Adrianna Smith has done it again for the University of Maine women’s basketball team.
The redshirt senior added a dramatic flourish to her already impressive season for the Black Bears, knocking-down a buzzer-beating shot to take home an unlikely win over Harvard on Sunday.
With the game locked at 57-57 in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Smith skied to grab an offensive rebound and immediately put the ball back up and in to secure the 59-57 victory as time expired.
UMaine guard Asta Blauenfeldt had the ball in her hands and drove to the hoop as part of the game’s final possession. With time running out, Blauenfeldt launched the ball toward the basket but came up short. For a split second, it looked like the game would go to overtime.
But in one quick motion, Smith grabbed the ball from under the rim and gracefully banked it home for the road win against the Crimson. You can watch that game-winning play here, courtesy of the UMaine women’s basketball Instagram account.
Smith finished with 21 points and eight rebounds in the game, not far off from her impressive season average of over 18 points and 10 rebounds. The forward is averaging a double-double so far this campaign after missing all of last season due to a knee injury.
With the win, UMaine moves to 5-8 on the year heading into the American East in-conference portion of its schedule. Ivy League member Harvard is now 6-6 this season.
Sunday’s win marks a dramatic reversal from last year’s matchup against Harvard, when the Crimson hammered the Black Bears 83-41.
Next up for UMaine is another road game against UMass-Lowell on Jan. 1.