University of Massachusets Athletics
University of Massachusetts
Maine
Maine Slips Past Women's Basketball, 54-45
November 23, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2008
AUGUSTA, Maine - Despite a career-high 19 points by sophomore Cerie Mosgrove the UMass women's basketball team was unable to hold on to its first half lead, falling to Maine, 54-45 at the Augusta Civic Center on Sunday afternoon. The Minutewomen are now 2-2 on the year while the Black Bears move to 1-2.
Coming off a career-best 14 against New Hampshire this past Wednesday, Mosgrove surpassed that total on 6-13 shooting from three-point range to lead all scorers. Her classmate, sophomore Teya Wright was the only other UMass player to reach double figures as she was just shy of a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to go along with a career-high five steals.
Senior Stefanie Gerardot had seven points and three steals in the setback and redshirt sophomore Diatiema Hill contributed eight rebounds, four assists and three steals.
At the 15:41 mark the opening half, a layup by senior Sakera Young gave the Minutewomen a 10-1 advantage, which eventually stretched to a 12-point margin when Mosgrove drained a three-pointer with 5:49 to play in the first. In the final four minutes before the intermission, however, Maine went on a 10-4 run to cut its deficit to four heading into the locker room at 28-24.
Then in the second, the Black Bears opened up with a 14-5 stretch and never trailed after the 12-minute mark, outscoring UMass 30-17 in the final period. Samantha Baranowski posted 14 second half points and finished the night with 15, going 7-for-10 at the free throw line, along with a squad-best six rebounds. Also scoring in double figures for the Black Bears were Kristin Baker (16 points, five rebounds) and Tanna Ross (11 points).
Though Maine made just one more field goal than the Minutewomen in the second half at 7-for-16 and 6-for-28, respectively, the difference came at the free throw line. The Black Bears were 16-for-20 at the charity stripe following the intermission (17-for-23 in the game), while UMass was just 4-for-9 on free throws (44%) overall in the contest. From the field, Maine shot 17-for-42 (40.5%) and the Minutewomen were 17-for-56 (30.4%) on the afternoon.
UMass be back in action on Friday, Nov. 28, when the squad will begin play in the Coors Classic in Boulder, Colo., facing host Colorado in the opening round. Tip-off is set for 9:30 p.m., Eastern.
