VESTAL, New York — Bella Swan admits it has taken most of the season to learn how she fits into the University of Maine women’s basketball team.
She had an advantage over the other newcomers to the program in that she already had two years of college experience at Salt Lake Community College in Utah. However, joining a team laden with Division I veterans provided its share of challenges.
On Saturday afternoon, the junior from Farmington, Utah, demonstrated that she fits in quite nicely with the Black Bears.
The 5-foot-11 forward sparked UMaine with a career-high 15 points with five rebounds, two assists, and two steals, providing the impetus for the Black Bears’ 78-71 America East quarterfinal win over Binghamton at the Events Center.
It was a breakthrough performance for Swan, who scored 10 points in the first half and wound up going 7-for-8 from the field in 24 minutes of action before fouling out late.
“I’m learning how to play with all of them because they’ve been together for a while now and I’m new, but I think I’ve gotten used to things and now I know what my role is as a player,” Swan said. “Yeah, I think I’m definitely more comfortable.”
UMaine coach Richard Barron has raved all season about Swan’s abilities as a defender and rebounder but has seen only flashes of her offensive skills.
“We felt like we were getting a steal when we got her,” Barron said. “She’s so athletic and has such great balance and energy.”
The missing ingredient may have been simply having the willingness to assert herself more, considering she plays on a team with so many good offensive players.
“What she’s lacked is kind of the confidence or self-assurance to go out and be that player on a team that, granted, already was pretty established,” Barron said. “Today was a breakout moment for her and we needed it.”
Swan went into Saturday’s contest averaging only 2.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game — despite making 23 starts in 30 games including the postseason win.
Against Binghamton, she attacked the basket off the dribble and was looking for her shot. UMaine also received a step-up performance from junior forward Mikaela Gustafsson, who scored a career-best 17 points with seven rebounds.
“She’s just so big, so she’s hard to get around in the post,” said Binghamton coach Linda Cimino said of Gustafsson. “She doesn’t get enough credit on the defensive end.”
Cimino pointed out that Binghamton concentrated its defensive efforts on preparing to slow down the Black Bears’ top scorers, Liz Wood and Sigi Koizar.
“You’re so focused on Wood and Sigi that you forget about No. 13 (Gustafsson) and No. 5 (Swan),” Cimino said.
“They stepped up in big games,” she continued. “You know what you’re going to get from your stars and I think come March it’s always the kid that is not the star that is the headline. You always see that in March.”
Swan conceded that it has been a long road this season learning to fit in, but embraced the idea of playing her best in the postseason.
“At the beginning of the season we talked about how well we wanted to play in March and I know they waited on me all season to play like this, but this is when it counts,” Swan said.