DURHAM, N.H. – Maine and New Hampshire both felt as though they really needed a victory during Wednesday night’s renewal of their America East women’s basketball rivalry.

As the Black Bears’ offensive struggles continued, it was the Wildcats who snapped a three-game losing streak with a 63-59 victory in front of 636 fans at Lundholm Gymnasium.

Coach Ann McInerney’s UMaine squad (5-10 overall, 1-3 in conference play) allowed the Wildcats (10-5, 2-2 AE) to dominate early in the second half and couldn’t regain the upper hand.

“It’s like we’re that one play away or we’re that one player away or we’re that one defensive stop away from just getting over the hump,” McInerney said.

“I think we’re still struggling to find some consistency,” she added.

The Bears’ Maine natives led the way. Katie Whittier of New Gloucester scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds to head a quartet of double-figure scorers.

Ashley Underwood of Benton tallied 15 points, with four assists, for the Bears, while Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor posted a double-double with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Abby Schrader added 10 points and five boards, but had only two points in the second half.

New Hampshire placed five players in double figures, led by Whitney Edwards (5 steals) and Ray Williams with 13 points each. Former Nokomis High star Danielle Clark of Corinna contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, while Lindsay Adams and Ashley Cerniglia netted 10 points each.

“No disrespect to anybody, but our Maine kids played their asses off and they knew what this rivalry was all about, Danielle Clark included,” McInerney said.

The Bears played a strong first half, shooting 41 percent from the floor and outrebounding UNH 24-13 to gain a 30-27 halftime edge.

However, the Wildcats continued to built on the momentum they started generating late in the first half. UNH came out with full-court pressure that helped lead to Adams’ driving scoop shot, an Ashley Cerniglia 3-pointer and Clark’s driving baseline move as the ‘Cats went on top for good at 34-30 with 17:45 remaining.

“We came out pressing and I think that helped us get going. We scored in transition early,” said UNH Sue Johnson, who implored her team to pick up its rebounding at halftime.

The hosts outscored UMaine 14-1 during the first six minutes of the second half while building a 41-31 advantage.

The Wildcats wound up manufacturing a 21-6 scoring run, one that had begun in the last 2:41 of the first half.

“As I said to the girls in the locker room, we can’t go six, seven minutes to start the second half without a field goal and expect to win basketball games,” McInerney said.

By the time Underwood nailed a 3-pointer at the 12:17 mark, UMaine was facing an uphill battle. The Bears fought back, as a Barker foul shot and another Underwood 3-pointer off an inbounds play got UMaine within three (45-42) with 10:03 left.

The Bears later crept as close as two at 48-46, but Adams scored twice from close range to keep the ‘Cats in control.

Despite its best efforts, UMaine was unable to execute on the offensive end of the floor down the stretch.

“They did a really good job pressuring our point guards, so we couldn’t really set up an offense,” Barker said. “And once we got into an offense, we didn’t really run it through in the second half.”

UMaine shot only 26 percent (7-for-27) from the field in the second half, during which Barker, Whittier and Schrader combined for only 12 points.

“I credit New Hampshire’s defense. I think they came out in the second half and really took our key kids out of the game, knowing that Bracey and Abby and Ashley have been our leading scorers.”

The Bears led by as many as nine points early (12-3), but UNH was able to get to the foul line often over the last eight minutes and put together an 11-6 run, including six free throws, to keep the game close.

WILDCATS 63, BLACK BEARS 59

Maine (5-10) UNH (10-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Whittier 5 9 5 6 16 Cernglia 3 10

Barker 5 11 1 4 13 Adams 3 8 10

Schrader 4 8 2 3 10 Clark 3 10 10

Younan 0 2 0 0 0 Edwards 4 9 13

Undrwood 4 11 4 5 15 Woods 1 2 4

Hgstd-Vaa 0 0 1 2 1 Hardy 1 4 3

Elderton 0 9 4 4 4 DeVits 0 0 0

Bryant 0 2 0 0 0 Flowers 0 2 0

Kilmurray 0 1 0 2 0 Williams 5 13

Bowen 0 1 0 0 0

Totals 18 54 17 26 59 Totals 20 51 16 23 63

Maine 30 59

New Hampshire 27 63

3-pt. goals – Maine (6-14): Whittier 1-2, Barker 2-4, Underwood 3-4, Elderton 0-3, Bowen 0-1; New Hampshire (7-22): Cerniglia 2-5, Adams 0-3, Clark 2-6, Edwards 2-3, Woods 0-1, Hardy 1-4

Attendance: 636