In the first quarter of its WNIT first round game at Boston College, the University of Maine women’s basketball team exhibited the characteristics it used to manufacture a 14-game winning streak this season as it built an 18-10 lead.
But the Atlantic Coast Conference Eagles rattled off a 22-2 run spanning the first and second quarters to establish a 32-20 lead and BC went on to post a 69-44 victory over UMaine at the Conte Forum in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Boston held UMaine to a 1-for-12 shooting performance from the floor during its game-changing 22-2 run. The 20-11 Eagles will now face the winner of Friday’s game between Quinnipiac and the University of Rhode Island in the second round.
All-ACC second team senior forward Taylor Soule had 15 of her game-high 21 points in the first half. She also finished with five rebounds, three assists and two steals. All-ACC Freshman team forward Maria Gadkeng wound up with 13 points, four rebounds and three blocked shots and Kaylah Ivey netted 10 points.
First team All-ACC pick Cameron Swartz was held to seven points but she also had four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Dontavia Waggoner added five points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore forward Caroline Bornemann paced UMaine with 18 points, five rebounds and two steals. Junior guard Anne Simon added 14 points and four rebounds and graduate student
Maeve Carroll scored the eight points she needed to become the 24th player in UMaine history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. The three-time All-America East second teamer also had a game-high 11 rebounds to conclude her career as the eighth player in school history to register at least 1,000 points and 700 rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Alba Orois had eight assists for America East Conference regular season champion UMaine, which concluded a 20-12 campaign and had its nine-game road winning streak snapped. All-conference rookie team pick Paula Gallego corralled six rebounds.
Boston College outscored UMaine 22-7 in that second period, which UMaine head coach Amy Vachon told Learfield Sports/Black Bear Sports Properties/The Ticket 92.9 FM play-by-play man Don Shields was the difference in the game after Boston switched into a zone that the Black Bears struggled with.
“The score wasn’t indicative of the game. We competed with them the whole game except the second quarter and at the end of the game,” said Vachon, whose team was outscored 12-2 to close out the game with subs playing for both teams. “I couldn’t be prouder of this team.”
The loss, coupled with the 56-47 loss to Albany in the America East championship game on Friday night, represented the first time UMaine has lost back-to-back games since it lost to Drexel on Dec. 4 and Rhode Island on Dec. 12. Those were UMaine’s third and fourth consecutive losses.
Boston College led by 13 at the half but the Black Bears rallied to within eight in the third period before the Eagles used a 10-3 run to close out the quarter and all but sew up the victory.
The much taller Eagles dominated all statistical categories.
Boston College shot 50 percent from the floor compared with UMaine’s 28.6 percent. The Eagles were 28.6 percent beyond the 3-point arc to UMaine’s 20.7 percent and they outrebounded UMaine 41-36.
Boston College outscored UMaine 38-24 in the paint, 18-12 off turnovers, 11-6 in second-chance points and 14-5 in fast break points.