ORONO – Seniors Jamie Cassidy, Amy Vachon, and Kristen McCormick have played a lot of basketball for the University of Maine during the last four years.

Friday night, the trio played off each other’s considerable strengths while exhibiting good offensive chemistry and balance while leading the Black Bears to a 71-62 victory over St. Francis (Pa.) in the first round of the Dead River Co. Classic at Alfond Arena.

Coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie’s Black Bears evened their record at 1-1, setting up today’s 7 p.m. tournament championship game against third-ranked Georgia. The 5-0 Bulldogs thumped Stephen F. Austin 85-44 in Friday’s tourney opener.

St. Francis and Stephen F. Austin hook up in today’s 4:30 p.m. consolation contest.

The Red Flash (1-1), who have made four straight trips to the NCAA Tournament out of the Northeast Conference, provided the Bears with a stiff test, which is exactly what UMaine needed to help prepare for a talented Georgia contingent.

“This is the way we wanted it to be, to beat St. Francis in a very aggressive defensive game and to have the opportunity to go against Georgia,” said Palombo, who talked about taking on the Bulldogs.

“One thing they do very well is move the ball up the floor very quickly, and I think we really need to keep the tempo in check against them and rebound very aggressively,” she said.

Cassidy sparked UMaine with 23 points, 14 rebounds, and three blocked shots, while Vachon connected for 16 points and dished off for 10 assists. McCormick chipped in with 11 points and six boards. Freshman forward Anna James added eight points and seven rebounds.

Jess Zinobile paced the Red Flash with 25 points, while Jen Defilippo contributed 10 points and seven rebounds. Jordin Schaffner added nine points.

Against St. Francis, UMaine combined relentless, full-court zone pressure and aggressive rebounding to speed up the tempo in the second half. The quicker pace enabled the Bears to get into a quick-striking fast-break attack.

The Bears came away with a 48-26 rebounding advantage, pulling down 19 on the offensive end.

“We failed to stop them from getting more than one shot,” said St. Francis coach Myndi Hill. “That was just pure hustle and desire on Maine’s part. All night they pressed us and we never got them out of the press. We did not do a good job controlling the tempo.”

Vachon helped jumpstart the Bears, hitting a 3-pointer and a driving scoop shot during an 8-0 spurt to open the second half, but it was an 11-3 burst a few minutes later that got UMaine rolling.

“Amy was outstanding in terms of attacking their defensive pressure, and I thought Jamie showed a lot of maturity in her decision-making throughout the game,” Palombo said.

“It was great to see that kind of chemistry and that kind of intensity,” she added. “I think there was a tremendous intensity on defense and I think that generated some of the things on offense.”

McCormick opened the run with a driving layup, then Cassidy kicked the ball out to Vachon for a 3-pointer. Cassidy followed, sandwiching a fast-break layup and an 18-footer around a Zinobile 3-pointer and Eva Moldre finished off a transition layup to give the Bears a 58-41 bulge with 11:12 remaining.

“I think our pressure kind of wore them down. They got kind of tired and we were able to make them take quick shots or rebound the ball and just get out and run,” Vachon said. “We love to run and it all starts on the defensive end.”

St. Francis closed the margin toward the end, but the Bears did a good job managing the clock down the stretch, working the ball around rather than taking quick shots.

Despite some hurried play on the offensive end during the first 20 minutes, the Bears emerged with a 34-29 halftime lead.

UMaine dominated the rebounding action to the tune of 25-14, paced by five each from Cassidy and James. The Red Flash ran a patient half-court offense and Zinobile freed herself for 13 first-half points, most from the 18-foot range.

Tied 22-22 with six minutes left in the half, the Bears put together an 8-2 scoring run that helped provide some momentum going into intermission.

Cassidy hit a seven-footer from the baseline and McCormick scored after grabbing a loose ball in the paint. Deanna Jubeck answered with two free throws for St. Francis, but Eva Moldre converted an offensive rebound and Pam Cruz connected on a 16-foot jumper off the dribble to give the hosts a tenuous six-point cushion.

Bears 71, Red Flash 62

St. Francis (1-1) Maine (1-1)

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

Zinobile 11 23 0 0 25 Cassidy 11 17 0 0 23

Defilippo 4 10 1 2 10 James 4 9 0 0 8

Barnabei 2 5 0 0 4 McCormick 5 13 0 0 11

Jubeck 2 5 2 2 7 Vachon 7 12 0 0 16

Schaffner 3 9 2 2 9 Stone 0 3 0 0 0

Guerriere 0 1 0 0 0 Clark 0 2 0 0 0

Ward 1 5 0 0 3 Moldre 2 2 1 2 5

Chesick 1 2 0 0 2 Guerrette 0 2 0 0 0

Caskey 0 0 0 0 0 Cruz 1 3 0 0 2

Edwards 0 2 2 2 2 Grover 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 24 62 7 8 62 Totals 32 66 3 6 71

St. Francis 29 62

UMaine 34 71

3-pt. goals: St. Francis (7-21): Zinobile 3-6, Defilippo 1-1, Barnabei 0-1, Jubeck 1-3, Schaffner 1-7, Guerriere 0-1, Ward 1-2; UMaine (4-17): Cassidy 1-1, McCormick 1-8, Vachon 2-5, Stone 0-2, Cuerrette 0-1

Attendance: 3,066