DURHAM, N.H. – The University of Maine proved again Sunday that it takes its defense seriously, especially in the second half.

The Black Bears held New Hampshire to 20 points on 24-percent shooting after intermission, bouncing back for a 71-56 North Atlantic Conference victory Sunday at Lundholm Gym.

An enthusiastic contingent of some 300 fans made the trip to New Hampshire to support the 15-4 Bears, who won their seventh in a row and matched the program’s best league start at 9-0.

New Hampshire, now 9-8 overall and 6-4 in the NAC, failed to get the upset for a record UNH women’s crowd of 2,011. The gathering exceeded the combined 1,387 spectators who attended the Wildcats’ first five home contests.

“This was a time to struggle through a comeback, and I think you learn more about your team when you’re down,” said Maine coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie.

“We had given up too many shots in the first half, and it was tremendous defensive effort [in the second half],” said Palombo, who said her team also picked up its rebounding intensity.”

Cindy Blodgett pushed her nation-leading scoring average to 26.9 points per game, rolling up 32 points. She had six rebounds, four steals and eight turnovers.

Maine’s Trisha Ripton continued her versatile play with 12 points, four assists and three steals. Stacey Porrini battled her way to 10 points and a season-high 16 rebounds, while Guidi finished with 11 points and five boards.

Sheila Danker paced UNH with 18 points, Anne Colton netted 14 and Kelly Karl had 12 points and five assists. Kathy Caldwell pulled down 13 rebounds.

An upset appeared to be in the making early in the second half as the hosts extended their five-point halftime lead to 43-33 with five minutes gone. But from that point on, the Bears gelled defensively and UNH managed only 13 points the rest of the way.

“At halftime, we said that we need to concentrate on picking up the defensive pressure, stopping penetration, and focusing on rebounding, and I think we did that in the second half,” said Maine’s Steph Guidi.

Guidi gave Maine a lift off the bench, scoring two baskets during a 10-1 run that got the Bears back in it. Catherine Gallant’s rebound hoop from the paint got Maine within one (44-43) with 9:50 to play.

She [Guidi] plays very intense defense,” Palombo said. “I thought she did a good job for us. She really showed great leadership.”

UNH went six minutes without a field goal until Sheila Danker stuck a 10-footer on the next possession, but Blodgett took over. She scorefooter on the next possession, but Blodgett took over. She scored 12 straight points, giving Maine a 56-52 lead with 4:15 left.

“For us, I think we were a little surprised we were up at the half,” said New Hampshire coach Cathy Sanborn. “The game kind of got out of our hand at the 5:45 mark and it seemed like there wasn’t anybody who really wanted to step it up offensively.”

Colton countered with two foul shots for the ‘Cats, but Ripton found Guidi for back-door layups 53 seconds apart to give Maine the final push.

“I felt that we were starting to break them down when Trish hit Steph for those two buckets,” Palombo said. “Those were big passes, great assists by Trish.”

Guidi, who turned a baseline layup into a conventional three-point play, followed it up with a hoop from underneath off a Ripton lob pass.

The Wildcats led 36-31 at halftime after limiting the Bears to 15 points over the last 11:26 of the first half. UNH settled down and started to rebound while taking advantage of Maine’s turnover woes.

Karl provided the spark, sinking two 3-pointers to ignite an 11-2 run that cut Maine’s lead to 22-19 with 8:05 to play. Danker scored 13 points during the last 7:08 as the Wildcats made their move.

Bears 71, Wildcats 56

Maine (15-4) New Hampshire (9-8)

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

Blodgett 10 23 10 11 32 Colton 5 10 4 6 14

Ripton 2 4 6 6 12 Danker 5 22 7 8 18

Porrini 4 11 2 5 10 Karl 5 9 0 1 12

Guidi 5 9 1 1 11 Kimball 2 5 1 2 5

Rustad 0 3 3 4 3 Brandell 2 3 0 0 4

Gallant 1 3 1 2 3 Galdwell 1 8 1 5 3

Danes 0 0 0 0 0 Schubert 0 0 0 0 0

Carver 0 0 0 0 0 White 0 3 0 0 0

Totals 22 53 23 29 71 Totals 20 58 13 22 56

Maine 31 71

New Hampshire 36 56

3-pt. goals: Maine (4-12): Blodgett 2-7, Ripton 2-4, Guidi 0-1; UNH (3-10): Karl 2-5, Danker 1-5