Fifth-year senior guard Blanca Millan poured in a game-high 33 points, including the winning basket with 17 seconds remaining on Sunday afternoon, to lead the University of Maine women’s basketball team to a 63-62 victory over Northeastern at Cabot Gym in Boston.
Northeastern missed three shots over the final nine seconds and didn’t score over the game’s last 2:15.
It was UMaine’s first victory at Northeastern since 2005 and snapped a two-game losing streak at the hands of the Huskies.
UMaine is now 3-0, the first time the Black Bears have won their first three games since 2013-14. UMaine has won 13 straight dating back to last season.
Northeastern fell to 0-2.
Millan scored 12 of her points in the fourth quarter including the driving layup that decided it.
Dor Saar had missed a 3-pointer with 33 seconds remaining but the Black Bears pulled down the offensive rebound and Millan later converted.
Millan also grabbed a game-high nine rebounds and added three steals, two blocked shots and an assist. She shot 14-for-22 from the floor.
Saar finished with eight points and a game-high six assists. Anne Simon contributed six points, five steals, four rebounds and two assists. Alba Orois netted six points, three assists, two rebounds and two steals and Abbe Laurence had five points.
In her first regular-season game in 21 months due to a concussion, UMaine fifth-year senior forward Fanny Wadling posted two points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots in 12 minutes.
“I like how hard we played,” UMaine coach Amy Vachon said. “It wasn’t pretty. We definitely made some mistakes on both ends.
“But we made plays when we needed to and Blanca was great today.”
Stella Clark’s 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists paced Northeastern and Kendall Currence chipped in with 19 points, five rebounds and two assists. Ayanna Dublin produced eight points, five rebounds and three steals and Mossi Staples had eight points and two rebounds.
NU was without 2020 second-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection Alexis Hill, who led the Huskies in scoring (13.1 points per game) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) a year ago.
UMaine was without All-America East second-team forward Maeve Carroll (undisclosed injury).
UMaine led by as many as 10 in the first half and eight in the third period before Northeastern rallied.
Millan’s two free throws with 3:56 left in the game snapped a 55-55 tie and she converted a layup 24 seconds later off a Simon steal and pass.
But Leyla Ozturk scored inside with 3:12 left and Currence nailed a 3-pointer with 2:15 remaining to give the Huskies the lead.
Dublin had a chance to extend the lead but missed two free throws with 1:08 remaining.
UMaine outscored Northeastern 34-14 in the paint.
UMaine opens conference play on Tuesday and Wednesday with 1 p.m. games at Hartford.