Senior guard/forward Caroline Bornemann had a game to remember on Thursday night, and it was at a perfect time for the University of Maine women’s basketball team. Bornemann reached the 1,000 point career plateau in the second quarter, and would end up with a double double putting in a career-high 34 points in a 71-58 America East win over the New Jersey Institute of Technology at Memorial Gymnasium on Skip Chappelle Court in Orono. The victory snaps a two game conference losing streak for Maine, and sends NJIT to their first league defeat.
Bornemann began her career evening with 13 points in the first quarter, as Maine ended the opening 10 minutes on a 12-4 run to expand to a 24-14 lead with seven of those points coming from the senior and the native from Denmark. After the Black Bears stretched the advantage to 13 in the second on a steal and layup by Sarah Talon, the visitors from NJIT ended the half on a run of 9-2 to slice the deficit to 36-30 at the break. Bornemann did reach the 1,000 point club for her career with a free throw in the period, becoming the 26th player in program history to reach that number.
The Black Bears restored a 13 point advantage twice in the third quarter, but there was no quit in the Highlanders. A 10-2 spurt cut it to 50-45, but that is as close as they would get the rest of the way. Maine would take an eight point edge heading into the fourth. The hosts were able to put it away in the final 10 minutes, as a three-pointer by Olivia Rockwood, a layup by Paula Gallego, and a three-pointer by Caroline Dotsey gave them their biggest lead of the night at 62-48 with 8:13 left to play. It is the 16th straight home win for the Black Bears against America East opponents.
Bornemann shot 14-25 from the floor, also adding 13 rebounds, six assists, and a steal to her career-high point total in the Maine win. That tops a previous career-high of 29 points that she recorded on 12/11/22 vs Army. The six assists is also a career-high, and the double double is the sixth of this season and 11th overall. Dotsey chipped in 12 points and four rebounds, while Talon and Rockwood contributed nine points each. Rockwood also had five rebounds and three assists. Alejandra Zuniga led three players in double figures with 20 points in the loss for NJIT. The Highlanders fall to 6-11 and 3-1 in America East. The Black Bears are now 8-10 and 3-2 in conference play and will host UMBC on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
