The Maine Black Bears put four players in double figures, led by a game high 20 points from Alba Orois to pull away from the New Jersey Institute of Technology 72-48 in the America East semifinals on Tuesday night at Memorial Gym in Orono.
Maine (20-10) never trailed and scored the first six points of the game, building to a 21-8 lead after one quarter on eight early points from Maeve Carroll. NJIT cut it to seven just over three minutes into the second, before the hosts pushed it back to 36-24 at the halftime break. The Highlanders kept battling back and sliced it to 40-34 when Kenna Squier knocked down a three-pointer with 5:27 left in the third quarter. The Black Bears would then pull away, ending the period on a 10-2 run capped off by an Orois layup to make it 50-36 headed to the fourth. Maine outscored NJIT 22-12 in the last 10 minutes for the final margin of victory.
Orois added three rebounds, seven assists, and two steals to her game high point total in the Maine win, their 14th consecutive victory. Carroll finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists, and three steals. Caroline Bornemann had 12 points and five rebounds, while Anne Simon scored in double figures for a 22nd consecutive game with 11 points, three rebounds, and five assists. Aria Meyers and Kimi Evans both had 12 points in the loss for NJIT, while Squier ended up with 10 points. The Highlanders end their season at 15-15. The Black Bears advance to their seventh straight America East Championship game, and will host Albany on Friday at 5 p.m. in the Pit. Maine won both regular season meetings. The Great Danes (22-9) knocked off Vermont 67-54 in the other semifinal on Tuesday night.
