ORONO – Jozf Ivicic, head coach of the Slovakian women’s basketball team Filozof Samorin, was a bit curious Wednesday night in the moments after the University of Maine’s 78-55 exhibition victory over his team.

“Is is true that you are the best team in the United States?” Ivicic asked through interpreter Martina Mimarikova.

The question met with surprised chuckles from those in attendance, especially Black Bears Cindy Blodgett and Catherine Gallant, who seemed flattered by the suggestion.

Ivicic simply nodded when it was explained that Maine lost to eventual national champ Connecticut in the NCAA Tournament last March. Even so, Ivicic appeared to be somewhat impressed with the Black Bears, who made fairly easy work of his team.

Maine, playing its only exhibition game before next Wednesday’s matchup against Massachusetts in the first round of the Preseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament, treated the crowd of 1,931 to a solid performance at Alfond Arena.

“Hopefully, we got some of the jitters out,” Blodgett said. “You’re playing with different people, so hopefully we’ll be able to maybe relax a little more and not go so fast at times.”

Both Ivicic and Maine coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie thought the Bears turned in a solid defensive effort.

“I really liked the way they play defense and how they [Maine] shoot. We have to work on that,” said Ivicic, who was impressed by the Alfond Arena atmosphere and how the fans responded to the team.

Maine played outstanding defense, keeping Filozof Samorin out of sync with an effective mixture of a 1-2-2 matchup zone, man-to-man, and 2-2-1 full-court pressure. The Slovakians, who had difficulties not only with the Bears but with the smaller basketball and different rules used in the United States, shot only 36 percent from the floor.

“I feel like we did some nice things defensively,” Palombo said. “I liked the fact that we were able to change our defenses and work on different things.

“Some of their formations were a little bit unorthodox and that also provided us with a new opportunity on defense,” she added.

Slovakia, which outmatched the Bears in height, were clearly no match in terms of their skill and teamwork. Maine utilized numerous personnel combinations and still had its way at the offensive end.

Sophomore point guard Blodgett breezed to a 23-point, five-assist, five-steal effort while playing only 25 minutes. Gallant, a senior forward, took charge underneath while contributing 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman Andrea Clark was solid in the middle, providing nine points and five rebounds as the rest of the scoring load was well-distributed. Junior Trisha Ripton had eight points and seven rebounds and junior center Stacey Porrini added six points and six rebounds.

The Bears were relentless on the boards, where Gallant, Ripton and Porrini set the pace en route to a commanding 48-29 advantage, even without injured senior forward Steph Guidi.

Maine pulled out to a 40-25 halftime lead despite missing a handful of close-range scoring chances. The Bears displayed good offensive balance, with Blodgett providing the outside presence and Gallant having strong showing in the paint.

Maine 78, Slovakia 55

Slovakia Maine

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

Vynuchalova 2 5 0 2 4 DeShong 1 1 0 0 2

Tatosova 2 7 1 1 5 Danes 1 3 2 4 4

Frantova 0 0 0 0 0 Bowman 1 2 0 0 2

Valkova 0 0 0 0 0 Stubbs 1 3 0 1 2

Eislerova 0 2 0 0 0 Blodgett 9 16 4 6 23

Kamasova 0 1 0 0 0 Gallant 6 18 1 2 13

Ciparova 6 12 2 2 18 Carver 2 7 0 0 4

A. Nagyova 0 0 0 0 0 Rustad 2 5 0 0 5

Hargasova 1 1 1 2 3 Porrini 3 10 0 1 6

K. Nagyova 0 0 0 0 0 Parker 0 0 0 0 0

Renertova 5 12 5 9 16 Ripton 3 7 0 0 8

Pokstaller’a 3 13 3 4 9 Clark 2 3 5 5 9

Totals 19 53 12 20 55 Totals 31 75 12 19 78

Slovakia 25 55

Maine 40 78

3-pt. goals: Slovakia: Ciparova 4-7, Renertova 1-1, Pokstallerova 0-7; Maine: Blodgett 1-5, Rustad 1-3, Ripton 2-4, Carver 0-1