Maine forward Caroline Dotsey only had 37 collegiate points entering a non-conference women’s basketball game for the Black Bears on Tuesday night at Stonehill College. The sophomore would come off the bench and came up huge, registering a game-high and career-high 26 points (12 in fourth quarter) in helping her team end a three game losing streak by defeating the Skyhawks 87-75 at Merkert Gymnasium in Easton, Massachusetts.
Stonehill College, who is in their third season at the Division I level after transitioning from Division II in 2022, got off to a good start in this one. The Skyhawks used an early 8-0 run and led by six twice in the first quarter, helped by 11 points from Sharn Hayward (3-5 three-pointers) and had a 27-23 advantage after 10 minutes. Maine shot very well from the floor in the first half, especially from three-point range. In a tie game, the Black Bears would use a 15-5 run over the final 3:38 of the second quarter to take a lead of 50-40 at halftime that they wouldn’t relinquish. They hit 6-8 from long range in the second (10-21 in first half), outscoring the Skyhawks 27-13 in the period to build that 10-point advantage. Dotsey (3-4), Sera Hodgson (3-6), and Jaycie Christopher (2-3) combined to go 8-13 from three-point territory in the opening 20 minutes.
Although the three-point shooting cooled off in the second half (4-18), Maine led by as many as 13 in the third quarter and by nine at 67-58 heading into the fourth. After making their first two shot attempts in the final period on layups by Caroline Bornemann and Sarah Talon, a pair of misses and three turnovers allowed Stonehill to creep back in the game. Two free throws from Brooke Paquette sliced it to 71-68 with 5:15 remaining, and that is when Dotsey took over. She made a layup and a three-pointer on consecutive possessions to push the lead back to eight, and the Skyhawks never got closer than six the rest of the way. Dotsey connected on all four of her field goal attempts in that last 5:15, that included two three-pointers and also 2-4 at the foul line in the closing seconds.
On her career night, Dotsey finished 8-14 from the floor (5-8 three-pointers) while also adding a 5-8 effort from the charity stripe in 23 minutes in the win for Maine. Bornemann contributed 21 points, and was once again a force on the glass with 12 rebounds. Hodgson chipped in 12 points (3-9 three-pointers), while Talon had nine points, and Christopher along with Asta Blauenfeldt put in seven points a piece. The Black Bears only had six turnovers, and used 15 Stonehill miscues to outscore the Skyhawks 24-11 on points off those turnovers. Megan Sias led Stonehill College with 23 points and five rebounds in the loss. Hayward had 18 points, Paquette had 14, and Kylie Swider recorded 12 points and 10 rebounds. The Skyhawks out of the Northeast Conference fall to 2-4 on the season. The 87 points by Maine are the most they’ve scored in a game since an 88-60 win over Army on December 11, 2022. The Black Bears (3-4) are off until Sunday afternoon when they head to Bloomington to face Big 10 opponent Indiana at 2 p.m.
Photos below by Chris Lessner during a 61-53 Maine loss to Quinnipiac on Sunday, November 24 in Orono. Sophomore Caroline Dotsey had a game-high and career-high 26 points on Tuesday, November 26 as the Black Bears ended a three game losing streak with an 87-75 road victory over Stonehill College
