BANGOR, Maine — The University of Maine came up one play short on Sunday afternoon.
Hannah Kimmel scored off a cut to the basket with 9.6 seconds left to give Sacred Heart the lead, then Sigi Koizar’s runner rolled across the rim as the horn sounded as the Pioneers escaped the Cross Insurance Center with a 59-58 women’s basketball victory over the Black Bears.
“I’d like to say we stole a win, but the kids fought hard at the end and did a lot of great things down the stretch, so I was really proud of them and the way they were able to come together and execute,” said cordial Sacred Heart coach Jessica Mannetti.
Kimmel hit five 3-pointers on her way to a game-high 28 points to carry the 3-0 Pioneers. She provided six rebounds, three steals and six turnovers.
The visitors built an eight-point lead early in the second half, then withstood two second-half rallies by the Black Bears. Coach Richard Barron saw improvement from his team, which slipped to 1-3.
“The great thing is that we were in a one-possession game against a good team,” he said. “We battled back and we saw production from different people.”
Katie Shepard added nine points, five assists and two steals and Adaysha Williams tallied eight points, nine rebounds and four assists for Sacred Heart.
Junior Anna Heise paced UMaine with 17 points, while Lauren Bodine and Koizar (3 steals) contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. Liz Wood finished with nine points, six rebounds and six assists.
The 6-foot-3 Heise was a force in the paint, nearly matching her season total of 23 minutes by playing 22 against SHU.
“I feel like every game I’m so nervous and I think too much,” Heise admitted, “so today before the game coach was like, ‘just go out there and have fun’ and I was like, you know what, I have nothing to lose, I might as well have a little fun playing and I think that worked out really well.”
Sacred Heart mounted a 15-0 run starting late in the first half and led 36-28 after a Kimmel 3-pointer with 16:27 remaining.
It was then that Heise stepped up, providing a free throw and a 3-pointer during a 7-0 spurt that got UMaine back within one at 36-35.
“We’ve certainly felt her capable of having that type of game for a while, so I think that’s something really positive to build off of,” Barron said.
The Pioneers went back up by as many as seven, but Chris Gerostergiou, Sophie Weckstrom and Koizar drained 3-pointers amidst a 12-4 burst that put the Bears on top 51-50 with 3:13 to play.
UMaine squandered a four-point lead, only to regain it on two Koizar foul shots with 34 seconds left. Coming out of a Pioneers timeout, the Bears showed a 2-3 matchup zone but intended to go player to player.
When some confusion arose, Williams dribbled to the foul line and fed Kimmel cutting to the basket for the eventual game-winner.
UMaine got the ball over half-court and called timeout at 4.6. The ball was inbounded to Koizar, who was forced to drive to the hoop.
“That was not at all what we were looking for and that was a great read by her on a broken play,” Barron said. “She was going to make something happen.”
Koizar, who was limited to five minutes in the first half after picking up her second foul, was confident in that situation.
“I was comfortable in the game. I was a little bit uncomfortable after,” Koizar said.
The Pioneers outrebounded the Bears 34-31, helping them score 17 second-chance points. UMaine committed 12 of its 18 turnovers in the second half.