The Maine Black Bears went on a 15-1 run to end the game on Thursday evening, en route to a 64-58 win over the Vermont Catamounts in a America East women’s basketball opener at Patrick Gymnasium in Burlington, Vermont.
Maine (4-7, 1-0 AE) had a pair of leads in the opening quarter, before Vermont took a 15-14 advantage after the opening 10 minutes and the Catamounts held that lead until the fourth. The hosts led by as many as six in the second period and 31-27 at halftime. Both teams heated up in the third scoring 19 points a piece, with the Black Bears shooting at a 58% clip and the Catamounts at 61%. Vermont again led by as many as six and took a 50-46 lead to the fourth. A couple easy layups inside the paint by Anna Olson was part of a 7-3 run to start the final quarter by the home team to extend it to 57-49 with 7:14 left to play, forcing a timeout by Maine head coach Amy Vachon. The Black Bears came alive after that timeout as Maeve Carroll scored on a layup off a nice assist by Alba Orois, and then Anne Simon along with Caroline Bornemann both knocked down three-pointers on back to back possessions to tie it 57-57 with 5:26 remaining. A jumper by Simon about two minutes later was the eventual game winner, and Bornemann put the game away with a another three-pointer with 23 seconds showing on the clock to finish off the big Maine run and comeback victory.
Bornemann led three players in double figures in the Maine win with 16 points (3-5 three-pointers). Simon had 12 points and six rebounds, while Carroll filled up the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, three steals, and two blocks before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. Orois chipped in nine points and seven assists, and Paula Gallego came off the bench to add seven points. The Black Bears put seven players in the scoring column on the night of the nine that saw time. Olson led Vermont with a game high 19 points along with seven rebounds, as the Catamounts fall to 6-6, 0-1. Maine has now won back to back games for the first time since November 19 and 21 at Yale and Boston University. The Bears return to Bangor for their America East home opener on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center when they welcome in New Jersey Institute of Technology. The Highlanders shocked preseason favorite Stony Brook 54-49 in the conference opener for those two teams on Thursday afternoon.
