WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – Maine and Boston University took vastly different paths to Saturday’s America East women’s basketball championship game.

The Black Bears won an incredible 21 straight games, while the up-and-down Terriers dropped three of five heading into the league tournament. Yet through its struggles, BU discovered a winning formula.

Third-seeded Boston University raced to an early 12-point lead Saturday afternoon, then weathered a second-half rally by No. 1 Maine to win the America East championship 69-65 at Chase Family Arena.

Coach Margaret McKeon’s 16-14 Terriers earned the program’s third league title and its first NCAA Tournament bid while halting UMaine’s streak, which dated back to Dec. 28.

“I think all our experiences this year, the whole journey of our season, prepared us for this game,” McKeon said. “We’ve been learning our lessons through losing and Maine has been learning their lessons through winning.”

Despite their tremendous season, the 25-5 Black Bears did not receive an at-large bid to the 64-team NCAA Tournament field. Instead, coach Sharon Versyp’s team is expected to participate in the 32-team Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

UMaine seemed to lack the sense of urgency BU brought to the floor, from the outset, for the title game.

BU received the 16th seed in the East where it will play No. 1 seed Connecticut.

“We didn’t come in with that fire and intensity, have that heart and pride, and that really hurt us,” said Bears guard Missy Traversi. “Our team will never quit, and we did battle to the end, but it wasn’t enough.”

BU’s Katie Terhune was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player after posting a team-high 18 points in the finale. Joining her on the all-tourney squad are Heather Ernest of UMaine, Larissa Parr, and Alison Argentieri of BU, and New Hampshire’s Maren Matthias.

The Terriers rode the momentum they began to generate Thursday – when they erased a 14-point deficit in the last six minutes to beat Northeastern – then continued with Friday’s win over Vermont. Led by six easy inside points from Parr, BU made six of its first 11 shots to take a 14-2 lead and gain the emotional edge 61/2 minutes into the contest.

“It was about who was going to be more mentally focused and more mentally tough, and the first half, we were not that team,” Ernest said.

UMaine clearly believed it would come back and win, and made four solid runs at the Terriers after the slow start. But the Bears couldn’t string together defensive stops and consistent offense long enough to make up the deficit.

“All the credit goes to BU for not being frazzled by our comeback,” said Ernest, who carried UMaine with 23 points, 16 rebounds, and four assists. “They stuck together and got the job done, hit some big shots. It’s really frustrating and disappointing, but we fought with everything we had.”

BU placed five players in double figures, paced by Terhune’s 18-point effort. Katie Meinhardt hit some clutch shots on her way to 14 points and Adrienne Norris provided 11 points and seven rebounds, while Parr and Argentieri netted 10 points each.

Ernest was a workhorse inside, but UMaine could not generate consistent offense with its guards against BU’s active 2-3 zone. Melissa Heon scored 15 and Traversi had nine, while Monica Peterson contributed eight points and a game-high 17 rebounds.

The Bears snatched 25 offensive rebounds while outrebounding the Terriers 50-32, but didn’t capitalize on numerous putbacks.

“We had open looks, we didn’t knock them down,” said Versyp, whose team shot only 28 percent and let BU shoot 46 percent. “They played better than us. They took us out of our game.”

Although mired in a half-court game most of the way, the Bears were in position to seize the momentum. Led by Ernest, Traversi and Heon, UMaine trimmed a 10-point deficit to three late.

Julie Veilleux opened a 7-0 run with a rebound basket, Ernest made two foul shots, then Traversi buried a 3-pointer to get the Bears within 60-57 with 2:40 to play.

Then, for the third time in the game, poised BU freshman Meinhardt ended a UMaine spurt. Meinhardt snuck into the lefthand corner, took a pass from Parr, and hit a 3-pointer that pushed the lead back to six with 1:44 left.

“She nailed that 3-pointer and that just sealed it right there,” Terhune said. “They did a good job fighting back, but that ‘3’ just deflated them.”

The Bears came up empty on their next two possessions, then were forced to foul down the stretch.