Caroline Bornemann made a layup off an inbounds pass with 0.4 seconds left in regulation on Monday night, sending the Maine Black Bears past the James Madison Dukes 60-58 in a season opening non-conference women’s basketball game played at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisburg, Virginia.
Maine never led in the first half, as James Madison built a nine point advantage on two different occasions in the second quarter. The Black Bears ended the first half on a 12-6 run to slice the margin to 27-24 at halftime.
A three-pointer by Olivia Rockwood to begin the second half evened the score, before the Dukes ran off seven straight points over the next three minutes to gain control. Maine kept coming though, and took their first lead of the night 37-36 on an Anne Simon jumper in the paint with 2:51 left in the third quarter finishing off a 10-2 spurt. The guests took that same one point advantage into the fourth. JMU took the lead once again early in the final stanza at 45-42, but Simon was relentless and had a huge second half as she would score the next two baskets to put the Bears back in front. Her defense led to a steal near midcourt on the ensuing possession by the Dukes, and Rockwood knocked down a three-pointer off the scramble to make it 49-45 with 6:17 left. A missed layup by freshman Jaycie Christopher and a foul on Simon on the rebounding action would allow James Madison to get the score even late, as Kseniia Kozlova sank two free throws with 12.6 seconds remaining to make it 58-58. A three-pointer by Rockwood in the final seconds came up short, but Adrianna Smith got the offensive rebound and was fouled giving Maine the ball for an inbounds play with 1.6 seconds to go. Christopher inbounded under her own basket and found Bornemann in the right block, who put it up off the window with just 0.4 seconds showing on the clock. The Dukes had one more chance with an inbounds try on their offensive side of the court, but the pass was too long into the left corner and they never got a shot off as the buzzer sounded.
Simon led Maine with 21 points (17 in the second half). She also added six rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Rockwood was huge off the bench scoring 17 points (5-9 three-pointers), coming into the game after starter Anna Kahelin left with a non-contact injury early in the first quarter and didn’t return. Bornemann also got into double figures with 11 points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Smith also played tough in the blocks, scoring nine points and hauling in six rebounds including a key offensive one late to set up the Christopher inbounds pass to Bornemann for the game winner. Kiki Jefferson led James Madison in the loss with 23 points and 11 rebounds. This was the first meeting between the two teams since 2012, and have only met now a total of six times. The Dukes were formerly part of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), but this is their first season in the Sun Belt Conference. Maine is off until next Monday when they travel to Amherst to battle UMass at 7 p.m.
