BANGOR, Maine — It was the biggest game in Courtney Anderson’s career and she wasn’t about to let her team go into it with the wrong mindset.
So, prior to Thursday’s America East game against the University of Maryland Baltimore County, the University of Maine’s only senior spoke up when she sensed that something wasn’t right.
“That four years experience had taught me that that moment was not going to look good if we kept it going that way,” Anderson said of the pregame approach. “We turned it around in warmups, we fixed it and we came out to a good start.”
The Black Bears responded. Coach Richard Barron’s team wrapped up the America East regular-season title and earned the No. 1 seed for the America East tournament with a 61-41 victory over UMBC in front of 3,004 fans at the Cross Insurance Center.
“It’s good to see how far you’ve come and to get a little reward,” said junior Liz Wood, who logged another double-double with 14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, five steals and three blocked shots.
“Cutting down the nets in front of this crowd, there’s nothing like it I’ve ever experienced before. I’m at a loss for words,” she added.
UMaine (22-6, 14-1 American East) breezed to its 14th consecutive victory, securing its first No. 1 seed since coach Sharon Versyp’s ballclub accomplished the feat during the 2004-2005 season.
“It’s very satisfying, especially for Courtney, to be able to give her this moment,” Barron said. “I’ve never had a player work as hard as Courtney Anderson.”
Exactly two years earlier, on Feb. 26, 2013, the UMaine team was involved in a bus crash in Massachusetts. It left some players and coaches injured, though not seriously.
Anderson, a standout at Leavitt High School in Turner, said the team hasn’t forgotten the accident, but was galvanized by the experience.
“We’re light years away from there now,” she said. “I think it’s the type of people we’re surrounded by, the type of culture that coach Barron has created. That’s why we were all so excited to see him cut down the net because today was an emotional day for him, I know.”
The Black Bears led from start to finish and continued their tight defense. Sigi Koizar paced the offense with 15 points and posted five rebounds and four assists. Sophie Weckstrom netted nine points, Mikaela Gustafsson scored eight and Chantel Charles chipped in with six points, five rebounds, three steals and two blocks.
Pandora Wilson was the catalyst for UMBC (10-18, 5-10 AE) with a game-leading 16 points and five rebounds, while Taylor McCarley contributed eight points and six assists.
UMaine shot 47 percent from the floor (22-for-47) while the Retrievers made 17 of 48 shots (35 percent).
“Congratulations to Rich and to Maine for bringing this thing back full circle and bringing another championship back here,” said UMBC coach Phil Stern.
“These kids play so hard and they play so well together. It’s a lot of fun to watch,” he added.
Prior to the game, UMaine honored Anderson, who arrived in Orono as a walk-on recruited by Cindy Blodgett and within a year wound up earning a scholarship from Barron.
The former Leavitt High School standout has 473 points, 258 rebounds and 221 assists in 110 career games for the Black Bears.
“I’m just happen we could come out for her and play really hard,” Wood said. “We didn’t let the emotion of the game get us distracted. We stayed focused and we had really good defense.”
UMaine now sets its sights on Sunday’s regular-season finale at New Hampshire and the tournament March 7-8 at Binghamton University in Vestal, New York.
“We’re not satisfied by this, but we’re extremely joyful right now,” Anderson said.
The Black Bears were in control 30-13 at halftime despite an unspectacular 36 percent shooting performance. UMaine limited Maryland to 26 percent accuracy (6-for-23) and came up with eight steals among 13 Retriever turnovers.
Wood enjoyed a monster half, posting 14 points, nine rebounds, three steals, three blocked shots and an assist. She went 6-for-9 from the field.
Maryland had trouble running its offense consistently and did not get too many open looks. The turnovers and 1-for-8 shooting from the 3-point arc were further hindrances to the Retrievers’ efforts.
UMaine led 17-10 when it put together a 9-0 burst. Wood got it started by sticking a 3-pointer from the right corner, then Anna Heise scored off a low-post move.
A steal by Charles led to Wood’s layup on a cut through the lane off a nifty pass from Heise, then Wood made a steal and drove in for a hoop to give the hosts a 26-10 advantage with 5:34 left in the half.
The Retrievers managed only a Laura Castaldo 3-pointer during the last 8 minutes, 54 seconds of the half.