Sigi Koizar drives to the basket past New Hampshire defender Peyton Booth during their America East quarterfinal game Saturday afternoon in Vestal, NY. Photo by UMaine athletics.
Vestal, NY- Sigi Koizar scored 23 points to lead the University of Maine womens basketball team to a 58-47 win over New Hampshire in the America East quarterfinals at the Events Center Saturday afternoon.
Liz Wood scored 13 points and 10 rebounds to go along with four steals. Mikaela Gustaffson scored nine points and had six rebounds while Chantel Charles chipped in with seven points, four assists and three steals as the Bears won their 13th consecutive game. Koizar also moved into 13th place on the Maine all time scoring list.
Maine struggled from the field only connecting at 38 percent for the game including only 3 for 15 from three point range. But Maine turned it up on the defense end holding their 16th opponent under 50 points. Maine also outrebounded UNH 37-22, including 15 on the offensive end.
Maine couldn’t get much separation early until midway through the opening quarter when they went up by six. After UNH got within three early in the second, Maine ran off six straight points for their largest lead of the first half at 29-20. The Wildcats scored seven of the final 11 points of the half to cut the Maine lead to 33-27 at the half.
UNH continued to cut the Maine lead down again in the third quarter. Maine had gone back up eight at 39-31 before the Wildcats made a 5-0 run to make it 39-36 headed to the final quarter.
The Bears had a hard time putting away the scrappy Wildcats until late in the game. Koizar came up with a huge unconventional three point play to put Maine up six with 4:43 left. UNH got the lead down to four a few times late but got no closer. Maine scored the games last seven points to secure a spot in Sundays semifinal.
UNH, who finishes their season at 12-18, got 23 points and five rebounds from senior Elizabeth Belanger while Carlie Pogue finished with 11 points and six rebounds. For Belanger, she ends her career as the fifth all time scorer in Wildcat history with 1,453 points and seventh all time in rebounds with 703.
Maine, now 25-7, will now face Stony Brook in the America East Semifinals on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN 3.
