ORONO – Many Maine basketball observers doubted whether Heather Ernest has enough of a physical presence to play basketball at the Division I level.

The freshman out of Mt. Blue High School in Farmington provided evidence to the contrary Sunday during her debut for the University of Maine.

Ernest scored a game-high 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, leading the Black Bears to a season-opening 66-51 victory over Fordham in front of 2,332 fans at Alfond Arena.

The Bears produced a victory for first-year head coach Sharon Versyp, building an 18-point lead before holding off a late threat by the determined Rams (0-2).

“I think it’s real important,” Versyp said of winning the opener. “It just gets the monkey off your back… If you win your first game, you can be happy and excited and move on.”

Ernest, a rangy 6-foot-1 forward from Temple, wasted no time establishing herself as one of UMaine’s most tenacious players. She, too, had heard the talk doubting her strength – and dismissed it.

“I know that I can play basketball,” Ernest said. “I think that I use my frame to my advantage. A lot of people think that they can push me around and stuff, but I’m going to get big muscles some day,” she added with a laugh.

Ernest, who played a team-high 29 minutes, grabbed seven of her rebounds on the offensive end. She had one blocked shot.

“I think she’s one of the most dangerous players that we have because she can do so many different things,” Versyp said.

“She is strong underneath there and she uses her strength and her quickness… She’s done a real nice job for us and she won’t back down,” she added.

Senior co-captain Kizzy Lopez connected for 16 points and pulled down nine rebounds for the Bears. Freshman Julie Veilleux of Augusta contributed eight points and six rebounds, while Ellen Geraghty added six points, four boards and four assists. Anna James blocked three shots.

UMaine shot only 36 percent from the field, but converted 22 of 28 free throws (.786) en route to a 22-11 advantage from the foul line. The Bears also outrebounded the Rams 47-35.

Fordham was paced by 14 points from Kady Kanoute and 11 points and eight rebounds by Mobolaji Akiode. The Bears held the Rams to 30 percent shooting.

UMaine shook off a sluggish effort in the early going and put together a decisive 16-0 scoring spurt during the middle portion of the first half. Ernest scored five points, including a 3-pointer, as the hosts turned a 14-11 deficit into a 27-14 lead.

“There were times we showed great excitement in that first half,” Versyp said. “We had a great spurt there and in that spurt I had three freshmen in. That does say a lot for our incoming freshmen. They’re ready just to get it done. They have no fear and they don’t analyze everything right now.”

The Bears energized the crowd with the run, which was built on outstanding defense. UMaine went man-to-man in spurts and played some 1-2-2 zone, mixing in a halfcourt trap.

Lacey Stone ignited the run with a 3-pointer that tied it 14-14 at the 11:14 mark. Eva Moldre converted a scoop shot off an Ellen Geraghty bounce pass, Ernest stepped out and swished a 3-pointer, and freshman Melissa Heon made two foul shots as the Bears moved ahead for good.

Veilleux’s 12-foot jump shot, two Lopez free throws and two foul shots by Ernest gave UMaine a 27-14 edge with 6:39 to play in the half. Fordham never got closer than 10 points the rest of the way.

Not to say the Rams didn’t make it interesting.

UMaine, which committed only six turnovers in the first half, didn’t take care of the ball well in the second half, making 17 miscues. However, Fordham was equally sloppy (22 turnovers) and was never able to establish any offensive consistency.

The Bears realize they have to play more consistently throughout the course of the game without experiencing defensive lulls that lead to disjoined offensive play.

“This was a big game for us and I think that we really wanted to come out and show what we have,” Lopez said. “I think we did that at times, but there’s still a lot of things that we need to work on and learn as a team.”

Black Bears 66, Fordham 51

Fordham (0-2) Maine (1-0)

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

Fleischer 0 0 0 1 0 Guerrette 0 8 0 3 0

Vann 3 9 0 0 7 Lopez 5 10 5 9 16

Kanoute 5 15 4 4 14 Stone 2 4 0 0 5

Garvey 1 9 0 0 2 James 2 4 0 0 4

Akiode 3 6 5 6 11 Grover 1 3 2 2 4

Deroy 0 2 0 0 0 Heon 0 0 2 2 2

Slayton 2 5 0 0 6 Moldre 1 4 0 1 2

Williams 0 1 0 0 0 Ernest 6 12 3 4 17

Keegan 1 4 2 2 4 Veilleux 3 5 2 2 8

Chiaramonte 0 1 0 0 0 Geraghty 0 6 6 6 6

Wallace 3 8 0 0 7

Totals 18 60 11 13 51 Totals 20 56 22 28 66

Fordham 23 51

Maine 34 66

3-pt. goals: Fordham (4-18): Vann 1-7, Kanoute 0-2, Garvey 0-2, Deroy 0-2, Slayton 2-3, Wallace 1-2; Maine (4-16): Guerrette 0-3, Lopez 1-4, Stone 1-1, Moldre 0-1, Ernest 2-3, Veilleux 0-1, Geraghty 0-3

Attendance: 2,332