The University of Maine women’s basketball team had the Cross Insurance Center crowd rocking Thursday night when they blew out America East rival University of New Hampshire with a near-perfect game, 87-56.
UMaine takes second place in the conference from UNH with the victory.
The Black Bears shot the ball better than they have all season, opening the game 8-8 from the field. They shot a stunning 61 percent and 57 percent from beyond the arc. UNH didn’t necessarily have a bad game but struggled to keep up with the Black Bears, shooting 44.9 percent from the field and 38.5 percent from downtown.
“Offensively they did whatever they wanted to do,” UNH head coach Maureen Magarity said.
Third-year forward Liz Wood was efficient, going 9-10 from the field for 24 points and seven boards.
“Today was really the first day that we saw the offensive efficiency in a game that we see in practice all the time,” Wood said. “It was exciting.”
UMaine took control early and never looked back. A steal by Wood led to an early jumper from third-year forward Anna Heise for a 2-0 lead.
The Black Bears’ offense clicked on all cylinders, while their defense was active early, earning the Black Bears 18 points off of turnover.
Third-year guard Sophie Weckstrom sparked an 11-0 run with a three-pointer that was capped by a three-pointer from Heise to extend the UMaine lead to 23-9. Heise finished with 17 points and four boards, while Weckstrom had 12 points and three assists.
Third-year forward Elizabeth Belanger was a key in keeping the game from getting too out of hand early. Belanger scored 14 points and four boards with five assists.
The Black Bears went into halftime with a 40-24 lead.
Wood picked up where she left off in the second half, converting three straight layups to open the frame.
The Black Bears continued their efficient shooting throughout the second half, with most of the starters staying in until about the 7:00 mark.
Second-year UNH guard Kristen Anderson was strong form beyond the arc, connecting on 4-8 from three. She pulled up short after running into a UMaine player in the second half and had to be carried off. Her sister, fourth-year UMaine guard Courtney Anderson, was there to help.
The UMaine defense continued its strong performance in the second half as the offense paced them to the victory.
The Black Bears will face a tough test when they travel to take on the University at Albany Sunday at 2 p.m.
“I think we want to carry this momentum into that game,” Wood said. “If we continue to perform like that, I don’t think there’s a team in this league that can stop us.”