ORONO – The University of Maine women’s basketball team is playing with confidence.

And what a difference a little confidence makes.

The Black Bears, inspired by Thursday’s win over Drexel, put together their most cohesive team performance of the season Saturday afternoon.

With freshman forward Heather Ernest of Temple leading the charge, UMaine placed five players in double figures in a balanced effort that culminated in an 83-64 America East victory over Hofstra at Alfond Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s Bears improved to 6-11, 3-5 in conference play, winning back-to-back games for the first time since opening the season 2-0.

“I think a lot of confidence will come with this win,” said Ernest, who spearheaded the effort with a team-high 18 points and 16 rebounds. “I hope we’re on a roll and that it keeps up. Everybody’s excited and pumped up and it seems like things are finally clicking.”

Hofstra slipped to 5-11, including a 2-6 America East mark, and remains winless in 16 meetings against UMaine.

UMaine showed further signs Saturday that reports of a complete collapse this season have been greatly exaggerated.

“It’s coming together. It came a little later than when we hoped, but hopefully it’s here to stay,” said Versyp, whose Bears sent a crowd of 2,320 home happy.

The Bears shot a season-best 49 percent (30-for-61) from the field and rode the aggressive rebounding of Ernest and Kizzy Lopez to a 40-30 advantage. UMaine’s tenacity on the offensive boards resulted in 20 second-chance points, which proved costly for the Pride.

“We didn’t put a body on anybody. That’s the difference in the game,” said Hofstra coach Leslie Schlegel-Danowski. “I don’t think you can give a team two and three shots at the basket and expect to win.”

Ernest, a legitimate candidate for conference rookie of the year, pulled down nine rebounds at the offensive end of the court while recording her league-leading 11th double-double of the season.

Senior guard/forward Lopez connected for 13 of her 17 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds, posting her second straight double-double. Sophomore forward

Anna James went 7-for-10 on her way to a career-high 16 points.

Ellen Geraghty contributed 12 points and three steals, while Tracy Guerrette of St. Agatha added 11 key first-half points and did a solid job running the offense, adding four assists.

“Definitely we’re feeling a lot more comfortable with each other as our confidence gets built up,” James said in assessing the Bears’ improving cohesiveness. “I think this confidence is doing great for us, doing wonders. It’s making everybody feel that they can contribute.”

Versatile forward Kimberley Coke paced Hofstra with a game-high 21 points and eight rebounds, while Jennifer Brickey tossed in 18 points and Jessica Olszewski added 10. The Pride shot percent from the floor, but were outscored 18-9 from the foul line.

The Bears led by 11 points early in the second half when the Pride turned the tide while rattling off 10 unanswered points during a span of one minute, 34 seconds. Coke fed Joy Pela underneath for a basket that gave Hofstra a 43-42 lead with 15:43 remaining.

UMaine recovered quickly on Geraghty’s 15-foot jumper, which put the hosts back in front for good. The Bears eventually pushed the advantage to 15 while holding the Pride scoreless for 5 1/2 minutes.

Clinging to a three-point edge, James and Ernest scored four points each during a critical 10-0 scoring run. James hit a seven-footer from the lane, Ernest converted two offensive rebound hoops, James scored from the foul line and Geraghty sank two foul shots that gave UMaine a 60-47 bulge with 8:10 to play.

“That’s the key, a sign of a good team – and we are a good team now – is to be able to battle back like that,” Versyp said. “… The players totally believe that these things are going to occur now.”

Hofstra fought back to within eight points (68-60) behind eight straight points from Brickey, but the Bears remained patient down the stretch and iced it from the foul line.

UMaine matched a season low with only 14 turnovers for the second straight game.

Hofstra 64

Godsey 2-3 0-0 4, Brickey 7-14, 2-2 18, Coke 8-17 5-6 21, Hall-Gregory 2-7 0-0 5, Pela 2-7 0-0 4, Claxton 0-3 2-2 2, Dilworth 0-3 0-0 0, Olszewski 4-9 0-0 10; Totals 25-63 9-10 64

Maine 83

Ernest 7-15 2-2 18, Guerrette 4-6 0-0 11, Lopez 5-14 7-8 17, Stone 2-5 1-2 5, James 7-10 2-3 16, Heon 1-3 0-0 2, Moldre 0-0 0-0 0, Veilleux 1-1 0-0 2, Geraghty 3-7 6-7 12; Totals 30-61 18-22 83

3-pt. goals: Hofstra (5-19): Brickey 2-7, Hall-Gregory 1-6, Olszewski 2-6; Maine (5-11): Ernest 2-2, Guerrette 3-3, Lopez 0-2, Stone 0-2, Heon 0-2