Anne Simon led three players in double figures with a game-high 24 points on Wednesday night, as the Maine Black Bears got past the Binghamton Bearcats 64-54 in a women’s basketball America East quarterfinal playoff game at the Pit in Memorial Gymnasium in Orono.
Simon and Paula Gallego both had five points in the opening quarter, and in a back and forth opening 10 minutes a last second three-pointer by Simon had Maine up 14-10. Binghamton, the #6 seed in the tournament, had as much as a three point lead in the second before the hosts took it back and held a slim 25-24 halftime advantage. The Bearcats went on a 7-2 run to start the third quarter, going up 31-27 on a three-pointer by Genevieve Coleman. They would have their last lead late in the stanza on a Denai Bowman layup 41-40 with 2:10 left. Simon gave the Black Bears the lead for good with a three-pointer 46 seconds later, and Olivia Rockwood banked in a three as well with 49 seconds remaining as they took a 46-41 lead to the fourth. A layup by Jadyn Weltz with 7:39 to play is the closest the guests would get the rest of the evening at 50-47, as #3 seed Maine would use a 14-4 spurt to increase it to 13 and set up a rematch of last years America East Championship game with Albany in the semifinal round on Sunday.
Simon had nine rebounds to go along with her game-high point total in the win for Maine (7-16 shooting, 4-8 three-pointers). The Black Bears overall record goes to 16-13. Smith got her 16th double double of the season with 13 points, 12 rebounds, and five assists. Rockwood had 11 points (3-5 three-pointers). Gallego finished with seven points and Caroline Bornemann five. The game saw 15 different lead changes, and neither team led by more than five until the Bears made that run in the fourth quarter. Bowman and Coleman had 16 points each in the loss for Binghamton, while Weltz had 14. The Bearcats season ends at 13-17. Maine and Albany square off at 3 p.m. Sunday at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, New York, which is the Great Danes homecourt this season as theirs is undergoing renovations. Albany won the title last season on the Black Bears homecourt, and the two teams have split this season in the regular year both winning on their respective homecourts- Maine 50-49 in Orono on January 28, and Albany 53-50 in Troy on February 18.
Recap by Chris Lessner/Photo by Anthony DelMonaco- Adrianna Smith attempts to block a shot in a non-conference game earlier this season vs Princeton at the Pit
Box Score
BIN (13-17) 10 14 17 13- 54
UME (16-13) 14 11 21 18- 64
Rebounds- Binghamton 32, Maine 37
Free throws- Binghamton 4-9, Maine 15-16
Turnovers- Binghamton 12, Maine 12
Three-pointers- Binghamton: Coleman, Wanzer/ Maine: Simon 4, Rockwood 3, Gallego, Bornemann
