Chattanooga outscored the University of Maine 16-8 over the final 4 1/2 minutes on Sunday afternoon to pull out a 66-60 women’s basketball victory in the consolation game of the Fordham Holiday Classic at The Bronx, N.Y.
Coach Amy Vachon’s Black Bears (7-6), playing without starters Parise Rossignol (back injury) and Fanny Wadling (post-concussion symptoms), suffered their fourth consecutive loss. Wadling missed her 10th straight game.
The Mocs rattled off a 9-2 spurt, during which UMaine missed four consecutive shots, to grab the upper hand in the late going and then held off a rally by the Black Bears.
UMaine led 52-50 on a Doga Alper free throw with 4:36 remaining, but Chattanooga responded. Shelbie Davenport scored from the lane, before Tanesha Sutton countered with two free throws for the Black Bears.
However, Davenport drained a 3-pointer, Rochelle Lee made a layup and Bria Dial hit another 3, then Mya Long scored from the paint to give the Mocs a 62-54 advantage with 1:57 to play. UMaine cut the deficit to three on a Blanca Millan jumper and Maddy McVicar’s 3-pointer at the 1:09 mark.
However, a McVicar turnover led to two Brooke Burns foul shots with 27 seconds left as the Mocs maintained the upper hand.
Davenport led a balanced effort for Chattanooga with 13 points, while Eboni Williams registered a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Burns chipped in nine points and Long added eight for the Mocs, who shot 48 percent overall (24-for-50).
Millan poured in a game-high 25 points and posted seven rebounds and four steals to pace UMaine, which shot only 34 percent (22-for-65) and made only five of 23 from the 3-point arc (22 percent).
Sutton churned out a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds along with three assists. McVicar and Alper added seven points each.
UMaine opens America East play at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor against archrival New Hampshire.