ORONO – Hartford has built its reputation in America East as a defense-minded, guard-oriented team.

Wednesday night, the Hawks unveiled a new dimension – an inside game.

Freshman center Danielle Hood scored 11 of her 15 points in the second half as Hartford held off a determined charge by the University of Maine to earn a 53-49 women’s basketball victory at Alfond Arena.

“It’s definitely exciting and I think it’s a credit to Maine and their program and what they’ve accomplished that when teams come in here and do get a win – not that it happens very often – you feel really good about yourself,” said Hartford coach Jennifer Rizzotti. “Our kids are excited.”

Tanika Price, the Hawks’ other inside threat, contributed 13 points and seven rebounds as Hartford (10-4) maintained a share of the league lead at 4-1. Hood and Price combined to go 10-for-16 from the field and 8-for-11 from the foul line while the Bears’ post players were held in check.

“I felt like that was where we could attack Maine’s defense and I thought we did a nice job of being consistent with it throughout the whole game,” Rizzotti said.

UMaine rallied valiantly, coming all the way back from a 12-point second-half deficit, but failed to execute down the stretch. The Black Bears slipped to 7-8 overall, 3-2 in America East.

“Bottom line, we didn’t handle anything at the end of the game well,” said disappointed UMaine coach Sharon Versyp, whose team missed some key second-half foul shots.

“I told them what we needed to do and it didn’t happen,” she explained. “We just didn’t get it done at the end, but I’ll make sure that will change.”

Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor led the Black Bears with 12 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kim Corbitt chipped in with 10 points and Monica Peterson posted seven points and six rebounds.

Senior point guard Missy Traversi was limited to eight points, all in the second half, on 3-for-10 shooting.

“Erika [Messam was] on her and when Erika wasn’t guarding her, Danielle Wexler was guarding her and those are our two best defenders, so we really tried to key on her,” Rizzotti said.

Hartford’s post play wound up being the difference as the Bears were unable to consistently stop Hood and Price down low.

“I knew that they’d improved in the post,” Versyp said. “They’re very physical, they’re quick. Not one of our post players really met the challenge.”

UMaine trailed 36-24 midway through the second half, but finally found a spark. Barker converted a three-point play and swished a 3-pointer, then Traversi hit a driving runner to kick off what would be a 16-4 spurt.

Peterson’s three-point play eventually got the Bears even at 40-all with 6:08 left, but Hartford never allowed UMaine to regain the lead. The hosts had several chances to do so, but couldn’t convert their opportunities.

Messam’s baseline drive gave the Hawks the lead for good at 47-45, then two Hood free throws and Messam’s 12-footer from the lane made it 51-45 with 45 seconds to go.

The Bears closed the gap to 51-49 on four consecutive Peterson foul shots and had a chance to tie or go ahead. However, Wexler atoned for missing the front end of two bonus situations in a span of 2.5 seconds when she made a clutch steal with 18 seconds remaining that allowed the Hawks to win it from the foul line.

Hartford took the upper hand early in the second half. While UMaine failed to convert on some good open shots and two free throws early, the Hawks countered with a 5-0 run that helped them put the Bears in a 36-24 hole with 11:15 left.

What the two teams established early on was the fact defense would rule the evening.

The Hawks led 22-19 at halftime, but because of the defensive intensity at both ends, neither team was able to manufacture offense on a consistent basis.

Hartford had good balance between its post play and its perimeter game, although the visitors shot only 35 percent in the first 20 minutes.

UMaine had trouble establishing a low-post presence and had a handful of entry passes stolen or knocked away. The Bears shot 40 percent from the floor, but leading scorer Traversi was held scoreless on only one shot attempt.

Hood scored twice from close range to spark a 6-0 scoring run that gave Hartford a 14-9 lead with 11:47 to play in the half.

The hosts responded with a 7-2 run of their own, ignited by an Ashley Underwood 3-pointer. Corbitt hit a driving layup, Hartford’s Ikea Witt answered with a rebound basket, then Barker hit a 14-footer from the lane as the Bears tied it at 16-16 with 6:57 left.

HAWKS 53, BLACK BEARS 49

Hartford (10-4) Maine (7-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Wexler 0 2 2 4 2 Traversi 3 10 0 1 8

Messam 5 8 0 0 10 Hugstad-Va 2 4

Witt 3 6 0 0 6 Corbitt 4 8 1 10

Gale 1 6 1 2 3 Barker 5 11 1 12

Price 4 7 5 8 13 Peterson 1 7

Gomez 0 2 0 0 0 Underwood 1 3

Matulis 1 7 0 0 2 Schrader 2 5

Hood 6 9 3 3 15

Stich 1 3 0 0 2

Totals 21 50 11 17 53 18 45 13 49

Hartford 22 53

Maine 19 49

3-pt. goals – Hartford (0-7): Wexler 0-1, Messam 0-2, Gomez 0-1, Matulis 0-1, Stich 0-2; Maine (5-7): Traversi 2-3, Corbitt 1-1, Barker 1-1, Underwood 1-2

Attendance: 1,747