BANGOR, Maine - The UMBC women's basketball team picked up its second America East win of the season as they took down the reigning America East champion Maine Black Bears, 74-54, on Sunday afternoon. It was the first time in 13 years that the Retrievers defeated the Black Bears in Maine and the first time overall since the 2017 season.

UMBC moves to 6-12 on the year and 2-5 in America  East play, while Maine falls to 8-14 overall and 4-4 in conference games.

Three Retrievers reached the double-digit plateau during the game, led by senior guard Te'yJah Oliver (Clinton, Md./RIverdale Baptist), who had a 25-point performance, shooting 10-13 from the field and 4-6 from behind the arc; she also pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds for her first double-double of the season. Freshman guard Lyric Swann (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) tied her career-high in points with 16 (8-16 FG), while Paula Rubio (Madrid, Spain) put up 10 points in the win.

As a team, UMBC shot 55.9 percent (33-59), the second-best shooting output of the season behind a 57.4 percent game against Gettysburg to open the season. The Retrievers also outrebounded the Black Bears, 42-20. UMBC dominated in the paint, outscoring Maine 46-20.

UMBC took an early 6-2 lead in the first quarter before Maine came back to hold a 7-6 lead for 15 seconds. The Retrievers reestablished the lead after Oliver hit a jumper at the 6:38 mark and never relinquished it. The Black Bears came close, cutting the deficit to two on three separate occasions: 12-10 at the 5:53 mark, 14-12 at the 4:47 mark, and 16-14 at the 2:49 mark before the Retrievers ended the quarter on a 7-0 run to take a 23-14 lead into the second quarter.

Oliver helped to extend UMBC's lead to 11, 25-14, early in the second quarter before Maine came back to cut the gap to eight, 27-19, with 7:36 to play. After UMBC called a timeout, the Retrievers scored six-straight points, including four from O'lesheya Braxton (Paterson, N.J.) to 33-19 with 5:18 to play. The teams exchanged baskets before Braxton and Lucrezia Costa (Rome, Italy) pushed UMBC's lead to 17, 40-23, with 1:03 remaining. Maine scored the final four points of the quarter but it was UMBC who took a 40-27 lead into the locker rooms.

After the first half, Oliver was 6-6 from the field and 2-2 from the three-point line; Swann was 4-8 from the field with two rebounds. The Retrievers outshot the Black Bears, 60.0 percent (18-30) to 35.5 percent (11-31) and outrebounded them, 24-8, in the first 20 minutes of play.

Maine was quick to cut UMBC's lead down to seven, 42-35, in the third quarter before Jen Gast (Baltimore, Md./Catonsville) converted two free throws to extend the lead back to nine with 5:55 to play. The Black Bears cut it close again, shaving the Retrievers' lead to five, 48-43, with 1:55 to go before Swann and Rubio each scored to give UMBC a 52-43 advantage heading into the final quarter.

Maine once again threatened early in the beginning of the fourth quarter, cutting UMBC's lead down to six, 56-50, with 8:10 to play. UMBC used nine-point run to take a 71-52 lead with 1:36 remaining. Oliver hit the final basket of the game with a three-pointer at the 18 second mark. The Retrievers shot 55..6 percent (10-18) in the fourth quarter and gave up only 11 points, holding Maine to 4-13 shooting (30.8 percent). 

Oliver put up 10 points in the second half (4-7 FG, 2-4 3FG), while Swann mirrored her stat line from the first 20 minutes of play, going 4-8 from the field. 

In addition to her 24 points and 12 rebounds, Oliver also picked up three assists and three steals. Rubio dished out eight assists, one shy of her career-high, and picked up one block on the day. Gast was second on the team in rebounds with seven. 

The Retrievers will stay on the road as they head to UAlbany on Wednesday, January 29 to close out the first half of conference play. The opening tip is set for 11 a.m.