The youthful University of Maine women’s basketball team has been a bit inconsistent in its first four games, but Saturday’s startling come-from-behind victory over Xavier gave Bears coach Sharon Versyp cause for optimism.

UMaine fell behind by 20 points in the first half, but stormed back to beat the Musketeers by 12 in a memorable performance.

“Our learning curve was extremely high [last weekend],” Versyp said. “The second half we did great things, but now we have to use that learning curve and not [regress].”

As was the case a year ago, the freshman class has had an immediate and positive impact on the ballclub.

Missy Traversi has stepped right into the point guard role and has been outstanding. She possesses considerable offensive skills, but also is a confident floor leader.

Traversi leads the team, scoring 16.0 points per game while averaging 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals in 26.5 minutes per contest. She also has made 11 of 12 free throws (.917).

Forward Monica Peterson has stepped in and established herself as a force inside. The poised 6-footer, who played mostly at small forward in high school, has excelled at the power forward spot.

Peterson is averaging 8.5 points, a team-leading 8.3 rebounds and has added 2.3 steals while playing 28.5 minutes per game.

Peterson and Traversi were named to the Dead River Company Classic All-Tournament team.

“Everybody talks about classes, but we’re one unit. It’s one team,” Versyp said.

“They’re a great blend with the kids that we worked with last year and I think that’s phenomenal,” Versyp said of the freshman group, which also includes guard Kim Corbitt and center Nicole Jay.

Corbitt, who missed Saturday’s game with a thigh bruise, is averaging 7.7 points and 1.7 assists in 16.7 minutes, while the 6-6 Jay has chipped in with 1.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 11.5 minutes.

One of the veterans who appears to have elevated her game this season is sophomore guard Melissa Heon. Known mostly for her aggressive defense, quickness and strength, Heon has improved her offensive skills considerably.

Heon, who has played nearly 33 minutes per contest, ranks second on the team with 12.8 points per game and has provided 5.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists while shooting 85 percent from the foul line.

Her efforts seem to reflect the way Versyp wants the Bears to play.

“She never puts pressure on us to win or lose,” Heon said. “She always just says, ‘have fun and play your hardest.’ If we play our hardest, then everything’s going to fall into place.”

UMaine is preparing for this week’s Rice Tournament in Houston. The Bears take on 21st-ranked George Washington in Friday’s 5 p.m. first-round game, then will face either host Rice or North Carolina-Greensboro on Saturday.

Jason Harvey to attend Husson

Standout Bucksport High School athlete Jason Harvey will be attending Husson College next fall and will play basketball and baseball, according to men’s basketball coach Warren Caruso.

Harvey, a 6-foot senior guard, has scored more than 1,000 points and dished out 300 assists for the Golden Bucks. Last season, he helped lead Bucksport to the Eastern Maine Class B quarterfinals while averaging 22 points and six assists a game.

“Jason is going to have the opportunity to make an immediate impact in our program,” Caruso said. “He has very good point-guard skills and the ability to make people around him better. This is a great way for us to start this year’s recruiting class.”

Harvey is also a standout pitcher and shortstop for the Golden Bucks. He will play baseball at Husson with his brother, Craig Harvey, who is currently a member of the team.

UMaine’s Greene sidelined

University of Maine men’s basketball player Errick Greene has been diagnosed with a fracture of the xiphoid process, probably sustained in a car accident Friday in Bangor, according to a press release from the school Tuesday.

The xiphoid process is a bony projection at the base of the sternum and the injury is treated in the same manner as a fractured rib – rest and limited physical activity. Greene will sit out practices and games for the remainder of the week and be re-evaluated by doctors on Monday.

Greene had played in Sunday’s game when Maine lost to Troy State. He scored 15 points and had eight rebounds.

Friday’s car accident also resulted in injuries to two other UMaine players, forward Clayton Brown and guard Derrick Jackson, both juniors. Brown, Maine’s leading scorer, suffered a fractured right wrist, which will be in a cast for the next four weeks.

Jackson re-aggravated a shoulder sprain in the accident.

Maine’s next game is Friday when it faces Lamar in the first round of the Spartan Coca-Cola Classic at Michigan State University. The Bears will face either MSU or Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne in Saturday’s championship or consolation.

The loss of the three starters leaves Maine with just seven active scholarship players, and only one player – junior center Justin Rowe – who was projected to be among the team’s top six this season. Senior guard Huggy Dye was dismissed from the team in October and junior guard Ricky Green left the team in early November.

UMF women 27th at nationals

The University of Maine-Farmington women’s cross country team, led by NAIA Scholar-Athlete Kate McGuire, finished 27th in the NAIA National Championships recently, in Kenosha, Wis.

Brewer High graduate McGuire was UMF’s top finisher as she placed 71st out of 238 runners over the 5-kilometer course.

Holly Chapdelaine (20:22), Jessica Ellingwood (22:16), Megan Roy (22:38) and Maryella Collins (23:57) rounded out the top five for UMF with Chapdelaine and Roy registering personal bests.

Tracy Demuth (25:35) and Kim Sweeney (26:01) also ran for UMF.

The UMF men didn’t qualify as a team but Brett Almasi became the first UMF man to qualify and he registered a time of 29:22 over the 8,000-meter course.