Despite a second half comeback and career highs in points from both Alba Orois and Bailey Wilborn, the Maine Black Bears came up short to Army on Friday afternoon by a score of 87-81 in double overtime in women’s non-conference basketball at Christl Arena in West Point, New York.
Maine (2-4) only had one lead in the first half at 12-10 when Orois knocked down a jumper just over halfway through the first quarter. Army led 19-14 after one and by as many as 13 in the second, taking a 34-24 advantage to the halftime break. A three-pointer by Lauren Lithgow early in the third quarter gave the Black Knights what would end up as the biggest lead of the game 42-28. The Black Bears chipped away though and a late Wilborn three-pointer would cut it to 49-45 at the end of the period. A layup by Anne Simon less than a minute into the fourth would finish off a 22-7 Maine run and give them their first lead since the first quarter. Army pushed back in front 65-61 on a basket by Sabria Hunter with 3:02 to play, but the guests scored the next seven in a row finished off by an Orois layup to make it 68-65 with 1:25 remaining. Kate Murray would tie it for the hosts with a three-pointer with 30.8 seconds showing on the clock, before Orois who was huge all day made a move along the baseline past her defender and reversed it in off the glass for a 70-68 Black Bears lead with 2.1 seconds to go. After a timeout, Murray would attempt a three-pointer for the Army win that would come up short, but Hunter rebounded it and sent the game to overtime with a layup at the buzzer.
Maine would take a 77-72 in the first extra session, before Hunter scored in the paint and then came up with a steal that led to three-point play from Alisa Fallon that tied it again with 34.3 seconds left. Maeve Carroll would foul out of the game on the play. Wilborn attempted a three-pointer in the closing seconds that came up short for a shot clock violation, and Hunter on the other end had her shot bounce in and out at the horn to send it to the second overtime. The Bears had a pair of two point leads in double OT on layups by Orois and Simon, but a three-pointer by Trinity Hardy with 1:52 to go gave Army the lead for good. The Black Knights hit 5-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to win their third game in a row to improve to 3-2, and Maine missed their last seven shots after taking their last lead.
Orois had a team high 21 points, while also adding five rebounds, seven assists, and two steals on 10-13 shooting. Simon filled up the stat sheet with 19 points, six rebounds, five assists, six steals, and two blocked shots. Carroll would finish with 16 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and three blocks. Wilborn, the freshman guard from Kansas, also had a career day with 14 points. Murray led Army with 21 points and eight rebounds, while Fallon and Hunter both finished with double doubles. Fallon had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Hunter had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Hardy added 12 points and Lindsey Scamman chipped in 10. The Black Knights had 20 free throw attempts (16-20), while the Black Bears only had six (4-6). Army won the battle on the glass 49-39, including 17-6 in offensive rebounds. Next up for Maine is a trip to New Jersey to battle Princeton out of the Ivy League on Sunday at 1 p.m.
