ORONO – The University of Maine women’s basketball team is adjusting this season to life without a go-to player.

The Black Bears wouldn’t want it any other way.

Four players scored in double figures, two others tallied nine points and the squad racked up 22 assists Sunday afternoon as UMaine cruised to an 88-60 America East victory over Stony Brook at Alfond Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s team unselfishly worked the ball around for high-percentage shots and shot 54 percent from the field while earning its third straight victory.

UMaine, now 10-8 overall and 6-2 in league play, remains tied with Hartford for first place in the conference standings.

“Every player on the floor can score. You can’t key on one player,” Versyp said. “We really share the basketball and we’re starting to understand each other’s roles.”

UMaine celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day. A crowd of 2,689 turned out to watch the victory and see UMaine honor former Bears All-American Jamie Cassidy by retiring her No. 24 jersey.

“It’s very exciting and just an incredible honor,” said Cassidy, a star from 1996-2000. “One thing that hasn’t changed is the great fans and the atmosphere here and it was a little bit strange sitting in the stands instead of on the bench or being out on the court.”

UMaine clicked early, scoring the game’s first 10 points en route to a 15-2 lead. Stony Brook (4-13, 2-6 AE), the league’s most forgiving defensive team, lived up to its inauspicious reputation.

Spearheaded by senior guard Missy Traversi’s 21 points, the Bears had their way with the Seawolves. UMaine placed eight players in the scoring column and had eight people with at least one assist.

“In my opinion, they’re the best team in the conference,” said Stony Brook interim coach Maura McHugh. “I think they’re the most balanced. They have good shooters, they hustle, they execute well.”

Traversi, who was 5-for-7 from 3-point range, also dished out seven assists and made four steals. Abby Schrader posted a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Ashley Underwood tallied 14 points on the strength of four 3-pointers, and Katie Whittier of New Gloucester provided a career-high 12 points and six rebounds.

Monica Peterson chipped in with nine points and nine rebounds, Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor added nine points and Kim Corbitt handed out six assists.

“I had 10 players that played very effectively and every single person that came in built a lot of confidence and that’s really going to help us down the stretch,” Versyp said.

Mykeema Ford paced Stony Brook with 21 points while Jessica Smith tallied 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bears outrebounded the Seawolves 38-29, limiting SBU’s second-chance points.

“Boxing out, we haven’t been doing a great job lately, and today we decided to turn it around and concentrate on boxing out and rebounding,” Schrader said. “I guess we did that pretty well.”

A decisive game-opening surge was just what the Bears needed. Barker got it started with a basket from underneath off a Schrader pass, then Traversi and Barker nailed 3-pointers 48 seconds apart.

UMaine went 10-for-15 (67 percent) on 3-point shots.

Ford got Stony Brook on the board with two free throws at the 15:11 mark, but Peterson scored twice from close range, the second to trigger a three-point play, as UMaine made it 15-2 only 5:49 into the contest.

The Seawolves never got closer than 11 points after that and trailed by as many as 33 late in the second half.

“We just had a terrible start and that was kind of indicative of how we came into this game today,” McHugh said. “When you get yourself in a hole against a team like this on their home court, you’re just digging for straws after that.”

At halftime, UMaine recognized 18 former players including Annie Allen, Cindy Blodgett, Julie Bradstreet, Cassidy, Liz Coffin, Barbara Cummings, Emily Ellis, Catherine Gallant, Lauree Gott, Erin Grealy, Tracy Guerette, Chantal Macream, Morna Rawcliffe, Catherine Strong, Rita Sullivan, Martina Tinklova and Sonya Wedge.

BLACK BEARS 88, SEAWOLVES 60

Stony Brook (4-13) Maine (10-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Ferraro 1 2 2 2 4 Traversi 7 11 2 2 21

Ford 6 14 7 9 21 Corbitt 0 3 1 1

Orion 1 4 0 0 2 Barker 4 7 9

Watson 1 4 2 2 4 Peterson 4 9

Smith 4 13 6 7 14 Schrader 6 15

Barlett 2 4 0 0 4 Underwood 4 14

Thompson 0 1 1 2 1 Whittier 5 12

Boylan 0 2 1 2 1 Hugstad-Va 2 6

Ingram 2 4 0 0 4 Pullen 0 3 1

Davis 1 2 0 0 2 Younan 0 0 0

Patrick 1 2 1 2 3

Barrett 0 1 0 0 0

Totals 19 53 20 26 60 Totals 32 59 14 18 88

Stony Brook 28 60

Maine 44 88

3-pt. goals – SBU (2-9): Ford 2-6, Watson 0-1, Boylan 0-2; Maine (10-15): Traversi 5-7, Barker 1-2, Underwood 4-6

Attendance: 2,689