GORHAM, Maine — Sigi Koizar scored 21 points and Liz Wood added 20 to power the University of Maine Black Bears to a 70-55 women’s basketball win over Vanguard University in an exhibition game Friday night at the University of Southern Maine’s Hill Gymnasium.
Koizar sparked the Black Bears in the first half when they battled to a 34-26 lead. She scored 16 first-half points with two assists and was 6 of 9 from the field.
Wood provided the offense in the second half when she scored 14 of her 20 points. She also finished with four rebounds and four assists while Koizar ended up with four rebounds and three assists.
Sheraton Jones added seven points for the Black Bears and Lauren Bodine added seven.
Samantha Doucette sparked Vanguard with 23 points and six rebounds, helping her team to a 38-26 rebounding advantage. Melissa Norman chipped in with 10 points and Hannah Tabron added nine.
A Claire Lamuni jumper gave Vanguard a 12-11 lead with 2:16 left in the first quarter, but the Bears answered with a Bodine 3-pointer with 1:51 left and a Jones layup with two seconds left to take a 16-12 first-quarter lead.
The Bears were in control for the game’s remainder, boosting their lead to margins of 19.
The third quarter proved to be a distancing stretch for the Black Bears as they outscored Vanguard 23-12 in the period. A 9-2 run in the third propelled Maine to its largest lead of the game when Chantel Charles’ 3-point make put the Black Bears on top by 23 with under four minutes to play in the quarter.
Vanguard is a private Christian University from Costa Mesa, Calif., that competes in the NAIA. The Lions posted a 22-8 record last season, including a 12-4 mark in the Golden State Athletic Conference.
Vanguard is making its annual trip against Division I opponents, one that this year includes UCLA, defending NCAA national champion Connecticut, Maine and Boston College.
The Bears play their final exhibition game at 4 p.m. Sunday against Stonehill at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. They then open at Harvard next Friday night.