VESTAL, New York — Chantel Charles jogged gingerly on the court at the Events Center on Saturday afternoon.
The University of Maine senior, who had reaggravated a left ankle injury in the regular-season finale against Binghamton a week earlier, persevered to have a big hand in the Black Bears’ quarterfinal win over New Hampshire.
“I’m a bit conscious of my foot, but I’m just trying to play through it,” Charles said of her injury. “I’ve got the ankle tap on, I’ve got my ankle braces on.”
Charles just tries to keep on smiling.
“I know it’s a tense moment, but I’ve just got to smile,” said Charles, who posted seven points, four assists, three steals and three rebounds in a noteworthy, 23-minute performance.
The 5-foot-10 guard from London provided intensity and quick hands on defense and helped facilitate UMaine’s spotty offense in a 58-47 victory.
“She’s a great defender,” said UMaine coach Richard Barron, who had Charles spend time guarding New Hampshire standout Elizabeth Belanger.
“[Bella Swan] wasn’t really locked in and ‘Chance’ seemed to be more engaged, so we went with Chance in that situation,” he added.
Charles has seldom been a big scorer, although she excels as both a scorer and passer in transition opportunities.
“[Coach Barron] said play with energy and everything else will happen and I felt like that was a big thing for today,” said Charles, who is averaging 3.5 points and 2.2 rebounds in 16.4 minutes per game this season.
Her forte is playing hard-nosed defense and taking care of all the little things like rebounding, setting screens and making good passes.
“My favorite thing about her is her basketball IQ is amazing,” said Black Bears senior Liz Wood. “She’s so smart. I love talking to her about the game.
“I think sometimes people get focused on the points and I’m really glad that she’s seeing other ways she can contribute,” she added.
Ultimately, Charles just wants to do her part as one of eight seniors on a successful team that is pursuing the America East championship.
“You’ve just got to fight for what you’ve worked for,” she said. “We’ve trained all year for this and it’s crunch time.”
Koizar climbs the charts
UMaine guard Sigi Koizar’s 23-point effort in Saturday’s win helped her climb two spots on the program’s career scoring list.
The junior guard from Vienna, Austria, now ranks 11th in Black Bears history with 1,182 points. On Saturday she passed two Maine natives, Bracey Barker of Bar Harbor (1,166) and Heather Briggs (1,176) of Biddeford.
Koizar needs only 13 points to surpass No. 11 Tracey Frenette (1,194) and 16 to overtake No. 10 Ashley Underwood (1,195).