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BURLINGTON, Vt. – The University of Maine women’s basketball team has been in the unfamiliar position this season of lacking a marquee player to build around. The Black Bears proved once again Saturday that they don’t need one.
Ashley Underwood of Benton hit four 3-pointers on her way to 15 points and was one of six double-figure scorers as UMaine earned its third straight America East regular-season title with a 75-61 victory over Vermont at Patrick Gymnasium.
Coach Sharon Versyp’s 18-8 Bears won their 11th consecutive game while improving to 14-2 in conference play and locking up the No. 1 seed for next month’s league tournament at Hartford.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling for me to be a part of three America East conference champions,” said UMaine’s Missy Traversi, who netted 13 points and had four assists. “I know the team is really feeling that excitement right now.”
Vermont slipped to 12-13 overall, 8-8 in America East action, falling into fifth in the league standings. It was only the Cats’ second home conference loss this season.
The Bears picked apart the Catamounts with their tremendous offensive balance and a solid defensive performance. Monica Peterson posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while Abby Schrader scored 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds.
Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor tallied 11 points and Kim Corbitt contributed 10 points and eight assists.
“We really did a great job moving the ball and it’s hard to defend that when you’ve got everyone that can shoot the ball,” Traversi said. “That’s why we’re so effective, because every person’s a threat.”
UMaine led 34-29 at halftime, despite having allowed UVM freshman forward Alexis Castro to pour in 14 points during a nine-minute stint.
“[Castro] has such a high release and she uses her body so well,” Schrader said. “She already is a great player.”
The Bears contained her better in the second half by utilizing a 1-2-2 matchup zone that also produced a 23-17 rebounding edge.
“When we did pack it in, we’d double Castro, which helped a lot, kept her off the boards,” Schrader said.
Playing the 1-2-2 zone, UMaine forged ahead with a decisive 16-2 scoring run that lasted almost six minutes.
With the Bears up by a point, Underwood ignited the burst with a 3-pointer at the 18:05 mark and Schrader converted a move in the lane. Traversi made a free throw and Peterson scored off a rebound to give the visitors a 42-33 lead with 15:44 remaining.
Castro scored on a low-post move for UVM, but Barker drained a 3-pointer, Corbitt made a 13-footer from the paint, Traversi threw in a fast-break layup, and Corbitt knocked down a 3-pointer that made it 52-35 with 12:15 left.
“We boxed out, we rebounded, we outletted the ball,” Peterson said. “We shared the ball, made a couple extra passes, and people hit the jump shot. We just shared the ball really well.”
Vermont never got closer than nine points after that. UMaine made 15 of its last 19 free throws and went 25-for-31 on the day to maintain a comfortable lead.
The hosts shot only 30 percent for the contest, including 5-for-20 from 3-point range, which enabled UMaine to stay in the zone.
“I think when we went zone, we caused them some problems,” Versyp said. “We just happened to really be active on our zone today and as a result that really helped us.”
The Bears had gone to the zone with 3:35 left in the first half and held Vermont to only 10 points in a span of nearly 12 minutes after that.
UMaine shot 46 percent from the floor overall, hit eight of 16 from 3-point range, and outrebounded the Catamounts 41-36.
Schrader helped the Bears start well offensively, scoring seven of their first nine points on her way to 11 in the half.
“We sometimes have trouble with getting started early,” Schrader said. “The first four minutes of each half is pretty critical, so it was a good time to have a good run.”
BLACK BEARS 75, CATAMOUNTS 61
Maine (18-8) Vermont (12-13)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Traversi 3 11 5 7 13 Cuncic 2 6 6
Corbitt 2 5 5 6 10 Battram 1 6 3
Barker 2 3 6 6 11 Boardman 2 14 4 4 8
Peterson 4 7 4 4 12 Spinka 0 1 0
Schrader 6 9 2 4 14 McNamara 3 12 0 0 6
Underwood 4 8 3 4 15 Sabourin 2 8
Hugstad-Vaa 0 3 0 0 0 Cross 2 4 7
Jay 0 0 0 0 0 Fenton 0 2 1 1
Whittier 0 0 0 0 0 Castro 9 19 22
Totals 21 46 25 31 75 Totals 21 70 14 15 61
Maine 34 75
Vermont 29 61
3-pt. goals – Maine (8-16): Traversi 2-7, Corbitt 1-1, Barker 1-1, Underwood 4-7; UVM (5-20): Cuncic 2-5, Battram 1-4, Boardman 0-4, Spinka 0-1, McNamara 0-1, Sabourin 0-2, Cross 1-2, Castro 1-1
Attendance: 1,420
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