Maine defense keys victory over Hartford

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WEST HARTFORD, Conn. ? The University of Maine held Hartford without a field goal during a span of 13 minutes, 4 seconds in the second half Thursday night, paving the way for a 58-49 America East women’s basketball victory at the Chase Family Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears, now 10-6, improved to 3-2 in conference play while limiting the league’s best shooting team (.424) to 26.9 percent accuracy (14-for-52) on its home court.

“The defense was the key tonight,” Versyp said. “Hartford was leading in field-goal percentage on two-pointers and three-pointers.”

Hartford, which will host the America East tournament in March, slipped to 6-9 and 2-2, respectively.

Senior center Eva Moldre came off the bench to score a career-high nine points, including four during a critical 13-0 second-half scoring run that provided the Black Bears with a bit of breathing room.

The Bears made their move midway through the second half, taking advantage of its transition attack led by the rebounding of Monica Peterson and the ballhandling of Kim Corbitt and Melissa Heon.

With the scored tied 32-32, Moldre banked in a shot to kick off a spurt that included two Heather Ernest free throws, a close-range basket by Moldre, a Missy Traversi 3-pointer, Heon’s pull-up jumper, and two Corbitt foul shots.

“My philosophy was to try to run with them when we could,” Versyp said. “We went to three guards with Missy, Kim and Mel and we were able to handle it that way. That was a key.”

By the time Hartford’s Kelly Ann Charles hit two free throws with 6:19 remaining, UMaine had already built a 45-32 advantage that ultimately would hold up.

“Our kids did a great job in the second half,” Versyp said. “[Traversi] really knocked down some big shots for us. She’s got to keep that head up.”

Melissa Heon paced a balanced UMaine offense with 11 points and grabbed seven rebounds. She was the Bears’ lone double-figure scorer.

Freshman Monica Peterson contributed nine points and 14 rebounds, while Corbitt and Moldre each provided nine points and four rebounds. Corbitt also had four assists.

Center Kenitra Johnson led Hartford with 11 points on 3-for-11 shooting and pulled down seven rebounds. Kristina Sparrow added nine points and five boards, all of which came in the first half.

The Hawks eventually pulled within five at 53-48 on a Janeka Lopp 3-pointer with 45 seconds remaining, but Heon and Peterson each made two free throws in the final 33 seconds to help UMaine hold on. The Bears converted only 16 of 25 foul shots.

Moldre scored seven second-half points by sticking to a simple formula.

“When Eva doesn’t try to do too much she does a great job,” Versyp said. “She just caught the ball, turned and shot it.”

The Bears head to Binghamton, N.Y., for Saturday’s 1 p.m. league game against the league-leading Bearcats (12-3, 3-1 AE).

UMaine, which shot 37 percent from the field (19-for-51) clung to a 22-21 halftime advantage despite struggling with its half-court offense and committing 11 turnovers.

BLACK BEARS 58, HAWKS 49

Maine (10-6) Hartford (6-9)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ernest 2 5 2 2 6 Scott 0 1 0

Veilleux 1 5 0 2 2 Eleazer 1 3 2

Peterson 3 9 3 4 9 Johnson 3 11 11

Heon 3 10 4 5 11 Austin 0 3 0 0

Traversi 3 6 0 2 8 Pezzetta 1 4

Moldre 4 7 1 2 9 Charles 1 3 6

Guerrette 1 2 0 0 3 Brickhouse 0 0

Jay 0 1 1 2 1 Lopp 2 7 1 7

Corbitt 2 5 5 6 9 Miller 2 5 6

Cruz 0 1 0 0 0 Murray 0 3 0 0

Sparrow 3 7 3 9

Franks 0 1 0 0

Stich 1 2 1 4

Totals 19 51 16 25 58 Totals 14 52 16 27 49

Maine 22 58

Hartford 21 49

3-pt. goals ? Maine (4-11): Veilleux 0-1, Heon 1-3, Traversi 2-3, Guerrette 1-2, Corbitt 0-2; Hartford (5-18): Austin 0-3, Brickhouse 0-1, Lopp 2-6, Miller 2-4, Murray 0-3, Stich 1-1

Attendance: 954