ORONO – The University of Maine women’s basketball team hoped to breeze through Saturday night’s regular-season finale, celebrate “Senior Night,” then start gearing up for the America East Tournament.

The Black Bears knew the University of Maryland Baltimore County, despite being the league’s last-place team, wasn’t about to let that happen.

The persistent Retrievers made UMaine work hard to defend their methodical Princeton-style offense, but the Bears persevered and pulled out a 63-55 victory in front of 2,848 fans at Alfond Arena.

“We let them hang around the whole game pretty much and I commend them for their aggressiveness and the way they attacked us, but we came out on top,” said senior Missy Traversi, who paced UMaine with 19 points and six assists.

Seniors Traversi, Kim Corbitt, Monica Peterson and Nicole Jay played their final game in Orono by helping secure the team’s 13th straight victory.

“All day I had kind of a knot in my stomach,” Traversi said. “It wasn’t so much nerves, it was more anxious. Everything’s setting in that this is my last time in Alfond.”

Coach Sharon Versyp’s 20-8 Bears (16-2 AE) go into the tourney as the top seed. UMaine plays Wednesday’s Boston University-Stony Brook prelim winner in Thursday’s 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal at Reich Pavilion in West Hartford, Conn.

Tenth-seeded UMBC (8-19, 3-15 AE) meets No. 7 Northeastern in a Wednesday prelim.

Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor contributed 15 points and eight rebounds for UMaine, while Ashley Underwood of Benton hit four 3-pointers for 12 points. Corbitt posted five points, six assists and three steals while Abby Schrader added six points and five rebounds.

Versatile center Amanda Robinson led UMBC with 19 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Courtney Doughman and Sharri Rohde added nine points each.

“They’re one of the worst teams to play against because they run around in circles for 30 seconds and then they shoot the ball,” Corbitt said. “They shoot a lot of tough shots, but if they go in, they can beat anybody on any given night.”

UMaine’s defense, though tested by the Retrievers’ plodding offensive strategy, clamped down during a key stretch of the second half. The Bears held UMBC to three points during a span of 51/2 minutes to regain a solid lead.

Barker scored from underneath and made two free throws, while Underwood hit a 3-pointer and Corbitt made a 10-foot pull-up jumper from the lane during a 9-3 run that gave the hosts a 56-45 lead with 4:20 left.

“If you let them hang around, then it’s always going to be a tight game,” Versyp said. “They’re a good team. They’re a team you don’t want to play, because they control your tempo all the time.”

The Retrievers battled back with a 7-2 spurt, closing to within 58-54 on Robinson’s foul-line jumper with 1:32 left.

However, Traversi fed Schrader for a layup against UMBC’s press eight seconds later and Traversi converted three of four foul shots in the last 42 seconds to help the Bears hold on.

“We’re very frustrated, obviously,” said UMBC coach Phil Stern. “We’ve lost eight conference games by single digits.”

The Bears couldn’t break the grip of the Retrievers’ deliberate pace most of the first half, but finally picked up the pace in the final four-plus minutes.

Leading 21-16, the hosts’ crisp passing found ways to break down UMBC’s zone. UMaine hit five straight 3-pointers, three by Underwood, during a 15-7 surge that gave the Bears a 36-23 halftime lead.

BLACK BEARS 63, RETRIEVERS 55

UMBC (8-19) Maine (20-8)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Hughes 2 5 0 0 5 Traversi 5 11 5 6 19

Rohde 3 6 3 4 9 Jay 0 1 0

Pender 1 4 0 0 2 Corbitt 2 3 5

Luttrell 3 5 1 2 9 Barker 5 14 15

Voss 1 3 0 0 2 Peterson 0 2 0

Doughman 3 6 0 0 9 Underwood 4 12

Robinson 9 17 1 2 19 Whittier 1 2

Goncharova 0 0 0 0 0 Schrader 3 6

Younan 0 1 0 0

Hugstad-Va 1 1 4

Totals 22 46 5 8 55 Totals 21 50 12 14 63

UMBC 23 55

Maine 36 63

3-pt. goals – UMBC (6-11): Hughes 1-1, Rohde 0-1, Pender 0-1, Luttrell 2-3, Doughman 3-5; Maine (9-17): Traversi 4-6, Corbitt 1-1, Barker 0-3, Underwood 4-7

Attendance: 2,848