SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts — The University of Maine limited Tennessee Chattanooga to 17 second-half points on Sunday afternoon, paving the way for a 49-39 women’s basketball victory in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Women’s Challenge.
Senior Sigi Koizar spearheaded a well-rounded offensive effort for the Black Bears with 13 points and also handed out three assists. Freshman Laia Sole tossed in 12 points and classmate Blanca Millan netted 10.
Tanesha Sutton grabbed seven rebounds and Naira Caceres pulled down six for the winners.
UMaine (3-4) held the Mocs to 32 percent shooting, including 18.2 percent (4-for-22) from beyond the 3-point arc. The Black Bears scored 16 points as a result of 16 turnovers by Tennessee Chattanooga.
Lakelyn Bouldin paced the Mocs with 11 points and Jasmine Joyner registered a double-double with 10 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. UTC outrebounded UMaine 37-25.
The Mocs (3-5) led 22-21 at halftime, but the Black Bears wasted no time grabbing the lead for good. Caceres turned the tide, hitting a 3-pointer only 10 seconds into the third quarter.
The basket kicked off an 8-0 run to open the half. The surge included a jumper by Sole and a conventional three-point play by Millan.
UTC later trimmed the deficit back to one on a layup by Moses Johnson that made it 32-21 with 3:52 remaining in the third quarter.
However, Fanny Wadling scored a layup and Koizar drove in for a layup, then connected on a jumper with four seconds left in the period to push UMaine’s advantage back to seven at 38-31.
The Mocs’ offensive struggles continued well into the fourth quarter as the Black Bears extended their lead to 41-31 with 8:17 to play. UTC got as close as six, before UMaine pushed the margin t as many as 14 points on a Millan layup with 3:16 remaining that made it a 47-35 ballgame.
The Black Bears return to action on Friday with a 6 p.m. contest at Clemson, before returning to the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor for games on Dec. 7 and Dec. 10 against Northeastern and Dartmouth, respectively.