UMaine turning to its youth Ernest, Veilleux lead Bears in minutes played

Coach Sharon Versyp and the University of Maine women’s basketball team are dealing with considerable frustration these days.

The Black Bears are coming off Sunday’s tough 67-64 loss in a winnable game at Northeastern and have slipped to 4-9 overall, including a 1-4 America East record, while losing three in a row.

UMaine has made significant strides since Versyp first put this graduation-depleted, injury-riddled team on the court back in November. However, the improvement hasn’t translated into wins.

“That’s what is so hard is we’ve been so close,” Versyp said. “I think you’ll see a lot of conference games that are very close. It’s going to come down to turnovers and free throws and rebounding and the small things, the detail things.”

Versyp has pointed to turnovers and inconsistent rebounding as UMaine’s major difficulties. The Bears are averaging 23.6 turnovers per game while managing only 12.7 assists per contest.

UMaine is outrebounding its opponents 40.8 to 38.7 but has afforded the opposition 15.3 offensive rebounds per game, which has led to too many second-chance baskets.

Freshman forward/center Heather Ernest of Temple said the Bears must continue to seek improvement without being overcome by the frustration of losing.

“I think that we’re coming together as a team, little by little, each time we play together,” Ernest said. “I think that we’re all optimistic about the future of this team. We all know where we want to be and we’re going to do everything we can to get there.”

Lack of depth, especially in the frontcourt, has taken its toll, particularly on the defensive end. The problem is magnified whenever one of the eight regulars gets into early foul trouble, as is often the case.

The recent departure of Christy Grover has put more pressure on the remaining players to produce in the post, while forcing senior co-captain Kizzy Lopez to play some power forward.

The eight-player rotation also means increased minutes played and the possibility of fatigue for the Bears. Ernest and classmate Julie Veilleux of Augusta lead the team in minutes play, averaging 30 and 28 minutes, respectively.

The pair also have emerged as UMaine’s top scorers and rebounders. Ernest is averaging a team-leading 11.8 points and 9.0 rebounds, while Veilleux checks in second with 10.7 points and 5.1 rebounds.

Veilleux said the key for the Bears during these tough times is to maintain their camaraderie, their work ethic and their optimism.

“We’re getting better and better. Still, when you lose it’s not fun,” Veilleux said. “We just keep thinking, we’re this close and no matter what, we’re gonna stick together, no matter how frustrating things get.”

UMaine heads back on the road Wednesday for a Thursday night game at Stony Brook (N.Y.), where former Bears coach Trish Roberts is the head coach.

By the time the Bears return to Orono next Sunday, they will have played six of seven games and nine of their last 12 on the road.