Box Score
BALTIMORE, MD. – Senior forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) continued her mastery of Maine, leading four Retrievers in double figures with 18 points, as UMBC defeated visiting Maine, 66-44, Saturday afternoon at the RAC Arena.
With the win, the Retrievers snapped a three-game slide (12-12, 6-5 America East) while Maine (6-18, 3-7 America East) has traded wins and losses for the past seven games, going 3-4 over that stretch.
Brown earned Player of the Game honors for her side, while Maine senior forward Samantha Baranowski led the Black Bears with nine points and a career-high 14 rebounds and captured the accolade for the visitors.
Senior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y.) totaled 15 points, freshman guardLauren Chase scored 12, and senior post Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) added 10 points for the Retrievers.
Maine took the initiative in the game and led 12-8 following a jumper by Danielle Walczak to give the visitors a 12-8 lead with 12:23 to play in the first half. The Retrievers then went on a 9-0 run to take a 17-12 advantage with 8:36 remaining in the stanza, and never trailed again. UMBC took its largest lead of the half into the break as Brown's layup with three seconds remaining gave the hosts a 32-25 advantage at the break.
UMBC forced 15 Maine turnovers in the first 20 minutes, but the Black Bears hung in the game by hitting 11 of 22 field goal attempts and outrebounding the Retrievers, 20-13.
Maine cut the lead to five points early in the second half, but Brown capped another 9-0 run with a jumper to build the lead back to 43-29 with 12:31 remaining. After Maine's Ashleigh Roberts halted the run with a jumper with one second left on the shot clock, UMBC went on another tear, sparked by Brown. The senior scored seven consecutive points during an 11-0 surge, which built the lead to 54-31 with 9:38 to play.
Maine misfired on 25 of 30 second-half field goal attempts and ended the game at 30.8 percent (16-for- 52). The Retrievers hit 44.8 percent from the floor for the contest, converting on 26 of 58 attempts.
Chase hit six of nine field goal attempts and added a game-best six assists.
UMBC returns to action on Wednesday, when the Retrievers travel to Stony Brook to take on the Seawolves. Tip- off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Pritchard Gymnasium
Game Notes:
- The win is UMBC's 300th NCAA Division I victory.
- After losing eight of the first nine meetings vs. Maine, UMBC has captured eight of the last nine games and have evened the series at 9- 9.
- Erin Brown has scored 83 points in her last four outings vs. Maine.
- Michelle Kurowski has scored in double figures in ten consecutive games, setting a personal best.
