ORONO – When you’re playing great defense, everything else seems to fall into place.

The University of Maine scored the first 17 points of the game Saturday afternoon, then used a fluid 1-2-2 matchup zone to limit Rhode Island to 28 percent shooting on its way to a 50-39 women’s basketball victory at Alfond Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears take a 7-4 record into the holiday break after holding opponents under 40 points in consecutive games for the first time in the program’s history.

UMaine, which beat Fordham 52-39 on Dec. 15, played its final non-league game and is 3-1 this season against Atlantic 10 teams. The Bears have won five of their last six games.

“This was a real important game for us coming right off of finals [exams] and going into the Christmas break, playing an Atlantic 10 team – and Rhode Island is playing so well. It was a huge win for us today.”

The Bears played exceptional defense from the outset, holding the 6-4 Rams scoreless for the first eight minutes, 40 seconds. UMaine executed an active 1-2-2 zone that afforded Rhode Island precious few open looks at the basket, especially in the paint.

The hosts also clicked at the offensive end early. Freshman point guard Missy Traversi ignited the 17-0 run with two 3-pointers in the first 93 seconds.

UMaine dismantled the Rams’ man-to-man defense as Heather Ernest scored three times from inside, while Melissa Heon and Monica Peterson added close-range hoops.

“We got out there and we just took it to them,” said Traversi, who scored a game-high 20 points. “We were intense, we were talking and our thing is communication. I didn’t look up at the score and before you knew it, it was 17-0.”

Traversi was instrumental in breaking URI’s full-court pressure later in the game, a key in preventing the Rams from coming all the way back and taking the lead.

Ernest, a sophomore forward from Temple, contributed 15 points and nine rebounds. Heon chipped in with seven points, six steals and three assists, while Julie Veilleux of Augusta grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to help UMaine post a 39-29 advantage.

The Bears shot only 35 percent from the field, but outscored the Rams 20-6 in the paint and tallied 29 points as the direct result of URI turnovers.

Dragana Banjac’s nine points led Rhode Island, while Vedrana Bajagic added seven points and six rebounds.

The Bears’ defense was the difference.

“Our ‘1’ defense was the best ‘1’ defense we’ve played in a while,” Ernest said of the 1-2-2. “We knew that they were shooters and the guards went out… to make sure they didn’t shoot and the posts had to rotate and that’s exactly what we did.”

While UMaine dominated early, Rhode Island methodically fought its way back into contention. The Rams shelved their man-to-man in favor of a 1-2-2 zone that severely hampered the Bears’ offensive effectiveness.

“When they went zone, immediately we struggled,” Versyp said. “It’s one of the best zones we’ve gone against.”

Trailing 26-16 at halftime, URI picked up the pace a bit and began to score points in transition. Yatar Kuyateh hit a pullup jumper during a 6-1 spurt, then Banjac made a 14-footer during a 5-0 flurry that brought the Rams within 31-29 with 13:43 remaining.

After Versyp took a quick timeout, Ernest scored on an offensive rebound to end a three-minute scoring drought. Less than a minute later, Traversi hit a tough pull-up jumper in traffic, was fouled, and made the free throw to give the Bears a 36-29 edge.

“We were standing in the first half. Second half we were flashing, cutting, getting some things and not just being stationary on the outside,” Versyp said.

UMaine, which had emerged from the timeout with renewed defensive intensity, held URI to one point during a six-minute span and pulled back out to an 11-point lead.

“That’s Maine’s defense, I think, to be very honest with you,” said URI coach Belinda Pearman. “They obviously were aware of who our scorers were and they took care of them, did a nice job.”

Two Ernest foul shots and Traversi’s layup off a full-court inbounds pass from Veilleux helped the hosts make it 41-30 with 7:37 to play.

“Physical energy and psychologically, you get down that much and then you fight back and you still can’t get over the hump,” Pearman said. “We got it within [two], we just couldn’t get it any closer. Then it just snowballed.”

BLACK BEARS 50, RAMS 39

Rhode Island (6-4) Maine (7-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Djuric 0 2 0 0 0 Heon 2 6 7

Goodrich 1 3 0 2 2 Traversi 7 18 3 3 20

King 1 9 0 0 3 Ernest 5 9 5 15

Washington 0 3 0 0 0 Veilleux 1 2

Kuyateh 3 8 0 0 6 Peterson 2 5

Johnson 1 8 2 2 4 Moldre 0 0 1

Stailing 0 0 3 4 3 Guerrette 0 0

Banjac 4 7 0 0 9 Jay 0 0 0

O’Neil 1 2 2 2 5 Corbitt 0 0 0

Totals 13 46 10 14 39 Totals 17 48 12 17 50

Rhode Island 16 39

Maine 26 50

3-pt. goals ? Rhode Island (3-11): Goodrich 0-1, King 1-4, Johnson 0-2, Banjac 1-2, O’Neil 1-2; Maine (4-12): Heon 1-2, Traversi 3-5, Ernest 0-1, Veilleux 0-3, Guerrette 0-1

Attendance: 1,624