ORONO – Melissa Heon knew, almost to the second, how long she sat on the bench with two fouls during the first half Monday night – 15 minutes, 36 seconds.

When the sophomore guard returned to the University of Maine lineup to start the second half, everything changed.

Heon buried a 3-pointer 17 seconds into the half that kicked off a 9-1 scoring spurt, sparking a second-half surge that carried the Black Bears to an 82-62 America East victory over Northeastern at Alfond Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s squad improved to 13-9 overall, 6-5 in conference play. Northeastern dropped to 5-18, 3-9 in AE.

“They did a great job in the first half frustrating our post players and then the second half we did a really good job of coming out and just attacking the basket,” Versyp said.

Heon connected for 13 of her game-high 17 points in the second half as UMaine shot a blistering 74.1 percent (20-for-27) from the field after intermission.

“I was ready to play from the get-go and it was a disappointment to get my [early] fouls, but I just came out and played,” Heon said, pointing to the importance of halftime adjustments made by Versyp.

“It seems like we just come out with the emotion that we need to get us back in the game when we know exactly what we’re dealing with,” Heon said.

The Bears, who trailed 33-29 at halftime, made an adjustment that helped open up the inside game. Freshman forward Monica Peterson went 6-for-6 and scored all of her 13 points in the second half while sophomore Heather Ernest of Temple connected for 12 of her 14 points in the final 20 minutes.

The Bears registered 24 points in the paint in the half.

“We changed our offense,” Versyp said. “We went four-out, one-in, so it allowed the middle to be open a little bit more and post Heather and Monica up.”

Ernest grabbed 10 rebounds and Peterson had eight, while each posted three assists. The Bears outrebounded the Huskies 31-26, dominating the boards 20-6 in the second half.

UMaine placed five players in double figures as Kim Corbitt tossed in 12 points, 10 in the first half, and Missy Traversi provided 10 for the Bears.

“We didn’t come out with the kind of intensity and energy that we needed to do what we needed to do defensively,” said Northeastern coach Willette White.

Joi Jefferson paced NU with 15 points while Melissa Kowalski and converted volleyball player Erin Spangler added 10 each. Francesca Vanin, who poured in 31 points in the Feb. 3 meeting in Boston, was held to seven points, but handed out seven assists.

With Heon back in the lineup, the Bears were a much more productive team in the second half. UMaine opened the half with a 9-1 run, then scored eight of the next 12 points on their way to a 46-38 lead with 14:40 remaining.

The Bears began getting the ball inside to Peterson and Ernest, who provided the post game the hosts had lacked in the first 20 minutes.

Leading 53-48, UMaine pounded the ball inside to Peterson during a pivotal stretch of the second half. The 6-foot forward, who exhibited some acrobatic, one-handed grabs on lob passes from her teammates, opened the 9-0 run with a conventional three-point play off a feed by Julie Veilleux (eight points, four assists).

Heon followed with a 17-footer from the baseline, then Peterson rebounded Traversi’s missed 3-pointer and scored. Peterson ended the spurt by taking a Heon feed in traffic and converting to give the Bears a 62-48 advantage with 6:36 to play.

“We just executed our plays and they really didn’t go well on the screens and we ended up being wide-open,” said the soft-spoken Peterson. “The first half they were doubling more and the second half I guess we just got it and were wide-open and could go up quicker.”

Northeastern put together a 16-3 scoring run that helped the visitors take a 33-29 halftime lead. The Huskies shot 58 percent from the floor in the half and led by as many as 13 points at one point.

Neither junior Anna James nor sophomore Pam Cruz was available for action Monday. James continues to be bothered by an undiagnosed illness, while Cruz is recovering from a concussion suffered Feb. 3 in a collision with a teammate.

BLACK BEARS 82, HUSKIES 62

Northeastern (5-18) MAINE (13-9)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Vanin 2 7 3 4 7 Ernest 4 8 14

Newsome 3 4 0 0 6 Veilleux 4 8

Demor 1 4 0 0 3 Moldre 0 0 0

Williams 3 5 0 0 6 Heon 7 11 17

Kowalski 2 8 4 6 10 Traversi 2 10

Caruso 2 4 0 0 5 Guerrette 1 3

Jefferson 5 9 4 6 15 Jay 1 1 2

Spangler 5 7 0 0 10 Corbitt 4 7 12

Geraghty 1 1 3

Peterson 6 7 13

Totals 23 48 11 16 62 30 56 15 19 82

3-pt. goals: Northeastern (5-17): Kowalski 2-6, Caruso 1-2, Jefferson 1-2, Demor 1-4, Newsome 0-1, Williams 0-2; Maine (7-20): Heon 3-5, Corbitt 2-3, Traversi 1-4, Guerrette 1-5, Ernest 0-1, Veilleux 0-2

Attendance: 1,741

Halftime: Northeastern 33-29