BANGOR, Maine — Sigi Koizar needed four points on Wednesday night to reach 1,000 for her University of Maine career. She scored 17 more just for good measure.
The junior guard from Austria provided the offensive spark and the Black Bears again played stingy defense as they churned out a 63-51 America East women’s basketball victory over the University of Vermont.
Coach Richard Barron’s ballclub (17-7, 8-1 AE) registered its 16th consecutive home victory at the Cross Insurance Center as Koizar finished with a game-high 21 points, three rebounds, three assists and a steal. She became the 20th 1,000-point scorer in program history with 4:38 left in the first quarter when she swished a 3-pointer, her second of three in the period and four in the contest.
“I feel like it’s more like a hype thing and now we got it out of the way and [can] focus on the rest of the season,” Koizar said of reaching the milestone. “I wasn’t stressed about it. I only needed four points and it would have been a really bad game for me if I couldn’t score four points in a game.”
Koizar, who on Monday was presented the “M” Club Dean Smith Award as UMaine’s top female student-athlete, said she was much more nervous to give her acceptance speech.
Senior Liz Wood provided her usual multiple contributions and finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot, while Lauren Bodine netted seven points and Mikaela Gustafsson (4 rebounds) and Anna Heise added six each.
Vermont (7-15, 2-7 AE) was sparked by graduate student guard Andreana Thomas, who collected 14 points and six rebounds. Candice Wright (7 rebounds) and Sydney Smith (6 rebounds) posted seven points each.
The Catamounts, coached by former Colby College coach Lori Gear McBride, shot only 33 percent (including a handful of garbage-time baskets) in the second half after UMaine switched from player-to-player defense into its 2-3 matchup zone.
“I think we played good man-to-man defense,” Wood said. “It’s something we’ve really been working on lately is just knowing our assignments and knowing the tendencies of the other team and trying to take those main things away.”
The Black Bears’ biggest point of emphasis was their 3-point defense and Vermont went 2-for-17 (12 percent) from the arc.
“Some of the teams that are good 3-point shooters, we’ve started out in our matchup and we’ve given up some 3’s early and it kind of gives them a little bit of momentum,” Barron said, “so we felt like starting out in man against this team was a way to be aggressive.”
The Catamounts did match UMaine by scoring 28 points in the paint, but their offense came sporadically.
The hosts led throughout, but assumed control during a 2½-minute span starting late in the third quarter. UMaine ended the period with two Heise free throws and Wood’s driving layup, then opened the fourth with a Koizar 3-pointer and an 18-footer by Bodine that made it a 52-35 game with 8:28 remaining.
“That one letdown we kind of lost our focus,” McBride said.
“They’re so disciplined and they’re so good at working for the best shot and continuing to play the same way every time,” she added.
The Black Bears had forged a 31-24 halftime lead behind the play of Koizar, who went 5-for-6 from the field, including three 3-pointers.
UMaine played exclusively player-to-player defense and gave Vermont fits at times. However, the Catamounts took advantage of a couple of transition situations and established some dribble penetration.
The result, despite 10 turnovers, was 44 percent shooting (10-for-23).