ORONO – Albany coach Trina Patterson compared the University of Maine women’s basketball team to a fire. Her team’s aim Wednesday night was to keep that fire from burning out of control.

The Black Bears were unable to torch the Great Danes with their usual fast-break attack, but UMaine kept the coals stoked while burning Albany for a 79-45 America East victory at Alfond Arena.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s team won its 16th straight game, improving to 20-4 overall, 13-0 in conference play. It is UMaine’s first 20-win season since 1999-2000.

The Bears also wrapped up at least the No. 2 seed for the America East Tournament and can clinch the regular-season title Saturday with a win at Hartford or a Vermont loss.

Junior Melissa Heon said there was no threat UMaine would take Albany for granted.

“Everyone wants to knock us off; it’s a fact,” Heon said. “We’ve got to keep on playing hard and we can’t take anyone lightly, that’s the biggest thing.”

UMaine accumulated plenty of fuel for the slow burn during the first half, limiting Albany (9-16, 3-11 AE) to 12 points on 25 percent shooting while building a 19-point halftime advantage.

“Today we picked and chose when we wanted to play tenacious man-to-man and when we did, obviously we stumped them a little bit,” said Versyp, whose team was much more forgiving in the second half.

While there weren’t many thrilling open-court sequences, the Bears patiently ran their half-court offense against the Danes’ 2-3 zone and pulled in front. UMaine had a bit more offensive success in the second half while extending its lead.

“It was very hard for us to get in a rhythm,” said junior Heather Ernest of Temple, who led UMaine with a game-high 17 points, five rebounds, and three assists.

“We kind of got into it a little bit in the second half, but we weren’t as aggressive on defense,” Ernest added.

Heon connected for nine of her 13 points in the second half, grabbed eight rebounds and made three steals for the Bears. Julie Veilleux of Augusta chipped in with eight points while Kim Corbitt contributed seven points, seven assists and four steals.

Monica Peterson grabbed nine rebounds to go with five points, three assists and two steals for UMaine, which utilized most of its bench.

Jess McGinlay paced the Great Danes with 13 points while Danielle Hutcheson added nine points and seven rebounds.

“I think the whole excitement in the gym wasn’t there,” Versyp said. “Overall I was very pleased that we did play hard.”

The Bears made their first move with an 11-0 first-half run that covered 41/2 minutes and resulted in a 21-7 lead. It included a baseline runner by Heon, two close-range hoops by Ernest, a Veilleux 3-pointer, and Abby Schrader’s 4-footer.

UMaine then held Albany scoreless for the final 6:23 of the half while building its lead to 19 points.

In the second half, the Bears were unable to match their first-half defensive intensity. The result was a 52 percent shooting performance by Albany, including four 3-pointers.

UMaine substituted liberally, which may have diminished its effectiveness.

The Bears put the game out of reach with a 10-2 second-half spurt. Ellen Geraghty sparked the flurry with a 3-pointer before Ernest scored six straight points with a conventional three-point play, a hoop off a baseline move, and another basket from underneath.

The Great Danes countered only with a Hutcheson rebound basket as the Bears’ lead grew to 65-33 with 8:01 remaining.

BLACK BEARS 79, GREAT DANES 45

Albany (9-16) 45 Maine (20-4) 79

Player G AG F AF TP Player G AG AF TP

Learn 0 1 0 0 0 Ernest 7 12 17

Jones 3 5 0 0 6 Veilleux 3 10 0 0 8

Hutcheson 4 9 1 6 9 Jay 1 2 2

Sweetland 1 5 1 2 4 Heon 6 8 13

McGinlay 5 14 0 0 13 Corbitt 2 6 7

Johnson 0 0 0 0 0 Traversi 2 6

Gray 0 0 0 0 0 Hickman 1 2 0 3

Hemlock 2 6 0 0 4 Geraghty 2 6

Schumacher 2 4 0 2 6 Gay 2 2 6

O’Bannon 0 0 0 0 0 Quacknbsh 1 2

Majors 1 1 1 2 3 Peterson 1 5

Schrader 2 5 4

Totals 18 45 3 12 45 30 59 12 18 79

Albany 12 45

Maine 31 79

3-pt. goals ? Albany (6-15): McGinlay 3-7, Schumacher 2-3, Sweetland 1-4, Hemlock 0-1; Maine (7-16): Veilleux 2-3, Geraghty 2-3, Heon 1-2, Hickman 1-2, Traversi 1-4, Ernest 0-1, Corbitt 0-1

Attendance: 1,782