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ORONO – University of Maine coach Sharon Versyp had hoped her Black Bears might face Atlantic 10 women’s basketball power Xavier in the second round of the Dead River Co. Classic.
The Black Bears and the Musketeers will square off today – in the consolation game.
Bradley overwhelmed UMaine with tenacious man-to-man defense and a balanced inside-outside game Friday night while pulling away for an 84-56 women’s basketball victory in front of 2,324 fans at Alfond Arena.
“We were just flat-out outplayed tonight,” Versyp said.
The 3-0 Braves face 2-0 Wisconsin-Green Bay, a 64-51 winner over Xavier, in Friday’s 7 p.m. championship game. UMaine and Xavier (2-1) meet at 4:30 p.m.
This marks the first time since the inception of the Dead River tourney in 1993 the Bears have not advanced to the title game.
“You’re playing in front of 3,000 fans, it’s your home opener, a great opportunity. I really don’t understand,” Versyp said of her team’s lackluster performance. “I’m very confused how you can not rise to the occasion…. It’s very frustrating.”
Bradley set the tone from the outset with its gritty defense, tenacious rebounding and opportunistic offensive play. The Braves scored the game’s first seven points and held the lead throughout.
“I was real excited how hard our team came out and played defense at the beginning of the game,” said Bradley coach Paula Buscher. “I thought that was a major factor and kind of set the tone a little bit for the game.”
In contrast, UMaine appeared sluggish on defense and out of sync at the offensive end.
“It was a result of us bailing out of our execution, out of our plays,” said freshman point guard Missy Traversi. “It was either one pass, a quick shot, or we just wouldn’t go through our offense.”
Bradley shot 48 percent from the floor, 54 percent in the second half. UMaine committed 25 turnovers, which Bradley converted into 27 points.
“I give Bradley credit, they played great defense,” Versyp said.
Sara Bailey led Bradley with a game-high 22 points, while Mandy Sides connected for 19 points, 13 in the second half. Genny Mueller scored 16 and Lora Webber added 10.
Freshmen Monica Peterson and Traversi sparked the Bears with 14 points each. The 6-foot Peterson went 7-for-9 from the floor, all from close range, and grabbed six rebounds.
“We had a lot of good screens set,” Peterson said, “and Tracy [Guerrette] and Missy found me. I got good passes and it just seemed like I ended up being wide-open when I got the ball.”
Eva Moldre contributed eight points and nine rebounds.
The sophomore trio of Melissa Heon, Heather Ernest of Temple, and Julie Veilleux of Augusta combined for only eight points and 13 rebounds while committing 10 turnovers and shooting a combined 3-for-24 from the floor.
Bradley had built a comfortable 17-point first-half lead on the strength of a 15-0 scoring run. In the meantime, the Braves held the Bears scoreless for nearly 51/2 minutes.
Bailey and Mueller scored five points each during the spurt, each hitting a 3-pointer and a long-range jumper.
The Bears rallied behind the play of Peterson, who scored six points from underneath to spearhead a 10-0 UMaine spurt that cut the deficit to 30-23 with 1:36 left in the first half.
However, Bradley scored six of the last eight points to make it 36-25 at intermission.
Traversi jump-started the Bears in the second half, scoring UMaine’s first seven points during a 10-5 run that made it 41-35 with 17:04 left. However, the Braves answered with a seven-point run.
Bradley maintained its advantage thanks to continued defensive excellence and the play of the versatile Sides, who scored 14 points in the first 12 minutes of the second half.
“We knew we had to pound it inside to make them drop on us,” Sides said. “We were getting triple-teamed down low and when that happens, I can pass it back out and prove that we can shoot.”
In the tournament opener, Wisconsin-Green Bay played superb man-to-man defense while shutting down highly regarded Xavier.
The Musketeers went into the contest averaging a healthy 84.5 points per game, but the 2-0 Phoenix limited Xavier to 40 percent field goal shooting and came away with a 32-29 rebounding edge.
The Musketeers, who committed 25 turnovers, had advanced to the final eight last season while compiling a sparkling 31-3 record.
Mandy Stowe paced a balanced Wisconsin-Green Bay offensive effort with 14 points. Sara Boyer and Elizabeth Dudley tossed in 11 points each, while Amanda Leonhard added 10.
Reetta Piipari led Xavier with 13 points, while Amy Waugh and Kate Kreager (8 rebounds) provided 11 and 10 points, respectively.
BRAVES 84, BLACK BEARS 56
Bradley (3-0) Maine (1-2)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Lugge 0 5 2 2 2 Heon 1 7 3
Webber 3 7 4 4 10 Traversi 5 11 2 2 14
Love 1 2 4 6 6 Ernest 2 8 1 5
Sides 8 13 3 4 19 Veilleux 0 0
Bailey 8 17 3 4 22 Peterson 7 14
Calbow 0 0 2 4 2 Moldre 3 6 8
Mueller 7 11 0 0 16 Guerrette 3 8
Warren 0 0 2 2 2 Jay 2 3 4
Mozingo 0 1 0 0 0 Corbitt 0 1 0
Waterman 2 3 0 0 5 Cruz 0 2 0
Williams 0 1 0 0 0
Totals 29 60 20 26 84 Totals 23 64 56
Bradley 36 84
Maine 25 56
3-pt. goals: Bradley (6-16): Lugge 0-1, Love 0-1, Bailey 3-7, Mueller 2-4, Mozingo 0-1, Waterman 1-2; Maine (5-13): Heon 1-3, Traversi 2-4, Veilleux 0-2, Guerrette 2-4
Attendance: 2,324
BRAVES 64, MUSKETEERS 51
Wisconsin-Green Bay (2-0) 64
Leonhard 5-0-10, Grassell, Boyer 5-0-11, Dudley 3-5-11, Loiselle 3-2-9, Stowe 7-0-14, Johnson 4-1-9
Xavier (2-1) 51
Waugh 4-0-11, Piipari 5-0-13, Kreager 3-4-10, Cuncic 1-0-2, Bell 3-1-8, Sarajlija, Henderson 3-0-7
3-pt. goals: Boyer, Loiselle; Waugh 3, Piipari 3, Bell, Henderson
Halftime: Wisconsin-Green Bay 27-22
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