ORONO- Graduate guard Anne Simon returned from injury and had 33 points, and Sarah Talon and Adrianna Smith combined for 25 more on Saturday afternoon in leading the Maine Black Bears to a 67-48 America East women’s basketball win over the University of New Hampshire in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium.
UNH had one early lead in the first quarter at 5-4, but Simon who had missed almost the final two quarters against UMass-Lowell and also missed the game with Bryant after twisting her ankle against the Riverhawks, put in 11 points in the first 10 minutes as Maine went on a 7-0 run to open up a 23-12 advantage. The Wildcats would hang around, and would cut it to 31-29 on a three-pointer by Lucia Melero with 1:03 left in the second period. A three-pointer though by Simon and one just before the buzzer sounded by Olivia Rockwood pushed the lead back to 37-29 at the halftime break.
UNH had several chances early in the third quarter to claw within four after some Maine turnovers, but they couldn’t cash in. A key play that seemed to turn the momentum away from a Wildcat comeback came with the Black Bears up by nine with 5:45 left. What looked to be an open three-point attempt for Avery O’Connor was blocked by Talon. Talon collected the rejection on her own and attempted to lay it in on the other end, but missed. Olivia Rockwood was able to grab the rebound though, and find a wide open Simon for a three-pointer on the wing to increase the lead to 12. Rockwood on the next possession also hit a three-pointer to make it 46-31, and the guests never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.
For Simon, the 33 points (5-9 three-pointers) is a career-high in any America East game and just one off her career-high overall (34) that she achieved against Indiana and James Madison this season. She also added six rebounds, two assists, and a steal to help Maine improve to 16-8 and 9-1 in America East. Talon had 15 points (2-3 three-pointers), and Smith recorded another double double with 10 points, 17 rebounds, and three assists. Simon, Talon, and Rockwood combined to go 9-16 from behind the arc, while the rest of the team was 1-13 from long distance. Melero was the only UNH player to get into double figures with 12 points, as the Wildcats fall to 9-15 and 3-8 in conference play. Maine will return to action Thursday at 6 p.m. when they host Bryant University the Pit.
Recap/photo/videos by Chris Lessner
