Jaycie Christopher had a game-high 21 points on seven 3-pointers Wednesday afternoon, leading four players in double figures as the Maine Black Bears scored any 80-72 women’s basketball win over Duquesne University in the first day of the Tulane Holiday Classic in New Orleans, Louisiana. Maine will play for the championship of the tournament on Thursday afternoon against the host Tulane Green Wave.
It was a closely contested game for much of the first half that saw five lead changes. Duquesne took their final lead of the afternoon in the second quarter 23-22 on a jumper by Jerni Kiaku in the paint, before Maine took over the lead for good on a jumper by Anne Simon 39 seconds later. The Black Bears ended the opening half on a run of 22-9, including a 6-0 spurt in the final 53 seconds on layups by Caroline Bornemann, Simon, and Sarah Talon to take a 44-32 advantage to the break. The Dukes opened the third quarter on a run of 8-0 on a pair of three-point baskets by Tess Meyers and a short jumper in the paint by Ayanna Townsend to cut the deficit to four. After Christopher answered with a three-pointer of her own, Duquesne ran off a quick five points including a three-pointer by Naelle Bernard to get within 47-45 with 5:18 left. That was close as DU would get the rest of the day as Maine would run off seven straight points during the final 3:03 of the period, sparked by baskets from Paula Gallego and Simon and then a three-pointer by Gallego to push the lead back to 10 at 57-47. Christopher hit four more 3-pointers in the fourth, and Simon also hit one as the Black Bears hit 6-6 from the foul line in the final 1:39 to ice the victory.
Christopher hit 7-13 from behind the arc to lead the way in the Maine win, as the Black Bears moved their record to 7-5. Christopher tied her career-high on three-pointers, as she also hit seven of them (7-10) in a win over Army last December on her way to a career-high 26 points. The sophomore now has reached double figures for a third straight game, the first time in her collegiate career. Simon had a double double with 19 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists. The graduate guard has been in double figures in 10 of the 12 games this season. Bornemann finished with 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Gallego helped the cause with three 3-pointers and chipped in 11 points off the bench. Smith was two points shy of a triple double as she also had a double double by collecting eight points, 15 rebounds, and 10 assists. Megan McConnell led Duquesne in the loss with 18 points, Bernard had 15 on five 3-pointers, and Townsend contributed 12 points. The Dukes out of the Atlantic 10 fall to 6-5 and will play the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in the consolation game on Thursday. Maine went 5-1 against A-10 opponents in the non-conference portion of the schedule, including a win over the conference favorite Rhode Island. The Black Bears now face Tulane (6-4) out of the American Athletic Conference for the tournament title Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The Green Wave defeated Little Rock 66-57 in the first game on Wednesday.
Recap by Chris Lessner
The Maine women’s basketball team looks to defend against UMass in a game earlier this season in Orono. The Black Bears got seven 3-pointers and 21 points from Jaycie Christopher to beat Duquesne 80-72 in the Tulane Holiday Classic in New Orleans on Wednesday afternoon. Photo by Chris Lessner
