Defensive pressure gives Bears victory Ernest gets 24 in exhibition

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ORONO – Coach Sharon Versyp took a glimpse at the box score from Thursday night’s exhibition game and shook her head.

The University of Maine had shot only 39 percent from the field, had missed several close-range shots, and went 11-for-20 from the foul line.

While the offense wasn’t terribly sharp, the Black Bears played tenacious defense while forging a 72-55 victory over the National Women’s Basketball League Northeast team in front of 1,342 fans at Alfond Arena.

UMaine limited the squad made up of former college standouts to 34 percent shooting and forced 23 turnovers. The NWBL team had been averaging 80 points per game.

“I thought it was a great test for us tonight,” Versyp said. “Defensively, I was very pleased.”

“My concern is our offense, not finishing layups, and our free throws,” she added.

The game was the Bears’ final preseason tuneup. They open the season Nov. 22 against Washington in Hawaii.

Heather Ernest of Temple led the Bears with a game-high 24 points, five rebounds, and three steals. Freshman Ashley Underwood of Benton connected for 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting.

Melissa Heon added seven points, while point guards Missy Traversi (5 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal) and Kim Corbitt (6 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal) were steady.

“I think we did a lot of good things today, it just came down to we couldn’t make our shots,” Ernest said. “Hopefully, we’re getting that out of our system now.”

UMaine implemented its full-court pressure and run-and-jump trap, which gave the NWBL some problems.

“We had great energy on defense and [the run-and-jump’s] going to be exciting to play,” Traversi said. “We’re really starting to get the hang of it.”

The Bears committed 18 turnovers, but several came in the late going. UMaine outrebounded its opponent only 49-44 and was forgiving at times.

“We should never give up 17 offensive boards,” Versyp said. “They got a lot of second-chance points and that’s something we cannot give to teams.”

Fairfield University prokduct Gail Strumpf scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and blocked three shots to pace NWBL, while Rhonda Jo Moore out of Gallaudet netted 16 points with seven rebounds and three blocks.

The Bears broke out of their offensive doldrums midway through the second half. UMaine went on 8-0 run to push its lead to 48-32, then countered six unanswered NWBL points with a 14-4 flurry that made it 62-42 with 5:26 left.

Underwood ignited the clinching surge with a 3-pointer at the 9:02 mark. Ernest scored on an offensive rebound, then freshman Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor drained a “3” to make it 56-38.

Miller and Strumpf hit back-to-back shots for the visitors, but Ernest and Abby Schrader scored on offensive rebounds and Ernest cashed in a Corbitt steal to push the advantage to 62-42 with 5:26 remaining.

UMaine received a strong outing from junior center Nicole Jay, who scored six points, grabbed four rebounds, and blocked two shots in 22 minutes of action. Senior Julie Veilleux of Augusta was outstanding on the defensive end and chipped in with six points and four rebounds.

“Julie Veilleux needs to shoot more. She had only five shots tonight,” Versyp said.

UMaine built a 32-23 halftime lead by virtue of smothering man-to-man defense. The NWBL squad committed 11 turnovers and was unable to generate much in the way of half-court offense.

BLACK BEARS 72, NWBL 55

NWBL Northeast Maine

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Strumpf 10 24 3 4 23 Heon 3 11 7

Walton 3 6 0 0 6 Traversi 2 5

Pezzetta 0 3 0 0 0 Ernest 10 18 24

Edwards 1 7 0 2 2 Jay 1 3 6

Miller 6 19 4 5 16 Veilleux 2 6

McKenzie 2 4 1 2 5 Underwood 5 12

Warner 0 1 0 0 0 Whittier 0 0

Eleazer 0 1 3 4 3 Corbitt 0 3 0

Gay 0 0 0 0

Barker 1 6 0 3

Quacknbsh 1 1 2

Peterson 1 3 3

Schrader 2 8 4

Totals 22 65 11 17 55 28 71 11 20 72

NWBL Northeast 23 55

Maine 32 72

3-pt. goals ? NWBL (0-6): Pezzetta 0-1, Warner 0-1, Miller 0-1, Edwards 0-3; Maine (5-13): Underwood 2-3, Ernest 1-1, Heon 1-2, Barker 1-3, Veilleux 0-1, Traversi 0-3

Attendance: 1,34