ORONO – The University of Maine women’s basketball team continued Thursday night where it had left off last weekend.

Coach Joanne Palombo’s Black Bears, who found out Monday that they would not be eligible for the North Atlantic Conference postseason tournament because Maine had scheduled one game too many, did the only thing they can do to ease the pain – keep winning.

Freshman Trisha Ripton came off the bench with reckless abandon, scoring a career-high 17 points while sparking Maine to a 67-50 victory over Hartford at Alfond Arena.

Maine improved to 17-6 overall, 9-1 in NAC action. Hartford dipped to 9-13 and 2-8, respectively.

The Black Bears did not seem to exhibit the effects of their emotional week.

“I just think we just took care of business, what we had to do,” said Maine’s Steph Guidi. “Regardless of the situation, we had to go out there and win anyway. I think we remained focused on what we have to do to win the conference.”

Ripton’s timely outside shooting and strong penetration moves were instrumental in helping the Bears shake off a sporadic first half, while sophomore forward Guidi provided her typically steady inside game.

“Trish did such a nice job and creating and opening things up and working well with the team, taking good shots,” Palombo said. “That’s been so incredibly inmportant to this team, that at different times people do stand up and make that difference.”

Maine turned up the defensive intensity in the second half while limiting Hartford to a dismal 19-for-62 shooting effort. The Bears began to make their move with a defensive push early in the second half, holding Hartford scoreless for more than four minutes.

By then, Maine led by 10 and the Hawks never managed to get closer than nine the rest of the way.

The Hawks ended their drought on a Lorraine Grogan hoop from underneath with 13:10 remaining, but Ripton answered by making one of two from the foul line and following that up with a 3-pointer that gave Maine a 40-28 lead with 12:10 left.

“As the season has been going on, I feel like I’ve been comfortable and playing a lot better, playing with more confidence,” Ripton said.

The crowd of 1,103 was more vocal than usual in an apparent attempt to lift the team’s spirits in the wake of Monday’s NAC decision. UMaine players noticed the support and tried to use it to their advantage.

“We were excited to play tonight,” said senior Chrissy Strong. “I think, with everything that has gone on, the crowd support was excellent tonight and I think that really motivated us to play well at home.”

Guidi contributed 14 points and 10 rebounds to complement Ripton’s production, while Erin Grealy tossed in 12 points. Freshman center Stacey Porrini turned in eight crucial minutes, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Strong (nine rebounds, five assists) and Seana Dionne also played well.

“It’s just been an amazing thing to stay together and stay focused and to understand our goals,” Palombo said. “We want to go after that No. 1 spot with all our hearts, because we strongly believe in that.”

Candace Ward paced Hartford with 18 points, while Lorraine Grogan scored 11 and Heather Weindorfer 10, along with nine rebounds.

Ripton and Porrini gave Maine a lift off the bench during the last three minutes of the first half. The Bears and Hawks struggled with their shooting, but the hosts were able to put together an 11-2 spurt that carried them to a 28-21 halftime lead.

Rita Sullivan opened the run with a move underneath at the 3:13 mark, tying the game at 19-19. Ripton followed with one foul shot, then Grealy swished a 6-foot transition jumper as Maine began to gain some confidence.

The second of three Porrini tap-away steals led to a pair of Grealy free throws at 1:23. Catherine Gallant added another from the line and Ripton cashed in on a Porrini steal by canning a 3-pointer with 15 seconds left in the half to close out a string of 11 unanswered points.

However, Grogan’s 16-footer just before the buzzer helped take the edge off for the Hawks.

Black Bears 67, Hawks 50

Hartford Maine

Name AG G AF F TP Name AG G AF F TP

Penwell 7 1 0 0 2 Strong 5 0 0 0 0

Ward 22 6 6 5 18 Grealy 9 4 4 4 12

Conway 0 0 0 0 0 Stubbs 1 1 3 2 4

Schaeffer 0 0 0 0 0 Gallant 0 0 4 3 3

Grogan 13 5 0 0 11 Rustad 4 1 0 0 2

Sechler 6 1 0 0 2 Porrini 4 3 2 2 8

Broderick 4 3 2 1 7 Dionne 2 0 0 0 0

Weindorfer 10 3 8 4 10 Ripton 10 4 8 6 17

Sullivan 6 3 2 1 7

Buetow 1 0 2 0 0

Guidi 13 6 2 2 14

Totals 62 19 16 10 50 Totals 55 22 27 20 67

Hartford 21 50

Maine 28 67

3-pt. goals: Hartford (2-9): Penwell 0-1, Ward 1-5, Grogan 1-3; Maine (3-8): Rustad 0-1, Dionne 0-2, Ripton 3-5