DURHAM, N.H. — When the University of New Hampshire beat the University of Maine women’s basketball team 50-44 on Thursday night at Lundholm Gymnasium, it was hard to pinpoint the deciding factors.
Good defense or lousy offense?
“We missed a lot of easy points,” said Maine guard Sigi Koizar.
UNH Coach Maureen Magarity said “I was upset with the offensive flow.”
But, Magarity added, “both teams really defended.”
The Wildcats did it better – or did Maine miss more easy shots? – and remained the only unbeaten team in America East at 5-0. UNH has won nine straight for a school-best 15-3 start overall.
Maine dropped to 10-11, 3-3.
Freshman guard Blanca Millan led the Black Bears with 10 points. Koizar scored nine, pushing her career total to 1,468, moving her past Liz Wood (1,462) to seventh on Maine’s all-time list.
UNH features a veteran group, with two transfers from Marist College. The Wildcats were wildly underrated, picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll.
“We have some newcomers with the returners. We’re meshing really well as a team,” said sophomore forward Ashley Storey of Cumberland. She’s one of the three Mainers on the UNH roster. Both senior Kristen Anderson of Greene and freshman Sarah Clement of Falmouth are out with injury.
Storey played 22 minutes and grabbed six rebounds to go with one point and two assists.
Points did not come easy.
“It was very physical. Those girls push you around,” said Storey, who allowed that the pushing went both ways. “You have to work to get around them.”
Maine never led but usually stayed within four to six points. The Black Bears shot 32 percent from the field and scored 17 points under their average.
UNH shot 39 percent, scoring 12 points below its average.
“I thought our defense was great. When you give up 50 points, you should win a basketball game,” said associate head coach Amy Vachon, who continues to direct the team since head coach Richard Barron went on an indefinite medical leave for an undisclosed illness earlier this month.
While both teams played solid defense, the Black Bears’ 18 fouls led to New Hampshire’s 14 free throws. Maine was 4 of 8 at the line.
The Black Bears tried 3-pointers but were 2 of 14. They worked the ball inside but missed their shots.
The team that looks so comfortable in the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor continues to stumble on the road. Maine is 1-9 in opposing teams’ venues.
“We’ve been struggling on the road. It’s no secret. The shots we make at home, we’re not making on the road,” Vachon said. “The coaches need to figure out how we can help them with that.”
Koizar made it 35-35 with a jumper early in the fourth quarter, but Olivia Healy (16 points) hit a 3-pointer, then an offensive putback for UNH. Maine could not catch up.
NOTES: Anderson was a starter for UNH until suffering a concussion in Monday’s game at Vermont. She is day to day. Anderson’s turnover-to-assist ratio (3.6) is second among Division I players. … Clement is out with a knee injury and hasn’t been cleared to practice this season. … Maine next plays at home at 1 p.m. Sunday against defending league champion Albany.
Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: @KevinThomasPPH
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