2008 Woodie Awards
Women's basktball falls in defensive struggle
Dillon Bates
Issue date: 1/24/08 Section: Maine Sports
They say defense wins championships, but good defense can do a whole lot more than that. It can be a game saver or an incredible aggravator, depending on which side you are on. For the Black Bear women's basketball team, defense dominated their contest against the visiting conference-leading Hartford Hawks. Unfortunately, the Hawks' stingy "D" was too much for the struggling Black Bears as Hartford forced 27 University of Maine turnovers, overcoming an impressive defensive effort from Coach Blodgett's team.
The game started off with the two teams going stride-for-stride. Both teams had brilliant early performances on the defensive end, with the score remaining at a low 6-4 Black Bear advantage. The tough defense continued well into the half, as Hartford held an 11-9 edge with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the half.
However, for the rest of the first half, Hartford seemed to figure out UMaine's game plan, pulling away late in the half to take a 31-19 lead heading into the locker room.
The Black Bears came out energized in the second half, determined to break the Hawks' defense. Despite UMaine's best efforts, Hartford maintained its stifling defense throughout the second half, outscoring Maine 25-19 to win 56-38.
Despite a strong effort, the young UMaine squad could not recover from fatal turnovers; Hartford recorded 25 points off of turnovers to UMaine's six.
Tewksbury was the bright spot for the Black Bears, as she recorded the game's only double-double - pulling down 10 rebounds and helping Maine to out-rebound the Hawks 39-32.
With the win, Hartford climbs to a conference best 14-4 overall, and 4-1 in America East. UMaine falls to 1-3 in conference play and 4-13 overall.
The game started off with the two teams going stride-for-stride. Both teams had brilliant early performances on the defensive end, with the score remaining at a low 6-4 Black Bear advantage. The tough defense continued well into the half, as Hartford held an 11-9 edge with fewer than 10 minutes remaining in the half.
However, for the rest of the first half, Hartford seemed to figure out UMaine's game plan, pulling away late in the half to take a 31-19 lead heading into the locker room.
The Black Bears came out energized in the second half, determined to break the Hawks' defense. Despite UMaine's best efforts, Hartford maintained its stifling defense throughout the second half, outscoring Maine 25-19 to win 56-38.
Despite a strong effort, the young UMaine squad could not recover from fatal turnovers; Hartford recorded 25 points off of turnovers to UMaine's six.
Tewksbury was the bright spot for the Black Bears, as she recorded the game's only double-double - pulling down 10 rebounds and helping Maine to out-rebound the Hawks 39-32.
With the win, Hartford climbs to a conference best 14-4 overall, and 4-1 in America East. UMaine falls to 1-3 in conference play and 4-13 overall.
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