extremely proud of our team. I don’t think anyone would of thought we would be in this championship game from the beginning of the season to the end, especially finishing in sixth place. We talked all weekend long against Binghamton and even against Albany about making championship plays. It’s taking care of the ball, diving on floor, taking charges, boxing out. Tonight Maine won the championship plays. We didn’t make enough championship plays to win the game.” McNeill would add, “This is a leaning experience for our team. We will use this as motivation, and we will be back. Hopefully not here, hopefully at Hartford.”
Millan finished with a game high 22 points for the 23-9 Black Bears. Brosseau had 16. Parise Rossignol had 12. Tanesha Sutton added 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists. Fanny Wadling chipped in 10 points, eight rebounds, and six assists. Vachon added, “Really happy for our kids. Words can’t explain it. At halftime we talked about defense, and how we had to buckle down defensively. We weren’t getting stops. And then in third quarter they really came out and did a great job defensively. And to have five kids in double figures, that’s awesome. I think that just speaks volumes about this team, and that’s kinda how our team has been all year.”
Maine awaits word on when, where, and who they play in the upcoming NCAA Tournament that begins next week. The announcement will come nationally on ESPN Monday night at 7 p.m. The 3,373 fans was biggest crowd for an America East women’s championship game since 1998, and that was the last time Maine hosted a title game at Alfond Arena in Orono.
HAR 19 17 11 18- 65
UME 18 18 24 14- 74
FG %- Hartford 23-47, 48.9% Maine 25-50, 50%
Free throws- Hartford 12-18 Maine 15-17
Rebounds- Hartford 25 Maine 28
Turnovers- Hartford 17 Maine 15
