BANGOR, Maine — The seniors on the University of Maine women’s basketball team have helped transform the program into a consistent winner.
With the help of their fans, they have made the Cross Insurance Center into one of the most imposing venues for America East opponents.
The Black Bears celebrated “Senior Day” on Saturday afternoon by posting their 19th consecutive home win, a 69-37 victory over Binghamton University in front of a season-high 3,467 fans.
“I just feel really appreciated,” said senior forward Liz Wood. “It was great to have all the fans here, especially my family show up from Virginia. Just to have them here and celebrate this moment with me was really special.”
UMaine (24-7, 15-1 AE), which claims a share of the league title for the second straight season, finished tied with Albany in the conference standings, with Albany gaining the top tourney seed after winning the tiebreaker of having a better RPI ranking (51) compared to Maine (69). That makes the Black Bears the No. 2 seed against No. 7 New Hampshire in a March 5 semifinal at Binghamton in Vestal, New York.
Prior to the game, UMaine recognized its eight seniors: Mikaela Gustafsson, Sophie Weckstrom, Bella Swan, Chantel Charles, Lauren Bodine, Anna Heise, Milica Mitrovic and Wood.
“I think having that stability in the program was really, really helpful,” coach Richard Barron said of the class, which numbered nine when it arrived on campus in 2012.
“You can look back and say things worked, but it’s not necessarily that you had a plan. You’re just trying to get better,” he added.
UMaine continued its shut-down defense, holding Binghamton (13-16, 8-8 AE) to 26 percent shooting overall, including 18 percent (5-for-28) in the first half. The Black Bears dominated the rebounding 48-29 and scored 22 points as the result of the Bearcats’ 16 turnovers.
The Bearcats were 1-for-15 (.067) in the second quarter.
“Maine’s too good, they capitalize on your mistakes,” said Binghamton coach Linda Cimino. “Every time we turned the ball over in a live turnover, they came down and scored a layup.”
Koizar’s influence, both on defense and in the transition attack, helped UMaine overcome 2-for-16 shooting in the first quarter. She made two steals and scored four points during the Black Bears’ first significant scoring run early in the second quarter, then came up with two more steals and a pair of baskets during a 9-0 burst that pushed the lead to 17 in the third quarter.
“Some of the shots started to fall and we got some turnovers and some easy ones,” Barron said.
Koizar keyed the UMaine effort with 19 points, six rebounds, four steals, three assists and a blocked shot. Swan logged her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Gustafsson (10 points) and Wood (9 points, 8 rebounds) also produced.
“I think that we were getting decent shots in the first half and a lot of them weren’t falling,” Wood said. “I think what happened in the second half we got a little better inside-out action, so we hit inside.”
Alyssa James paced the Bearcats with 18 points and five rebounds and Kim Albrecht added 11 points. It was Binghamton’s lowest offensive output of the season.
Cimino praised Barron and the UMaine program for building the kind of success and support that is evident at games in Bangor.
“This is a tough place to play,” Cimino said. “I’m so impressed with what Mane’s done here and with what Rich has done to get Maine basketball thriving again and the fans in the stands and the band and the cheerleaders. This was a great environment to play in today.”