Sarah Talon scored a career high and game high 21 points, and Adrianna Smith added 19 on Thursday afternoon as the Maine Black Bears defeated the Bryant College Bulldogs 74-62 in the America East women’s basketball conference opener for both teams played at the Chace Athletic Center in Smithfield, Rhode Island.
Maine got off to a tough start, as Bryant used a 9-2 first quarter run to take a 13-6 lead with 4:20 to go in the opening period. The Black Bears would end the first 10 minutes however on a run of their own at 8-2 to get back within 15-14. The guests really exploded in the second, as Olivia Rockwood nailed a three-pointer to get it going and Jaycie Christopher ended it with a three point play part of a 14-0 spurt to take a 28-15 lead just 2:45 into the quarter. The lead was 30-20 at the halftime break, and the overall run was 34-11 after the Bulldogs had that 13-6 lead. Anne Simon also left the game with 4:30 left in the second quarter with what looked to be a re-aggravation on her high ankle sprain, and she didn’t return to the game.
Bryant (5-8, 0-1 America East) made a huge push in the third quarter. After Talon hit a three-pointer for Maine to make it 43-30 with 6:57 left, the Bulldogs would score 19 of the next 27 points (25-11 overall in the period) capped off with a layup from Kemari Reynolds to cut the margin to 51-49 headed to the fourth. The Black Bears took over again in the final stanza, starting with the first career three-pointer from Smith and a layup by Talon. Caroline Bornemann also hit some big shots, scoring all nine of her points on the day in that final 10 minutes as Maine improved to 5-8 and is more importantly 1-0 in conference play. It is also the sixth straight season that they’ve won their conference opener.
Talon was 8-12 from the floor, 2-2 from the three-point arc, 3-3 from the foul line, and also had five rebounds to lead the way in the Maine win. Smith recorded a double double and filled up the stat sheet with her 19 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Bornemann finished with her nine points all in the fourth quarter, and Simon ended up with eight in 11 minutes played before her injury. The Black Bears shot 47% from the floor, 7-22 from the three-point line (32%), hit 5-6 at the line, and outscored Bryant in the paint 46-26. Mariona Planes Fortuny led the Bulldogs with 20 points and six rebounds in the loss. Maine returns to Orono to play their America East home opener next Wednesday night in the Pit at 7 p.m. when they welcome in UMass-Lowell.
Recap by Chris Lessner
Maine head coach Amy Vachon talks with her team during a timeout in a non-conference game earlier this season at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono (Photo credit Anthony DelMonaco)
