BANGOR, Maine — Liz Wood had hoped to celebrate scoring her 1,000th career point with her family sitting in the stands.
Needing five points, she came up short in the University of Maine’s big win at Albany on Feb. 1.
“I was heartbroken after the game, because my parents (Jane and Larry) drove all the way up from Virginia to see my thousandth point and then I got two points,” Wood said.
On Sunday afternoon, her parents were not in attendance. Instead, the junior forward reached the milestone in front of 3,287 fans at the Cross Insurance Center.
Wood became the 18th UMaine women’s basketball player to reach 1,000 points on a game-opening 3-pointer, helping the Black Bears post a 63-45 America East victory over Hartford.
She finished with 11 points, four rebounds, six assists and a blocked shot amidst another well-balanced effort that marked the ninth consecutive win for UMaine (17-6, 9-1 AE).
“I wouldn’t be the player I am without the team that I have,” Wood said. “I owe a lot of it to them. I’m just happy to see us doing so well, so let’s keep the streak alive.”
Coach Richard Barron’s team is a half-game behind first-place Albany (17-7, 10-1 AE). The crowd was the largest for a UMaine women’s home game since 3,717 fans saw Duke beat the Bears in Orono on Dec. 21, 2009.
“What a tremendous crowd, great community support, we saw today,” Barron said. “It was a lot of fun and very gratifying to all of the people associated with the program.”
Junior guard Sophie Weckstrom scored a game-high 17 points for UMaine, while sophomore guard Sigi Koizar contributed 13 points, four assists and three steals. Anna Heise added eight points and five rebounds and Bella Swan added four points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
“We love playing at home. It’s awesome,” said Weckstrom, who went 6-for-9 from the field, including 5-for-8 from the 3-point line.
The Bears, who have held 12 straight opponents under 60 points, shot 50 percent overall and held the Hawks to 31 percent shooting.
Hartford (13-12, 7-4 AE) was paced by 11 points from Amber Bepko and 10 points from Morgan Lumb. Cherelle Moore chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
“I feel like Maine’s playing really, really good right now and I feel like if they can sustain the level that they’re playing at, they’re certainly the team to beat,” offered Hartford coach Jen Rizzotti.
Wood wasted no time securing a spot in the program record books on Sunday. She found herself open on the left wing and buried a 3-pointer only 1:21 into the game to reach 1,000.
“It’s not just her points, because with her 1,000 points is hundreds of rebounds (565) and assists (237) and steals (176) and everything else that go with it, and everything she does for her teammates,” Barron said.
UMaine used a sizzling start to stake itself to a 29-17 halftime lead, opening the contest with an 11-0 run fueled by four Hartford turnovers.
The Bears effectively employed their 2-3 matchup zone and a 2-2-1 full-court press that helped disrupt Hartford’s offensive rhythm and generate some fast-break points.
“We wanted to be disruptive with our press,” Barron said. “We wanted to send a clear signal that we were going to be the aggressors.”
Wood energized the crowd with her 3-pointer, then Koizar made a steal and converted a driving layup. A player-control foul against Hartford led to Weckstrom’s straight-on 3 off a pass from Swan, who then made a steal and fed Koizar for a 3-pointer that made it 11-zip 3:11 into the game.
The Bears led by as many 12 before Hartford finally began to find some offensive flow. Bepko hit 3-pointers 34 seconds apart to make things interesting, but UMaine settled down defensively, affording the visitors only five points during the last nine minutes of the half.
Heise and Wood scored four points each as UMaine began the second half with a 10-2 burst that extended the lead to 39-19 with 16:14 left.
“We never really made them nervous,” Rizzotti said. “You want to make good teams get a little tight and we never got it close enough to make them play that way.”
UMaine plays Wednesday night at UMass Lowell.