ORONO- Anne Simon scored a game-high 27 points on Sunday afternoon, in helping to lead the University of Maine women’s basketball team to a 69-48 win over UMass in the home opener in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium.
After missing their first three shots of the game, Maine caught fire going on a 21-5 run led by 10 from Simon and led by as many as 16 and 23-9 after one quarter. The Black Bears shot 10-15 in the opening 10 minutes. UMass got back within eight early in the second quarter, but the hosts responded with nine straight points with seven of those from Caroline Bornemann. Overall they would end that period on a spurt of 16-4 taking a 42-22 advantage to the intermission. Maine went cold to begin the third quarter, missing their fist six shots and turning it over four times as the Minutewomen would cut it to 42-30. A three-pointer by Olivia Rockwood for their first basket with 3:50 left restored order though, as they would go on a 17-3 run that stretched into the fourth and would lead by as many as 27 to improve their record to 2-1 on the season.
Simon added nine rebounds, five assists, and two steals to her point total in the Maine win. Bornemann and Sarah Talon also got into double figures with 10 points a piece. The Black Bears ended up shooting 45% from the floor after that 67% first quarter start, and would knock down 9-23 (39%) from three-point range with Simon hitting four of those (4-6). Stefanie Kulesza led UMass in the loss with 15 points, while Bre Bellamy chipped in 11 points and six rebounds. The Minutewomen out of the Atlantic 10, who lost their top six scorers from a year ago, dropped to 1-2. Maine stays at home to continue their four game stretch against A-10 opponents as they take on Rhode Island on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Recap/photos/videos by Chris Lessner
