The University of Maine men’s and women’s basketball teams tried to extend their win streaks on Thursday night by taking on the University of New Hampshire. And they would do just that in taking both games from the Wildcats.
In the men’s game at Memorial Gymnasium on Skip Chappelle Court in Orono- Maine shot 67% from the floor in the first half to build a 37-14 lead at the break, and would roll to a 71-46 over visiting UNH.
Maine never trailed scoring the first six points of the game on a pair of Quion Burns layups and one by Jaden Clayton. The Black Bears shot a sizzling 16-24 overall in the opening 20 minutes, including 4-8 from three-point range and were never really challenged. UNH was ice cold in the first half going 17.9% (5 for 28) to get into that huge hole they never dug out of. The win by Maine also snaps a five game losing streak vs UNH including a pair of tight losses last season 79-74 and 70-67.
Quion Burns led Maine in the win with 26 points (9-12 field goals, 5-5 three-pointers), while also adding eight rebounds. Kellen Tynes filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, four steals, three assists, and two blocked shots. Clayton chipped in eight points and five assists, while AJ Lopez contributed seven points. The Black Bears finished at 55.3% and 41.2% from long range (7-17), but did struggle at the line going 12-23. Sami Pissis recorded 20 points and six rebounds in the loss for UNH. The Wildcats have now lost four games in a row dropping to 4-19 and 2-6 in America East. Maine is on a six game win streak improving to 14-8 and 6-1 in the conference and will have a huge showdown on the road on Saturday in Burlington when they face the Vermont Catamounts at 2 p.m.
In the women’s game at Lundholm Gymnasium in Durham, New Hampshire- Caroline Dotsey scored 23 of her career-high 30 points in the first half, and Maine got past UNH 65-54 to complete the sweep.
Maine got off to a 13-4 first quarter lead, before UNH took a one point advantage on four different occasions in the second. Dotsey put the Black Bears up for good on a three-point play with 53 seconds left in that second period, and also added another layup for a 35-30 halftime lead. The Wildcats hung around in the third quarter down just three, before the guests finally were able to pull away on a pair of free throws by Asta Blauenfeldt and one by Dotsey, a three-pointer by Blauenfeldt, a jumper by Caroline Bornemann, and a layup by Dotsey to stretch it to 10. Maine iced it by scoring 10 of the first 11 points of the fourth period for their biggest lead of 17.
Dotsey went 11-20 from the floor (2-5 three-pointers) for her game-high and career-high point total. Dotsey tops her previous career-high of 26 points that she achieved in a win over Stonehill College on November 26. The sophomore forward has now reached double figures in scoring 11 times this season and in four straight games. Paula Gallego added 11 points, seven rebounds, and three assists. Blauenfeldt and Bornemann both put in eight points a piece. Eva DeChent had a big night in the loss for UNH with 29 points that included three 3-pointers and 14-16 from the foul line. The Wildcats suffer their third straight defeat in falling to 8-14 and 2-7 in America East. Maine wins their fourth straight in moving back over .500 overall at 11-10 and 6-2 in the conference. The Black Bears will host Vermont in Orono on Saturday at 1 p.m.
