University of Maine graduate student guard Anne Simon followed up her career-high 34-point performance in Thursday’s 67-59 loss to 17th-ranked Indiana with a game-high 27 points on Saturday afternoon to lead the Black Bears to a 74-62 win over Fordham at the Rose Hill Gym in the Bronx, New York.
UMaine improved to 5-4 while Fordham fell to 5-3 after having its three-game winning streak snapped. Fordham had been 5-1 at home.
The 5-foot-9 Simon shot a sizzling 75 percent from the floor (9-for-12) and 66.7 percent from beyond the 3-point arc (4-for-6) while also sinking all five of her free throw attempts. She also had eight rebounds and three assists.
Junior forward Adrianna Smith notched her sixth double-double of the season and fourth in a row with 16 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. She shot 66.7 percent from the floor and also had four assists that tied for the game-high.
Junior guard Sera Hodgson had a season-high 12 points as she connected on four of her five 3-point attempts.
Senior guard-forward Caroline Bornemann contributed eight points, five rebounds and three assists.
Graduate student guard Anna Kahelin, who has undergone three knee surgeries including one after suffering a knee injury in the first two minutes of the first game last season, returned to the lineup and had two points in 15 minutes of playing time.
Senior guard Taylor Donaldson paced the Rams with 21 points, a game-high five steals and three rebounds.
Graduate student guard Emy Hayford had 11 points, four assists and two rebounds; junior guard Taya Davis chipped in with 10 points, seven rebounds and three assists; and senior guard Matilda Flood had 10 points, five rebounds and three assets.
Sophomore forward Rose Nelson had a game-high three blocked shots to go with six points and four rebounds.
UMine took the lead for good by rattling off the final seven points of the first quarter to snap a 14-14 tie.
Junior guard Paula Gallego started the flurry with 1:49 left when she converted a layup.
Simon then hit a three off a Smith pass and finished off the quarter with a layup off a Bornemann feed.
The Rams stayed within striking distance, but the Black Bears answered any run the hosts would make with one of their own.
Consecutive Simon 3-pointers in the third period extended the lead from 42-33 to a 15-point advantage.
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Fordham pulled within nine early in the fourth quarter, but Hodgson hit a three and Simon sank two free throws.
Fordham made one last push late in the fourth quarter and climbed within eight with 4:02 remaining.
But Simon scored a traditional 3-point play as she was fouled while sinking a layup off a Smith pass, and Hodgson sewed up the victory with a 3-pointer off a Gallego pass.
UMaine shot 51.7 from the floor and 40.7 percent beyond the 3-point arc compared with Fordham’s 35.6 and 35.7 percent showings, respectively.
UMaine outrebounded Fordham 40-28.
“I’m really proud of our team and the way they played,” said UMaine head coach Amy Vacon to Black Bear Sports Properties/Van Wagner play-by-play man Don Shields after the game. “I said to the team yesterday this may be the hardest game we play all year. It’s easier to get up for a game like we had on Thursday and then we had to respond [today]. We had kind of a long travel day [on Friday] and the kids played a lot of minutes on Thursday.
“We said we needed some other kids to step up [besides Simon and Smith]. Sera Hodgson played awesome. Defensively, it was so nice to see Anna Kahelin in there and getting on the scoreboard. And what can you say about Anne [Simon]. What a week she has had. And Adi [Smith] as well,” Vachon said. “They both played tremendously.
“It was a really good team win,” she added.
UMaine will host Harvard at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Memorial Gym while Fordham will travel to Duquesne, Pennsylvania, for a 6 p.m. Tuesday game.