ORONO – In recent years, nationally-ranked teams from Alabama and Western Kentucky found out the University of Maine is a formidable women’s basketball program, especially in front of its exuberant home crowd.

An estimated 3,700 Black Bear fans at Alfond Arena screamed for another upset against No. 3 Georgia during Saturday’s Dead River Co. Classic championship game. But with the game on the line, the Bulldogs went into Miller time.

Junior twins Kelly Miller and Coco Miller combined to score 18 of the Bulldogs’ last 22 points, including 14 in overtime, as Georgia escaped Maine with a brow-swiping 79-68 victory.

Georgia coach Andy Landers complimented UMaine for its effort, but stressed it was not a fluke.

“We’re fortunate to get out of it with a `W,’ ” Landers said.

“[Maine] is a quality basketball team. I’m not saying this because they brought us to overtime. As far as our guys, we didn’t play bad, we played well.”

Kelly Miller was named the tourney MVP and was joined on the squad by Coco Miller, Jamie Cassidy of UMaine, Shawnta Johnson of Stephen F. Austin and Jess Zinobile of St. Francis (Pa.)

Coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie’s Black Bears (1-2) made a charge after the Bulldogs (6-0) had built a 15-point, second-half advantage. Using the vocal throng to help generate momentum, UMaine rallied and forced overtime, but couldn’t finish.

“I’m extremely proud of them for their effort and their fight, but at the same time there’s a real empty feeling because you know you could win that game,” Palombo said. “You can’t disguise the disappointment.”

Senior co-captain Amy Vachon expressed the players’ feelings.

“We came up short and that kind of hurts, but I think we proved to everyone that we can play with anyone in the country,” Vachon said.

Vachon, in a gritty 45-minute performance, snuck UMaine into overtime. Her driving, twisting scoop shot from the lane with three seconds left in regulation made it 61-all and electrified the crowd.

In overtime, the Miller twins made sure the Bulldogs didn’t become the next national power to lose in Orono.

Kelly Miller, a preseason All-American, set the tone five seconds into the five-minute overtime with a 14-foot jumper. Jamie Cassidy countered with a put-back at the 3:57 mark.

Georgia took control by scoring the next six points, including two free throws and a 17-footer by Kelly Miller and two Deana Nolan foul shots. The Bears, hounded by the ‘Dogs’ man-to-man defense, failed to convert on a handful of offensive chances during that stretch.

Coco Miller made it hurt, scoring eight points in the final 1:50.

“I think the end of the second half and overtime they took the game over,” Vachon said. “We should have done a little bit better job of staying in their faces, but they hit tough shots, too.”

Kelly Miller poured in 29 points and had six assists, while Coco Miller netted 18 points and made four steals.

“They are incredible. They are the glue to that team,” Palombo said.

Cassidy carried UMaine, scoring 29 points and grabbing a career-high 17 rebounds. On the defensive end, she teamed up with Martina Tinlova – playing her first game this season after knee surgery – and Anna James to hold Georgia center Tawana McDonald, who had 23 points in Friday’s game, scoreless with six rebounds.

A couple of seemingly innocuous elements wound up playing a major role in Georgia’s victory.

The first came when Camille Murphy banked in a 40-foot desperation shot at the halftime buzzer. The other was UMaine’s struggles at the foul line.

The Bears missed 10 free throws in the contest. Six times in the second half alone, the hosts failed to make the first attempt in bonus or two-shot situations.

“That’s a tough one,” Palombo conceded. “Between those foul shots and that 3-pointer they made at the end of the half, that’s a painful thing you have to swallow.”

The Bulldogs appeared ready to blow the game open after a 13-3 spurt gave them a 57-42 lead with 7:37 left. The Bears answered with stifling 1-2-2 zone defense, holding Georgia scoreless for the next 5:43.

UMaine went on a 15-0 binge behind Cassidy, who scored seven of those points. Tinklova made two free throws to tie the game at 57-57 with 2:05 remaining.

“To come back from 15 points down to a team like Georgia, we have to look at that and be proud,” Vachon said. “Then we also have to look at overtime and see what we can do better, because we definitely let it slip away.”

Kristen McCormick scored eight points for UMaine, while Tinklova added six points to her stellar defense. Lacey Stone and Kizzy Lopez (four steals) also played key roles.

Murphy finished with nine huge points on three 3-pointers for Georgia.

In the consolation game, Johnson scored 13 of her game-high 19 points in the second half as Stephen F. Austin wiped out a 14-point deficit en route to victory over St. Francis.

Patricia Brown provided 17 points and seven rebounds for the winners, while Rhonda Rajsich and Tekeniesha Henry added 10 points each. Zinobile paced St. Francis with 15 points and 15 rebounds, while Jen DeFilippo contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

The Ladyjacks made their move early in the second half. Trailing 40-31, Rajsich hit a jumper to ignite a 13-0 scoring surge.

Brown sandwiched two foul shots and a layup around a Rajsich 3-pointer, then Henry followed with a layup and a jumper to give Stephen F. Austin a 44-40 lead with 13:18 to play.

Angela Edwards scored three baskets as the Red Flash rallied to regain the lead by as many as five points, but Johnson scored 14 points in the last 9:18 to help the Ladyjacks pull away.

Bulldogs 79, Black Bears 68 (OT)

No. 3 Georgia (6-0) Maine (1-2)

Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF T Name G AG F AF TP Name G AG F AF TP

Nolan 3 5 2 2 8 Lopez 1 5 0 2 3

Ball 2 8 0 0 4 James 0 2 3 4 3

McDonald 0 3 0 0 0 Cassidy 11 26 7 9 29

K. Miller 11 16 5 5 29 McCormick 3 10 2 3 8

C. Miller 8 16 1 6 18 Vachon 6 11 3 7 17

Brown 1 4 1 1 3 Moldre 0 0 0 0 0

Crawford 2 4 4 6 8 Guerrette 0 0 0 0 0

Murphy 3 4 0 0 9 Stone 0 2 2 2 2

Tinklova 2 4 2 2 6

Cruz 0 0 0 0 0

Totals 30 60 13 20 79 Totals 23 60 19 29 68

Georgia 32 61 79

Maine 22 61 68

3-pt. goals: Georgia (6-14): K. Miller 2-5, C. Miller 1-5, Murphy 3-4; Maine (3-13): Lopez 1-2, Cassidy 0-3, McCormick 0-3, Vachon 2-4, Stone 0-1

St. Francis (1-2) 60

Zinobile 5-5-15, DeFilippo 4-5-13, Barnabei 3-0-6, Jubeck 2-0-6, Schaffner 2-0-6, Guerriere 2-0-6, Ward, Chesick, Edwards 4-0-8 Stephen F. Austin (3-1) 71

Johnson 8-3-19, Brown 6-5-17, Rater 2-0-4, Whitmore 4-0-9, Rajsich 3-2-10, Henry 5-0-10, Winters, Wright, Harrison 1-0-2, Collins

3-pt. goals: Jubeck 2, Schaffner 2, Guerriere 2; Whitmore, Rajsich 2

Halftime: St. Francis, 33-25.