NEW ORLEANS – The Tulane University women’s basketball team clawed back from an 11-point deficit to get by the University of Maine for an 85-76 victory in the championship game of the Tulane/Doubletree Tournament championship Tuesday night at the Fogelman Arena.

UMaine forward Kristen McCormick scored 23 points on 5-for-8 shooting from 3-point land as the Black Bears set a school record with 12 3-pointers in the loss. As a team, Maine shot 12-of-19 (63 percent) from the 3-point arc.

“We had excellent ball movement at times,” Maine coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie said. “I think Kristen played a great game and Kelly Bowman did a great job spotting up.”

The old record of 10 3-pointers was set in a game against Delaware on Feb. 9, 1996.

Tulane’s record now stands at 9-1. UMaine falls to 5-4.

Maine center Jamie Cassidy led all scorers with 25 points. She also tallied three blocks and five rebounds.

Down four points at the half, the Black Bears shocked the Green Wave with a 14-2 run on the strength of nine points from Cassidy. With under 14 minutes left in the game, Maine had a 58-47 lead.

“I think that was a total team effort, just team intensity,” Palombo said. “It was pure hustle.”

But that would be as far as the Bears would go. The Green Wave went on a 12-point tear of its own courtesy of two baskets and four free throws by standout guard Grace Daley for a 72-64 advantage.

“They executed well and I don’t think we were strong enough on the boards,” Palombo said. “I don’t think one person had more than five rebounds. We needed to be more aggressive.”

Maine was still in striking distance when point guard Amy Vachon fouled out with 2:13 left in the game. That left freshman Lacey Stone to run the point and Tulane took advantage.

“[Vachon fouling out] was very significant,” Palombo said. “We didn’t have the experience back in the one position. But I have to give Tulane a lot of credit.”

Tulane sealed the win with 11 free throws in the final minutes.

Daley paced the Green Wave with 23 points, including 12 in the second half. Kristen Koch added 13 points, including 6-for-7 free-throw shooting. And Kiki Cizmar shot 50 percent from the field for 12 points.

Tulane’s depth was hard for UMaine to overcome as well. Backup guard Sarah Goree was on fire from the perimeter, scoring 16 points on 4-for-5 shooting from the 3-point arc. Janelle Burse, a 6-foot-5 center, came off the bench to score nine and grab seven rebounds.

The Green Wave started out with a four-point lead until McCormick unleashed her first 3-pointer for a 7-4 UMaine advantage. The Bears went up 12-6 on a Cassidy score and Maine knocked down four 3-pointers for a 24-16 lead.

The Black Bears were ahead in the waning minutes of the half until Goree hit two 3-pointers and Daley scored on a lay-in for a four-point Tulane lead going into the locker room.

Maine’s Bowman finished with 11 points and Vachon racked up 12 assists to go with her eight points.

Green Wave 85, Black Bears 76

Maine (5-4) Tulane (9-1)

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

Tinklova 2 5 2 2 7 Vicknair 1 4 1 5 3

Cassidy 10 21 4 4 25 Roberson 2 8 0 0 4

McCormick 9 15 0 0 23 Daley 7 20 9 10 23

Vachon 3 5 0 1 8 Cizmar 6 12 0 0 12

Stone 0 3 2 2 2 Koch 4 7 6 7 16

Macream 0 0 0 0 0 Goree 6 8 0 0 16

Bowman 3 7 2 2 11 Hector 0 1 0 0 0

Lopez 0 0 0 0 0 Burse 4 7 1 2 9

Moldre 0 0 0 0 0 Turnbull 0 0 0 0 0

Clark 0 0 0 2 0 Slaughter 1 1 0 0 2

Totals 27 56 10 13 76 Totals 31 68 17 24 85

Maine 41 76

Tulane 45 85

3-pt. goals: Maine (12-19): Tinklova 1-1, Cassidy 1-3, McCormick 5-8, Vachon 2-3, Stone 0-1, Bowman 3-3; Tulane (6-19): Vicknair 0-1, Daley 0-8, Cizmar 0-2, Koch 2-3, Goree 4-4, Hector 0-1

Attendance: 917