BALTIMORE—Junior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) scored 22 points and freshman forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) posted her third double-double of the season to lead the UMBC women's basketball team (10-7, 2-2 AEC) to a 68-58 victory over America East rival Maine (2-15, 0-4 AEC) Saturday evening at the RAC Arena.
Brown tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds and was named UMBC's America East Player of the Game.
With the game tied, 5-5, after 3:30 of play, the Retrievers went on a 21-8 run, sparked by nine points from Cassidy and seven from Brown, to take a 26-13 lead at the 7:34 mark of the first half. UMBC held the Black Bears scoreless for more than seven minutes during that stretch.
A pair of layups by Maine forward Brittany Boser and five points by guard Amanda Tewksbury trimmed the visitors' deficit to six points, 28-22, with 1:35 left in the half, but Cassidy hit a layup on the Retrievers' next possession and freshman guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) drained a three-pointer with 50 seconds left to send UMBC into the break with a 33-22 lead.
After making just seven field goals in the first half, Maine came out of the locker room on fire, connecting on six of its first nine field goal attempts during a 19-7 run, and a pair of Boser free throws gave the Black Bears a 41-40 advantage with 11:37 remaining in the game.
But the Retrievers regained the lead on back-to-back triples by Cassidy and junior guard Melissa Book (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook), sparking a 20-7 UMBC spurt that put the hosts on top, 60-48, with 6:22 left.
Maine cut its deficit back to six points, 60-54, at the 4:20 mark, but UMBC went back up by double digits moments later on a jumper by Brown and a pair of free throws by sophomore guard Michele Brokans (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic).
Kurowski posted a career-high 10 rebounds, as she and Brown became the first Retriever teammates with double-digit rebounds in the same game since Amanda Robinson and Sharri Rohde did it on Dec. 2, 2006.
Tewksbury scored a team-high 20 points and added seven rebounds to earn Maine's America East Player of the Game honors. Boser added 19 points and a team-best nine boards.
The Retrievers return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 21, when they host America East rival Albany at 12 p.m. for Midday Madness at the RAC Arena.
