Liz Wood has done an exemplary job of doing all the little things during much of the 2015-2016 season.
On Monday afternoon, the senior standout again asserted herself as a scorer.
Wood shot 9-for-11 from the field, including 3-for-3 on 3-pointers, on the way to a season-high 23 points as the Black Bears posted a 62-52 America East women’s basketball victory over New Hampshire at Lundholm Gym.
Wood also pulled down seven rebounds and contributed three steals, two assists and a blocked shot for coach Richard Barron’s Black Bears (13-7, 4-1 AE), who bounced back after a 61-56 setback at Albany.
“It was great to have her back,” Barron told Don Shields of the Black Bear Sports Network. “That was the old Liz Wood. She was shooting with confidence, in big moments she wanted the ball, wanted the shot. That was great to see.”
UMaine is off until Saturday’s 1 p.m. home game against surging Stony Brook.
Junior guard Sigi Koizar hit 7 of 12 shots and finished with 20 points, three assists and a steal for UMaine. Senior Lauren Bodine hit three 3’s and wound up with 11 points and classmate Mikaela Gustafsson chipped in with six points, five rebounds and three assists.
Seniors Sophie Weckstrom (0-for-9) and Bella Swan (1-for-10) struggled offensively.
UMaine shot 40 percent overall (24-for-60) and came up with 17 turnovers that led to 21 points.
“This was back to the two stars sort of lineup with Sigi and Liz carrying us and LB [Bodine] off the bench,” Barron said. “I think we all want to see better balance.”
Liz Belanger connected for 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead New Hampshire and Carlie Pogue contributed 16 points and nine rebounds.
The Wildcats shot 46 percent (20-for-44), but was 3-for-15 (20 percent) from the 3-point arc and had difficulties with turnovers.
The Black Bears had trouble making shots early in the second half, missing five of their first 22 attempts (23 percent). The Wildcats made some gains, trimming an 11-point halftime deficit to 45-39 on Pogue’s layup with 6:56 remaining.
However, Wood stepped up and drained a 3-pointer to end a scoreless drought of 2½ minutes and Bodine drilled a 3 only 42 seconds later, to push UMaine’s lead back to 51-39 with 5:48 to play.
Wood continued to display the hot hand, hitting another 3-pointer at the 4:26 mark that expanded the lead to 15 points and gave the Black Bears plenty of cushion going down the stretch.
“There were a lot of good things. We took care of the ball today, pretty much, especially in the second half, only four turnovers,” Barron said. “We’ve got to be a better shooting team.”
The Black Bears led 31-22 at halftime, overcoming 3-for-10 shooting from the 3-point arc to shoot 14-for-28 (50 percent) overall.
UMaine’s success hinged on its defense as the visitors limited Belanger to only two points on 1-for-6 shooting. The Bears also came up with eight turnovers that led directly to 14 points.
UNH shot a solid 44 percent (10-for-23), but was plagued by the miscues and Belanger’s lack of offensive success.
The Bears overcame a sluggish start to build an 11-2 lead nearly seven minutes into the first quarter. Bodine drained 3-pointers 26 seconds apart to provide an offensive spark.
The Wildcats responded with a 15-4 surge that included five points by Aliza Simpson, whose 3-pointer got UNH within 17-15 at the 7:51 mark of the second quarter. But UMaine picked up the intensity and closed out the half with a 14-7 run that gave them the nine-point halftime edge.