UMaine sails past Hawaii Huskies run over Bears in opener

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HONOLULU, Hawaii – Heather Ernest of Temple connected for a game-high 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds Sunday afternoon, powering the University of Maine women’s basketball team to a 75-62 victory over Hawaii in the consolation game of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort Classic at the Sheriff Center.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s 1-1 Black Bears bounced back with a win after dropping a tough 82-70 decision to Washington in Saturday’s first-round game.

“Hawaii brought their ‘A’ game tonight against us and our defense really stuck them in the second half,” Versyp said. “It was a great road trip.”

Ernest, a senior captain, made 11 of 16 shots from the floor and was 8-for-8 from the foul line. She scored nine straight points during a key stretch of the second half as UMaine turned a five-point lead into a 52-38 advantage.

“They totally packed it in so we couldn’t get the ball to Heather, but when Heather got it, no one could stop her,” Versyp said.

Melissa Heon contributed 10 points, nine rebounds, and six assists, freshman Ashley Underwood of Benton provided nine points, four assists, and two steals, and Julie Veilleux of Augusta netted eight points with three assists for the Bears.

UMaine racked up 20 assists and 10 steals while committing only 10 turnovers.

April Atuaia paced Hawaii with 12 points and six rebounds. The Rainbow Wahine shot only 35 percent from the field, but outrebounded the Bears 41-39.

UMaine lead 43-38 with 16:42 remaining when Ernest caught fire on the offensive end. She hit a jumper, buried a 3-pointer, converted a driving scoop shot, then scored off a spin move in the paint to put the Bears on top 52-38 with 13:51 to play.

“It was great for us to come back and win,” Ernest said. “They played a 2-3 zone, so if we worked the ball correctly, it ended up with me being one-on-one with the big girl.”

The Bears pushed the lead to as many as 18 points, then held Hawaii at bay down the stretch.

Kim Corbitt provided strong defense, along with three assists and three steals.

UMaine was without sophomore center Abby Schrader, who sat out with an ankle injury sustained during practice on Friday. She did play Saturday against Washington.

Katie Whittier of New Gloucester helped fill the void with 16 solid minutes.

On Saturday, Washington received a 28-point performance from 6-foot-4 forward Andrea Lalum and shot 49 percent from the field on its way to a season-opening victory over Maine.

Ernest spearheaded the UMaine effort with 27 points and a game-high 10 rebounds in 36 minutes of action.

Underwood tallied 11 points in her collegiate debut on the strength of three 3-pointers, while Veilleux hit two 3-pointers on her way to 10 points.

Heon added five points, four assists and two steals for the Bears, who shot 46 percent from the floor and made 20 of 24 free throws.

The Bears were within three at intermission but were unable to stay that close in the second half. Washington outrebounded UMaine 35-26 and committed only nine turnovers.

Lalum paced the Huskies, while last year’s Pac-10 Player of the Year, Giuliana Mendiola, connected for 21 points, grabbed eight rebounds, dished out seven assists, and made four steals.

Washington did not have another scorer in double figures.

UMaine trailed only 38-37 in the opening minute of the second half, but the Huskies responded with a decisive 13-2 scoring run.

Lalum netted 10 points during the spurt, which gave Washington a 51-39 advantage with 14:54 remaining.

Sparked by five points each from Underwood and Ernest, the Bears got back within four at 55-51 on two Nicole Jay free throws with 11:16 left. They could get no closer.

Mendiola took charge down the stretch for the Huskies, scoring their last 10 points in the final five minutes. Meanwhile, UMaine went 1-for-6 from the floor during that crucial span.

HUSKIES 82, BLACK BEARS 70

Maine (0-1) Washington (1-0)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Heon 2 8 1 2 5 Watson 1 3 4 6

Traversi 0 3 4 4 4 Lalum 13 22 28

Ernest 10 16 6 7 27 Giu.Mend’la 7 15 7 10 21

Jay 0 0 3 4 3 Gio.Mend’la 1 5 3

Veilleux 4 7 0 0 10 Hicks 2 3 4

Underwood 3 5 2 2 11 Bell 3 5 8

Whittier 0 0 0 0 0 Castro 2 5 5

Corbitt 0 1 0 0 0 Jones 2 3 7

Barker 0 2 0 0 0 O’Hara 0 2 0

Peterson 2 3 1 1 5

Schrader 1 3 3 4 5

Totals 22 48 20 24 70 Totals 31 63 15 19 82

Maine 35 70

Washington 38 82

3-pt. goals ? Maine (6-14): Heon 0-3, Traversi 0-2, Ernest 1-2, Veilleux 2-3, Underwood 3-4; Washington (5-19): Watson 0-1, Lalum 2-6, Giu. Mendiola 0-3, Gio. Mendiola 1-4, Hicks 0-1, Castro 1-3, Jones 1-1

Attendance: 1,401

BLACK BEARS 75, RAINBOW WAHINE 62

(Sunday Night)

Maine (1-1) Hawaii (0-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Heon 4 15 0 0 10 Abele 3 7 3 9

Traversi 2 4 0 0 5 Macfarlane 0 2

Ernest 11 16 8 8 32 Atuaia 4 8 12

Jay 0 1 0 0 0 Tambini 2 7 4 8

Veilleux 3 8 0 0 8 Grice 2 3 8

Underwood 3 7 0 0 9 Taylor 2 11 6

Whittier 1 2 0 0 2 Nishimoto 1 2

Corbitt 1 6 0 0 2 Sanders 2 5 7

Gay 0 0 0 0 0 Solia 0 2 0 0

Barker 0 2 0 0 0 Crouch 0 0 0

Quack’bush 0 1 0 0 0 Spooner 2 5 4

Peterson 3 6 1 2 7 Aiwohi 0 1 0

Lee 2 2 0 4

Totals 28 68 9 10 75 Totals 20 58 20 24 62

Maine 37 75

Hawaii 30 62

3-pt. goals ? Maine 10-25: Underwood 3-6, Ernest 2-4, Veilleux 2-4, Heon 2-6, Traversi 1-3, Corbitt 0-1, Barker 0-1; Hawaii 2-14: Atuaia 2-3, Tambini 0-3, Taylor 0-2, Nishimoto 0-2, Sanders 0-2, Abele 0-1, Aiwohi 0-1