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DURHAM, N.H. – Danielle Clark plays every game as though it’s the last game of her life. Her hustle and determination helped set the tone for a confidence-building victory Saturday afternoon for the University of New Hampshire.
Clark, a former Nokomis High School star, provided the emotional spark as the Wildcats earned a 65-55 America East women’s basketball victory over rival UMaine at Lundholm Gymnasium.
The senior forward from Corinna scored 11 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists as New Hampshire (8-13, 3-6 AE) earned its second straight win.
Clark reluctantly admitted she enjoys playing against the Black Bears, who four years ago passed on offering her a scholarship.
“Every time we play Maine, I want to beat them,” Clark said. “Every time we play anybody, I want to beat them. It does especially feel good to beat Maine. It’s just a little something extra.”
Coach Ann McInerney’s Black Bears (10-10, 4-5 AE) were unable to match the Wildcats’ emotional fire and on-court chemistry.
“This is a game that we were really confident going into and we just didn’t get it done. It’s unacceptable,” said Bears senior Ashley Underwood of Benton.
UMaine’s uninspired performance was marred by 19 turnovers, which UNH turned into 18 points. The Bears couldn’t consistently solve the Wildcats’ 1-2-2 zone and appeared tentative.
“We did not rise to the challenge today,” McInerney said. “As much as you talk about it and as much as you do this and that, UNH is a very solid team. They’re going to be fired up. The fans are fired up and the only people that didn’t seem fired up was our team.”
Offensively, the Bears relied too heavily on Underwood and Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor. Underwood tossed in a game-high 21 points while logging 39 minutes. Barker was plagued by foul trouble but contributed 13 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes.
The Bears received seven points, eight assists, and five rebounds from Kris Younan but got only a combined 12 points and nine rebounds from Katie Whittier and Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa.
“When we played up there, those two just took us to town with high-low passing,” said UNH coach Sue Johnson. “We knew that was a major element in the game that we had to defend better. That was a huge swing from the first game to the second game.”
New Hampshire’s young post players responded as freshman forward Chrissy Hall, who had scored only 27 points all season, tallied 12. Senior guard Whitney Edwards (four steals) added 12 points for the Wildcats, who posted a 17-10 edge from the foul line.
UMaine, which trailed by as many as 10 points early in the second half, threatened to go ahead midway through the half.
Freshman Sandra Vaitkute scored from down low, Underwood made two free throws, and Barker sandwiched a putback and a 17-footer around two foul shots by the Wildcats’ Hall to cut the deficit to 48-45 with 10:02 to play.
UNH held its ground. The hosts kept the Bears, who committed two turnovers, off the scoreboard for almost four minutes. Clark sank two free throws and Hall snipped a short turnaround from the paint to push the Wildcats’ lead back to seven with 6:51 left.
Barker hit a long jumper to end UMaine’s drought, but Clark maneuvered around Barker underneath for a big hoop at the 5:08 mark.
“She’s a tough competitor,” Barker said of Clark, a former AAU teammate. “She goes out there every day wanting to be the best player out there, playing her hardest.”
UMaine led briefly in the first half at 11-9 but couldn’t grab control of the contest.
Instead, the Wildcats responded by holding the Bears without a field goal for the next six-plus minutes. UMaine had some good scoring chances but couldn’t convert and turned the ball over twice.
Five different UNH players scored during a 14-6 run that gave the hosts a 23-14 edge.
“We just had a lot of people chipping in. That’s what we need,” Johnson said. “I was very pleased with all the different contributions.”
UMaine returns to action Wednesday at noon against Albany on National Girls and Women in Sports Day at Alfond Arena in Orono.
WILDCATS 65, BLACK BEARS 55
Maine (10-10) UNH (8-13)
Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP
Younan 3 7 1 2 7 Simpson 3 7 6
Underwod 5 14 6 8 21 Edwards 4 13 12
Whittier 3 5 0 0 6 Johnson 1 2 9
Greene 0 0 0 0 0 Hall 5 8 12
Barker 6 16 1 2 13 Clark 3 12 11
Baker 0 1 0 0 0 Cerniglia 3 8
Hugstd-Va 2 4 2 2 6 Flowers 2 6 4
Boser 0 0 0 0 0 C.Willims 0 0
Tewksbury 0 1 0 0 0 Weidmyer 0 0
Bowen 0 1 0 0 0 Fowler 1 1 3
Kilmurray 0 1 0 0 0
Vaitkute 1 1 0 0 2
Totals 20 51 10 14 55 Totals 22 56 17 21 65
Maine 23 55
New Hampshire 31 65
3-pt. goals – Maine (5-17): Younan 0-2, Underwood 5-10, Whittier 0-1, Barker 0-3, Baker 0-1; UNH (4-11): Simpson 0-3, Edwards 0-1, Johnson 1-1, Clark 1-3, Cerniglia 2-3
Attendance: 716
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