ORONO- Big time players usually can find a way to come up big in key moments. Adrianna Smith and Anne Simon both made that happen on Monday evening. The duo combined for 51 points (37 of those in the second half), and #1 seed Maine came back from a 10 point third quarter deficit to defeat #5 Binghamton 64-58 in an America East Women’s Basketball Semifinal Playoff game played inside the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium. The Black Bears advance to their 22nd America East Championship game in school history, and first since 2022. Better yet, they’ll get that title game on their home floor on Friday evening.
Maine would miss their first five shots, before coming to life keyed by two steals by Simon that led to a layup by Olivia Rockwood and one on her own to take their first lead at 6-4. There were five lead changes in the first 10 minutes, with the Black Bears taking a 15-13 advantage to the second. Binghamton outscored the hosts 10-4 in that second period, as Maine cooled off (2-17, 11.8%) and the Bearcats went to the locker room at the break up by four at 23-19. The Black Bears who shot 25% in the first half on Friday in their quarterfinal win over UMass-Lowell, was at 28% through 20 minutes on this night. They didn’t score in the final 6:03 of the second and went 0-10.
Smith scored six early points in the third quarter on a jumper in the paint and a layup, and also two made free throws in the first 2:44 to keep Maine within 28-27. Binghamton though was red hot from the field in the period, connecting on 9-11 (81.8%) and a shot in the paint by Denai Bowman capped off a 13-4 Bearcats run to increase their advantage to the biggest of the night for either team at 41-31 with 3:57 left. Simon went on her own 5-0 run with a jumper and then a three-pointer that sliced the deficit in half, but the guests still carried a five point lead to the fourth 45-40 as they scored 22 points in the 10 minute span. A three-point play by Bowman and a long three-pointer by Jadyn Weltz her fourth of the game gave the guests a pair of eight point leads early in the fourth quarter, but then the Black Bears would take over from that point on in the final 7:33. A three-pointer by Rockwood and a layup by Simon cut it to 51-48, and then senior Anna Kahelin who played some key minutes came up with a steal on Weltz leading to a three-pointer by Simon to tie it 51-51 with 5:57 to play sending the crowd at the Pit into a pandemonium. A nice play by Smith 28 seconds later after a Binghamton turnover gave Maine the lead for good. Smith made a great ball fake getting her defender Kendall Bennett to go one way, as she easily got the ball to go in off the glass with a wide open layup for their first lead since the 6:03 mark of the second quarter.
She scored again to push it to a 55-51 lead with 3:41 remaining, to cap off a 12-0 run. The Bearcats got within two on a couple occasions in the last 3:19. Rockwood along with Smith had big baskets to help finish it off, and five free throws from Simon would ice the win sending the Black Bears back to a championship game for the eight time in the last nine seasons. The defense stepped up huge in the fourth quarter, only allowing the Bearcats nine shot attempts while also taking advantage of eight Binghamton turnovers ending the contest on a 21-7 run. The points off turnovers was the biggest difference as Maine outscored Binghamton by 20 off those 21 BU miscues (31-11), and only committed nine turnovers themselves. Smith and Simon had 37 of the 45 second half points for their team, as they will face defending conference champion Vermont for the title on Friday. It was only their second win all season when trailing at halftime, with the other time coming on January 27 at Binghamton when they were down 10 before rallying for a 59-56 victory.
Smith had a game-high 26 points (16 in the second half) in the win for Maine before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. She also added seven rebounds, eight assists, and three steals. Simon finished with 25 points (21 in second half), while chipping in eight rebounds, three assists, and four steals. Rockwood who also knocked down three key 3-pointers in the quarterfinal win, would get into double figures with 10 points and hit two 3-pointers in the fourth period. The Black Bears ended shooting 38% on the evening (5-20 from three-point range). They hit 11-15 at the foul line, including 5-6 from Simon in the final 1:20 to finish off the victory. Weltz led Binghamton in the loss with a career-high 25 points on 8-10 shooting (5-7 three-pointers). Bowman contributed 13 points, Genevieve Coleman had eight, and Ella Wanzer put in six points. The Bearcats, who shot 51%, has their season come to an end with a record of 14-17. Maine (23-9) faces #3 Vermont (22-10) for the America East Championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in the Pit on Friday at 5 p.m. The Black Bears swept the regular season series over the Catamounts, 60-48 in Orono on January 6 and 57-55 in Burlington on February 17. UVM completed a three game season sweep over Albany by defeating the Great Danes in New York 50-46 in comeback fashion in the other semifinal on Monday night.
Recap/photos/videos by Chris Lessner/In-game videos courtesy of Maine Women’s Basketball on Twitter (X)
