Black Bears show promise in losses Maine displayed balanced offense

The University of Maine women’s basketball team returned to Orono last weekend having very much held its own during the Women’s Sports Foundation Tipoff Classic in Baton Rouge, La.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s Black Bears were overpowered by No. 2 Louisiana State and gave Virginia a strong challenge while going 0-2.

Versyp was encouraged by her team’s effort, especially considering the earliness games were and the caliber of the competition the Bears faced.

“I think that one thing that we didn’t do is we weren’t overwhelmed,” said Versyp, whose Bears play the National Women’s Basketball League Elite All-Stars in an exhibition game tonight at 7:30 at Alfond Arena.

“We weren’t intimidated. We didn’t show any fear. We got out and played hard,” she said. “We were organized and disciplined and structured, which all the coaches really complimented us on.”

Senior small forward Monica Peterson was among UMaine’s top performers in Louisiana. She earned a spot on the all-tournament team after averaging 12 points and 7.5 rebounds.

“I was really pleased with her effort,” Versyp said. “She’s the one who shot very well for us and did a lot of different things. She stepped up, but I expect that from her. She knows that she needs to be a scorer this year.”

The Bears exhibited good offensive balance as senior guard Missy Traversi and junior forward Abby Schrader also averaged 12 points per contest. Guard Ashley Underwood of Benton chipped in with 9 ppg coming off the bench.

As always, one of Versyp’s primary concerns is her team’s defense. The opponents shot a combined 47 percent from the field, including 44 percent from the 3-point stripe.

The Bears were faced with considerable defensive pressure from both the Lady Tigers and the Cavaliers, but held their turnovers pretty well in check (15.5 per game). Versyp is hoping for a more concerted rebounding effort and better free-throw shooting in the near future.

“We did fine,” Versyp said. “We still have a ways to go, but having only three weeks of practice in, I can’t say that I wasn’t pleased with that tournament. We just need to build on this.”

Versyp said that as a result of the Bears’ performance in Louisiana, she won’t hesitate to ask for a little more from her players during practice in the hope of getting even better results in games.

“We’ve just got to make sure, now that we set a precedent for ourselves, that we’ve got to stay really solid and focused and have that same type of intensity no matter who we’re playing,” Versyp said.