ORONO – With the University of Maine leading by 16 points midway through the second half Saturday afternoon, visions of vacation danced in the Black Bears’ heads.

Michigan tried to spoil UMaine’s holiday cheer with a spirited rally, but the Bears finally wrapped up their Christmas gift to the 2,159 fans – a 69-61 women’s basketball victory over the Wolverines at Alfond Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s team heads into a one-week break with a 4-4 record, having posted only the program’s second win over a Big Ten opponent in eight tries. The Maize and Blue fell to 4-6.

“I’m just really proud of how we played,” Versyp said. “It’s a big win for our program and most people wouldn’t think, with our schedule, that we’d be 4-4 right now, so we’re very excited.”

Prior to the game, the university retired uniform No. 11 to honor former Bears star Heather Ernest of Temple. UMaine athletic director Patrick Nero, accompanied by Versyp and former Bears’ great Liz Coffin, presented a teary-eyed Ernest with a framed jersey, eliciting a standing ovation.

Sophomore forward Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor spearheaded the UMaine offense, going 8 for 9 from the floor on her way to 20 points. Monica Peterson tossed in 17 points and handed out four assists, while Missy Traversi netted 12 points and Kim Corbitt added 10 points, six assists and two steals.

While UMaine was largely unable to stop talented Wolverines forward Tabitha Pool (29 points, eight rebounds, three assists, two steals), it held the rest of the squad in check. Five Bears grabbed four rebounds apiece while earning a 32-29 edge.

The hosts shot a crisp 50 percent (26-for-52) from the field and converted 14 of 18 free throws.

“The whole week I really wanted to focus on execution,” said Versyp, whose Bears played solid defense and rebounded effectively. “I told the kids, we believe in you, so you’ve just got to step up and knock the shot down.”

UMaine’s ability to execute early in both halves may have been the difference. The Bears opened the contest with a 10-2 scoring run and never trailed the rest of the way.

They clicked again to open the second half, ripping off 10 unanswered points after spotting Michigan two Pool free throws.

Corbitt snipped a foul-line jumper, Peterson hit a 17-footer and Traversi followed with a driving layup. Abby Schrader (eight points) then made two foul shots and scored a layup off a press-breaker pass by Corbitt, giving the Bears a 43-26 advantage with 16 minutes left.

“We knew that team wasn’t going to go away, so we came out strong in the second half,” Corbitt said. “It’s 20 minutes and we go on vacation. I think that was a lot of motivation for us.”

UMaine maintained a lead of at least 10 points until the late going, when Becky Flippin’s 3-pointer and a three-point play by Pool helped Michigan cut the deficit to 63-59 with 1:07 remaining.

However, Traversi sandwiched four free throws around a Peterson layup to help the Bears put the game away.

“I really was proud of our kids’ fight to get back in,” said Michigan coach Cheryl Burnett. “I thought Maine did a great job of trying to counter some of our calls and they got some really easy looks.”

While UMaine’s starters logged the vast majority of the minutes, junior forward Katie Whittier of New Gloucester provided a boost coming off the bench.

The Bears took advantage of a strong inside presence while building a 33-24 halftime lead. UMaine lobbed inside when possible and also knocked down their open shots from the perimeter.

“Sometimes we have a tendency to get complacent, but I thought we did a pretty good job keeping the intensity through the whole thing,” Corbitt said.

BLACK BEARS 69, WOLVERINES 61

Michigan (4-6) Maine (4-4)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Pool 11 21 6 7 29 Traversi 4 10 12

Starling 2 6 0 0 4 Corbitt 4 7 10

Flippin 3 7 0 0 8 Barker 8 9 20

Clement 1 4 0 0 2 Peterson 7 11 3 3 17

McPhilamy 1 4 0 0 2 Schrader 2 8

Helvey 3 5 1 2 7 Younan 0 0 0

Cooper 2 2 0 0 4 Underwood 0 0

Walker 2 9 1 2 5 Hugstd-Vaa 0 0

Jay 0 0 0 0

Whittier 1 3 2

Elder 0 0 0 0

Totals 25 58 8 11 61 Totals 26 52 14 18 69

Michigan 24 61

Maine 33 69

3-pt. goals – Michigan (3-12): Flippin 2-5, Pool 1-3, Starling 0-2, Clement 0-2; Maine (3-9): Barker 2-2, Corbitt 1-1, Traversi 0-1, Underwood 0-5

Attendance: 2,159