BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Cyndi Valentin and Leah Enterline scored five points each during a key 12-2 second-half scoring run Friday night, helping Indiana University earn a 67-58 women’s basketball victory over Maine at Assembly Hall.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears slipped to 4-3 and had their two-game winning streak stopped.

Senior Heather Ernest of Temple scored 20 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to lead the way for UMaine, which otherwise spread out its offensive production.

Monica Peterson added eight points and six rebounds and Missy Traversi added seven points for the Bears, who outrebounded the Hoosiers 34-32 but committed 18 turnovers.

“It didn’t seem like we were on all cylinders,” Versyp said. “I also thing that their physicality got to us. It wears you down a little bit.”

The Bears, who have played five of their first seven games on the road, now have an eight-day layoff for final exams before playing Rider Dec. 21 at Alfond Arena in Orono.

“The kids will have a couple days off, which will be really good for them,” Versyp said. “They’ve been road warriors for the entire month. It’s been a very tough physical challenge.

“For us to be 4-3 right now, I’m not satisfied, but pretty pleased,” she added.

While the Bears were battling inside with the Hoosiers’ big post players, it was the guards who did much of the offensive damage. Jenny DeMuth powered 5-2 Indiana with a game-high 22 points and 14 rebounds.

Valentin went 7-for-9 from the floor on her way to 19 points and Enterline converted 11 of 15 free throws to finish with 13 points. Indiana outscored UMaine 23-13 from the foul line.

“They’re very good that way,” Versyp said of IU’s ability to draw shooting fouls. “We did the things that we needed to, but we needed to score a little better and knock down our free throws.”

The Bears were 13 of 20 (65 percent) from the foul line.

Indiana led by as many as nine points in the first half, taking advantage of its offensive rebounding prowess to score second-chance points. The Bears also committed 12 of their 18 turnovers in the first half.

The Hoosiers made their move early in the second half. DeMuth’s hoop at the 17:17 mark kicked off a string of nine unanswered points during a 12-2 spurt that gave Indiana a 50-36 advantage with 12:02 to play.

UMaine hung tough and eventually battled back within three at 55-52 on two Missy Traversi free throws with 4:58 remaining. However, DeMuth answered with a driving basket 19 seconds later to help the hosts retain the upper hand.

“DeMuth is very good,” Versyp said. “Give her an inch, she’ll split right through there.”

UMaine didn’t score again until Kim Corbitt made a layup with 2:10 left and the Bears could get no closer than five the rest of the way.

Ernest overcame a bigger Indiana frontcourt with a well-rounded performance.

“I told her they’re so much bigger she needed to turn and face and go around them,” Versyp said. “She did very well and she played great defense.”

HOOSIERS 67, BLACK BEARS 58

Maine (4-3) Indiana (5-2)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ernest 7 13 6 10 20 DeMuth 7 15 11 22

Veilleux 2 6 0 0 5 Branson 0 1 0

Peterson 3 7 2 2 8 Hawkins 3 6 6

Heon 2 7 0 0 5 Valentin 7 9 19

Corbitt 2 3 1 2 5 Enterline 1 11 15 13

Traversi 2 6 2 4 7 Boyd 0 0 0

Underwood 0 1 0 0 0 Williams 1 2

Hugstad-Vaa 0 0 0 0 0 McKay 1 6 2

Jay 2 2 0 0 4 Smith 0 1 1 1

Barker 0 2 0 0 0 Chapman 1 2 2

Schrader 1 4 2 2 4 Gathing 0 0 0

Totals 21 51 13 20 58 Totals 21 48 23 32 67

Maine 28 58

Indiana 35 67

3-pt. goals ? Maine (3-10): Ernest 0-1, Veilleux 1-1, Peterson 0-1, Heon 1-3, Traversi 1-3, Underwood 0-1; Indiana (2-2): Valentin 2-2

Attendance: 1,338