NEWARK, Del. – League-leading Delaware took advantage of its depth and good free-throw shooting Thursday night, extending its home winning streak to 13 with a hard-fought 73-53 America East victory over Maine at the Carpenter Center.

The Black Bears, now 6-12 overall and 3-6 in league play, were plagued by foul trouble throughout the evening. Senior Kizzy Lopez fouled out in only 11 minutes of action, while Anna James also fouled out.

UMaine, which has limited depth, especially in the frontcourt, was whistled for 28 of the game’s 49 fouls. Delaware (15-3, 9-0) capitalized, making 30 of 39 free throws while pulling away in the final four minutes.

It was the Hens’ first home win against the Bears in 10 tries. Delaware has won 10 straight this season.

“We were down by five with four minutes left,” said UMaine coach Sharon Versyp. “In reality, we only lost by six to eight points at Delaware and, having two people foul out, I was very fired up after the game. I told them, ‘Look how close we were.’ ”

Delaware had thumped UMaine 84-59 on Dec. 10 in Orono.

The Bears struggled taking care of the ball, committing 24 turnovers. Delaware had only 10.

Freshman Heather Ernest of Temple carried the Bears, scoring a career-high 25 points and grabbing a game-high 19 rebounds in 39 minutes.

“Heather Ernest was unbelievable,” Versyp said. “She had a goose egg [went scoreless] against them before. She didn’t practice last night because she was throwing up. She’s a gamer, a wonderful kid.”

Lacey Stone contributed 10 points and James finished with eight points and nine rebounds for the Bears.

Danielle Leyfert led the Blue Hens with 21 points and 15 rebounds, while Cindy Johnson tossed in 18 points. Christina Rible contributed 11 points and 12 boards and Lindsay Davis added 11 points.

UMaine outrebounded Delaware 48-46, but was limited to 29 percent shooting from the field. The Bears made 18 of 23 free throws.

The Hens, who led 37-31 at halftime, maintained a seven- to 10-point lead during much of the second half. However, Ernest sank four consecutive foul shots to get UMaine within six at 55-49 with 4:12 to play.

Ultimately, Delaware pulled away from the foul line, making their last 14 free throws.

The Bears, who didn’t get closer than eight after the 3:51 mark, shot a dismal 16 percent (4-for-25) from the floor in the second half.

“We didn’t execute real well,” Versyp said of UMaine’s offensive effort. “… We need to take care of the ball.”

Blue Hens 73, Black Bears 53

Maine women (6-12) 53 Delaware (15-3) 73

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG F AF TP

Lopez 0 3 0 0 0 Leyfert 4 12 12 17 21

James 2 7 4 6 8 Rible 4 8 3 11

Ernest 7 14 11 12 25 Cole 1 2 0 0

Guerrette 2 8 0 0 5 Dellegrotti 0 5

Stone 4 8 0 1 10 Johnson 7 25 4 18

Heon 1 6 1 2 3 Trapp 1 5 1 3

Moldre 0 3 0 0 0 Timmins 1 1 0 2

Veilleux 0 3 0 0 0 Boyer 0 0 0

Geraghty 0 4 2 2 2 Davis 3 6 11

Howell 0 1 0 0

Totals 16 56 18 23 53 Totals 21 65 30 39 73

Maine 31 53

Delaware 37 73

3-pt. goals: Maine (3-16): Lopez 0-1, Ernest 0-2, Guerrette 1-4, Stone 2-4, Heon 0-2, Veilleux 0-3; Delaware (1-6): Leyfert 1-1, Dellegrotti 0-3, Johnson 0-1, Davis 0-1

Attendance: 1,155

Preliminary: