Black Bears tame Wildcats Whitter has double-double; Barker scores 11 in return

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ORONO – While Bracey Barker spent a month on the sideline with a fractured wrist, the University of Maine women’s basketball team learned a lot about itself.

Having been seasoned by some of those struggles, the Black Bears welcomed back their senior leader Thursday night at Alfond Arena.

UMaine’s four seniors each scored in double figures as the Bears and 1,488 fans celebrated Barker’s return with a 64-47 victory over rival New Hampshire in their mutual America East opener.

“Having Bracey back, playing in front of the home crowd, knowing UNH is the big rivalry that it is, we were very fortunate that everything kind of fell into place tonight,” said UMaine coach Ann McInerney.

Bar Harbor’s Barker, who was injured at Holy Cross one month earlier to the day, came off the bench and contributed 11 points, four rebounds, two blocked shots, an assist and a steal in 24 minutes.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be a hundred percent, but I had my wrist taped and it was feeling good today,” said Barker, who Wednesday night was cleared to play. “I didn’t really hold back. It just felt good to get out there and play again.”

The Bears played some of their best defense in recent weeks and executed well in all facets of the game.

“It’s not only a credit to Bracey Barker and the player that she is, but the way the team responded with her back on the court,” McInerney said. “They did not miss a beat. We were not out of sync. She added to what we had been doing.”

Katie Whittier of New Gloucester registered her second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds to lead UMaine (7-5, 1-0 AE). She went 7-for-11 from the field, and posted three assists and three steals.

Ashley Underwood of Benton tossed in 17 points and had four steals and three assists. She also helped limit UNH guard Whitney Edwards to seven points.

“It felt really good to have her [Barker] back. She’s such an emotional player and mentally on the court [it helps] knowing that she’s there,” said Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa, who chipped in with 10 points.

Kris Younan dished out six assists for UMaine, which shot 45 percent from the floor and outrebounded the Wildcats (5-7, 0-1 AE) 33-29.

Corinna native and former Nokomis High School star Danielle Clark paced New Hampshire with 17 points and three steals. Salee-Marie Johnson added eight points.

The Bears scored 24 points as a result of UNH turnovers, including 17 in the first half.

“We turned the ball over and they’re a good transition team,” said UNH coach Sue Johnson. “You go down 15 [points] in the first half, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing, that’s a tough hole to dig out of.”

UMaine demonstrated the offensive chemistry it had re-established in Baker’s absence during a productive first half that set the tone for the victory. The Bears led 35-20 at halftime after shooting 46 percent (13-for-28) from the floor.

UMaine also turned in a stingy defensive effort. The hosts made five steals and turned several of the Wildcats’ 12 turnovers into 17 points.

Trailing 5-4 early, UMaine parlayed three straight UNH turnovers into an 8-0 run that gave the Bears a 12-5 lead.

Underwood hit an 18-footer off a Barker steal, Amanda Tewksbury went coast to coast for a layup off her own steal, and Underwood made a steal and cashed in with a driving layup to get the hosts clicking.

The Bears later outscored the Wildcats 12-4 over the final 3:05 of the half to extend the lead.

Early in the second half, UNH applied defensive pressure that forced a handful of turnovers. UMaine went scoreless for 51/2 minutes, but UNH couldn’t get closer than eight (39-31) with 11:02 left.

Underwood later scored five points during an 11-4 flurry that made it 50-35.

BLACK BEARS 64, WILDCATS 47

New Hampshire (5-7) Maine (7-5)

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Flowers 2 8 0 0 4 HgstdVaa 5 10

Clark 5 11 6 6 17 Whittier 7 11 2 2 16

Simpson 0 4 0 0 0 Younan 0 4 4

Edwards 2 6 2 4 7 Underwd 5 9 17

Johnson 3 6 0 0 8 Greene 1 4 3

Williams 1 2 0 0 2 Baker 0 0 1

Hall 1 4 1 4 3 Colon 0 0 0 0

Weidmyer 0 0 0 0 0 Twksbry 1 2 2

Fowler 0 0 0 0 0 Bowen 0 1 0

McDade 2 2 0 0 4 Kilmurray 0 0

Williams 1 3 0 0 2 Barker 3 10 11

Vaitkute 0 0 0

Totals 17 46 9 14 47 Totals 22 49 16 21 64

New Hampshire 20 64

Maine 35 65

3-pt. goals – New Hampshire (4-15): Clark 1-3, Simpson 0-3, Edwards 1-4, Johnson 2-4, Williams 0-1; Maine (4-10): Younan 0-1, Underwood 2-2, Greene 1-3, Tewksbury 0-1, Bowen 0-1, Barker 1-2

Attendance: 1,488