Bears thump Yale Maine shows off team chemistry

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PORTLAND – The University of Maine women’s basketball team demonstrated Saturday that unselfishness leads to great team chemistry.

The Black Bears showed off tremendous teamwork while ambushing Yale with a 20-3 first-half scoring run that opened the door for a lopsided 92-62 victory in front of 1,656 fans at the Cumberland County Civic Center.

UMaine buried the Bulldogs with a beautifully executed open-court game, one that utilized the talents of every player on the floor. Coach Sharon Versyp’s 8-4 Bears, winners of four straight, racked up a season-high 29 assists, with six players notching four apiece.

“We’re very excited that our team is really coming together, making that extra pass,” Versyp said. “We don’t really care who scores. We just care about, at the end, how well we’ve played and how hard we’ve played.”

Juniors Heather Ernest of Temple and Julie Veilleux of Augusta, each of whom won a Class A high school state championship game on the CCCC floor, led the charge for UMaine. Ernest, a former Mt. Blue High star, hit 10 of 13 shots on her way to a game-high 26 points and provided seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots.

Veilleux, a Cony High product, equaled a career high with 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out four assists.

“We know each other more, so our ball movement is much greater,” Veilleux said. “When you work inside-out and keep moving the ball, it’s tougher for another team to guard and the extra pass gets that person open, so we’re always looking for that.”

Melissa Heon finished with 13 points and four assists, while Nicole Jay added eight points and six rebounds. Missy Traversi had six points, six boards and four assists. The Bears shot 55 percent, including 61 percent in the first half, and outrebounded Yale 46-33.

Yale (3-9) was led by Christina Phillips, who scored 17 points, along with Tory Mauseth (13) and Lindsay Page (12). Maine products Bonnie Smith of Oakland (Messalonskee) and Noel Beagle (Gorham) provided eight and six points, respectively, for the Bulldogs.

Clinging to a 28-27 lead, UMaine suddenly put all aspects of its game together. Taking advantage of its attacking transition game, the Bears scored 10 unanswered points during a span of 2:09.

Kim Corbitt hit an eight-foot runner to open the flurry, then Veilleux sandwiched four free throws around Heon’s pull-up jumper from the baseline and a fast-break layup by Monica Peterson off a nifty Corbitt feed.

Page answered with a 19-footer for Yale, but the Bears kept rolling with Veilleux’s jumper from the lane, Heon’s 3-pointer off a double screen, a Jay foul shot and Heon’s fast-break layup that made it 46-30 with 40 seconds left in the half.

“Our game is running. Right now, that’s what we do best,” Ernest said. “I don’t think I’ve ever smiled so much in a game because that was fun.”

After Morgan Richards made one free throw for the Bulldogs, Traversi buried a 3-pointer and then fed Ernest for a driving scoop shot as time expired as UMaine extended the advantage to 51-30 at intermission.

“I thought Maine did a great job of pushing the ball up the floor,” said Yale coach Amy Backus. “Our poor field-goal percentage contributed to their fast break and it didn’t give us an opportunity to slow the ball down. It gave them a lot of quick points on the run.”

The Bears didn’t allow the Bulldogs to make a serious comeback attempt, posting an 11-2 scoring run early in the second half. Ernest scored six points and Veilleux five during the spurt, which made it 62-35 with 14:59 to play.

“Once we start playing tough defense and we get a few fast breaks, usually we know if we’re going to get it out, there’s no stopping us,” Veilleux said.

UMaine experienced some early turnover woes, but settled down during the middle of the game. The second half provided Versyp with an opportunity to get some valuable playing time for some of her reserves.

BLACK BEARS 92, BULLDOGS 62

Yale (3-9) Maine (8-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Mauseth 4 12 3 5 13 Heon 5 7 13

Page 5 17 0 0 12 Ernest 10 13 4 26

B. Smith 3 6 0 0 8 Jay 1 1 11 8

Richards 0 9 1 2 1 Corbitt 2 3 6

Phillips 4 11 8 8 17 Veilleux 6 18

Harris 0 1 0 0 0 Traversi 2 6

Beagle 3 4 0 1 6 Hickman 0 2 0

Cohen 0 1 4 4 4 Geraghty 2 5

Mardy 0 0 0 1 0 Gay 1 3 2

A. Smith 0 2 1 3 1 Quackenbsh 2 4

Peterson 1 2 4

Schrader 0 4 0

Totals 19 63 17 24 62 Totals 32 58 20 28 92

Yale 30 62

Maine 51 92

3-pt. goals ? Yale (7-29): Mauseth 2-9, Page 2-6, B. Smith 2-4, Richards 0-4, Phillips 1-4, Harris 0-1, Cohen 0-1; Maine (8-19): Heon 1-3, Ernest 2-2, Veilleux 2-3, Traversi 2-4, Geraghty 1-7

Attendance: 1,656