BOSTON – It was a less-than-super Sunday for the University of Maine women’s basketball team at Solomon Court.

Conference Rookie of the Year candidate Francesca Vanin tore up the Black Bears for a career-high 31 points and Northeastern connected on 32 of 39 free throws on its way to an 82-73 America East victory over UMaine.

The eighth-place Huskies, who improved to 5-16 overall, 3-7 in league play, slowed down UMaine’s inside game while showing off plenty of their own post prowess.

Vanin, a 6-foot-1 forward, was all but unstoppable. And efforts to contain her resulted in considerable foul trouble for the Bears.

The rugged freshman made eight of 13 shots from the field and hit 15 of 16 from the foul line to serve as a steady force for the Huskies.

“Vanin did a great job and I didn’t have anybody who could do anything against her or guard her,” said UMaine coach Sharon Versyp, whose Bears slipped to 11-8, 4-4 in America East.

“They killed us on the boards [34-32] and they got to the line 32 times [attempts],” Versyp added. “We got there six times, so that’s the difference in the ballgame right there. No matter what we did, it was going to be a foul today.”

Sunday marked the second time in the last three games the Bears had allowed more than 70 points. They committed 23 turnovers that led to 31 NU points.

Sophomore Heather Ernest of Temple paced UMaine with 20 points, 12 rebounds and four steals. She went 8-for-10 from the floor.

“Heather did a great job defensively, offensively, rebounding-wise as a post player, but I need more than one post player,” Versyp said.

Melissa Heon contributed 14 points and five rebounds, while freshman point guard Kim Corbitt added 10 points, five assists and two steals in a strong performance for Maine.

Vanin was complemented by Melissa Kowalski’s 13 points, including four 3-pointers, and Lizzie Demor, who scored 10.

Northeastern, which had led by as many as seven in the first half, took the lead for good early in the second half. A Demor 3-pointer kicked off an 11-0 scoring spurt for the Huskies.

Vanin hit two foul shots and scored off a baseline move, then Joi Jefferson drove in for a close-range basket that made it 46-38 and precipitated a UMaine timeout. Kowalski’s 3-pointer pushed the lead to 49-38 with 13:31 remaining and gave the hosts a big emotional boost.

“I think that was the biggest thing that we talked about is not only a sense of urgency but be in an attack mode for 40 minutes. I thought that we did a good job of just really going at them,” said Northeastern coach Willette White. “Maine’s a good team. That’s a great win for us.”

UMaine battled, but couldn’t cut the deficit to fewer than four points the rest of the way. Each time the Bears threatened to even things up, the Huskies held them off.

UMaine first crept to within 64-58 on two Ernest free throws, only to have Lori Newsome track down a loose ball and score a baseline layup. Then, after two Heon foul shots and an Ernest hoop cut NU’s lead to 66-62, Genny Caruso hit an off-balance 18-footer as the shot clock expired to push the bulge back to six.

“Every time we had a little go at them, they answered everything that we did,” Versyp said. “It was a great job by them. They deserved to win the game.”

NU outscored UMaine 12-0 from the foul line in the first half. Vanin dominated in the paint early, scoring 12 of her team’s first 19 points, including five from the foul line.

BEAR TRACKS: UMaine freshman guard Missy Traversi, playing in her native Massachusetts for the first time as a collegian, received a warm greeting when she stepped on the court for pregame warmups.

Several of her friends and former teammates from Bishop Feehan High School were in attendance, each with a white T-shirt sporting a blue painted letter on the front. The letters spelled “We (love, a painted red heart) Missy Traversi! #5.”

Another gentleman had a bunch of handprinted signs, one of which read “We love MT.”

The Huskies have been decimated this season by injuries. Five players listed on the 14-member Northeastern roster were unable to play Sunday because of injuries.

In addition, Caruso only recently returned from a broken shooting hand, but still is wearing a protective device on the right hand. Further, volleyball player Candice Watkins and Erin Spangler, a member of NU’s crew team, have joined the squad to provide some depth.

NU had only nine players in uniform on Sunday.

HUSKIES 82, BLACK BEARS 73

Maine (11-8) Northeastern (5-16)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Heon 5 12 2 2 14 Vanin 8 13 15 16 31

Traversi 3 7 0 0 8 Demor 3 4 10

Ernest 8 10 4 4 20 Williams 1 6

Veilleux 3 8 0 1 8 Kowalski 4 13

Peterson 2 7 0 2 4 Newsome 1 7 8

Moldre 0 0 0 0 0 Caruso 2 4 4

Guerrette 3 6 0 0 9 Jefferson 2 8

Jay 0 0 0 0 0 Spangler 1 3 2

Corbitt 5 9 0 0 10

Cruz 0 2 0 0 0

Totals 29 61 6 9 73 Totals 22 50 32 39 82

Maine 34 73

Northeastern 35 82

3-pt. goals: Maine (9-20): Heon 2-5, Traversi 2-3, Ernest 0-1, Veilleux 2-3, Guerrette 3-6, Corbitt 0-1, Cruz 0-1; Northeastern (6-13): Vanin 0-1, Demor 2-3, Williams 0-1, Kowalski 4-8

Attendance: 636