Seniors leave with program back on top Challenge looms for next year

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The motto for the University of Maine women’s basketball team this season was, simply, “Get it Done.”

The Black Bears did so, winning their first America East championship in six years and making their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2000.

Spearheaded by a talented and determined group of seniors – Heather Ernest of Temple, Melissa Heon of Somers-worth, N.H., and Julie Veilleux of Augusta – coach Sharon Versyp’s 25-7 club posted the first back-to-back 25-win seasons in program history.

Though the Bears came up short in Saturday’s 60-50 loss to 12th-ranked Texas Tech, Ernest, the two-time America East Player of the Year and only the third UMaine player to eclipse 1,000 points (1,804) and 1,000 rebounds (1,040) in a career, said the Bears are back.

“It’s our time to move on,” a teary-eyed Ernest said after Saturday’s loss, but we’ve built a great program.

“Little by little, I think we’re going to get ourselves out there so people know that we can play,” she added. “Definitely I’ll be watching and cheering.”

UMaine’s success this season was achieved through experience, balance and depth. While Ernest was the Bears’ top scorer (16.1 points per game) and rebounder (8.5), they had plenty of other weapons.

“I think the biggest growth of our team this year is that it became a complete team,” said Versyp, whose team is 78-41 (.655) in four years and 50-13 (.794) the last two seasons.

“We didn’t have to rely on one or two people, we could rely on a deep bench,” she added.

The senior nucleus led the way with power forward Ernest, shooting guard and tough defender Heon (10.6 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.9 apg, .386 3-pt. FG pct.) and versatile guard/forward Veilleux (7.5 ppg, 3.7 rpg, .860 FT pct.).

That trio accounted for 51 percent of the team’s scoring, 50 percent of its steals and nearly half its assists (.480), rebounds (.430) and minutes played (.420).

How will the seniors be remembered?

“You want that in words?” poised junior guard Missy Traversi asked after Saturday’s loss.

“Melissa’s taught me how to persevere and dedicate yourself to something and work as hard as you can,” Traversi began. “Heather’s taught me, no matter how hard you get knocked down you can always get up and battle.

“And Julie is just inspiration. She is just the heart and soul, never-die attitude. These three seniors will be missed and I told them that. There’s nothing like them and I just hope that I can follow in their footsteps because they have taught us young ones so much.”

Traversi (7.7 ppg) was among a talented corps of juniors that will serve as next season’s leaders. The superb transition player demonstrated her skills against Texas Tech, scoring game-high 20 points to help keep the Bears in contention.

Small forward Monica Peterson, who sparkled in Montana with 15 points and nine rebounds, returns to anchor the frontcourt after averaging 7.4 points and 5.9 rebounds.

And point guard Kim Corbitt, a tenacious defender and playmaker, will head the backcourt after averaging 5.9 points, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals.

“That junior class is going to be nasty next year, you guys better watch out,” Heon offered.

The Bears built their success on man-to-man defense, but also pressed and was effective in a 1-2-2 matchup zone. They ended the regular season ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense (55.6 ppg) and 38th in field-goal percentage defense (.375).

Sophomore center Abby Schrader (3.9 ppg, 3.1 rpg) will be called upon next season to score in the paint, while tough freshman post player Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa (1.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg) showed tremendous promise. Junior Nicole Jay also will be in the post mix.

Freshman Ashley Underwood of Benton (4.0 ppg) burst onto the scene as a deadly 3-point shooter. She went 36-for-81 (.444) from beyond the arc, nearly bettering the school single-season record of .450.

UMaine set a season mark with 173 3-pointers, led by 44 from Heon, and established a new standard with 76 percent foul shooting, which ranked eighth in all of Division I.

Freshman Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor and sophomores Katherine Quackenbush, Andrea Gay and Katie Whittier of New Gloucester will continue to refine their games in the hope of earning more playing time next season.

“We have some girls coming up that battled us every day in practice that are just waiting to show themselves,” Heon said. “You just wait. It’s going to be great.”

The Bears also will welcome three freshmen, point guard Margaret Elderton and shooting guards Ameshia Bryant and Vandy Pullen.

“I think our three incoming freshmen will give us a different look, more athleticism,” said Versyp, who believes the trip to the NCAAs will serve as a great sense of pride and motivation for her team.

“I think they need to take from this experience that [we competed with one of the best teams in the country] and hopefully other people in the country will see that America East is a tough conference and that the University of Maine and the state of Maine are very proud of these young ladies.”