The University of Maine women’s basketball team was handed a rare America East home loss last month when Vermont beat the Black Bears 64-53 on the Skip Chappelle Court at the Memorial Gym.
Vermont led by as much as 21 in the fourth quarter.
The Black Bears avenged that loss on Thursday morning as they received a game-high 21 points from senior guard Asta Blauenfeldt and 17 points and 13 rebounds from senior forward Adrianna Smith to snap Vermont’s 19-game home winning streak 55-46 at the Patrick Gymnasium.
UMaine improved to 12-11 overall and 7-3 in league play while defending champ Vermont fell to 19-6 and 8-2, respectively.
Blauenfeldt posted her second consecutive 20-plus-point game after scoring a career-high 26 in a 92-42 win over UMass Lowell on Saturday.
The Dane shot 8-for-12 from the floor and 4-for-5 beyond the 3-point arc. She also had two steals.
The Black Bears turned in exceptional defensive performance, holding the Catamounts 22.9 points below their per-game average and limiting them to a 32.6 percent shooting percentage from the floor. UVM came into the game shooting 47 percent.
Smith picked up her fourth foul with 7:58 left in the game but never picked up her fifth.
She came out with 5:45 remaining and was replaced by junior Lizzy Gruber, who hit an important basket and grabbed three rebounds before Smith returned to the floor with 2:33 remaining.
Smith had five assists and three steals to go with her 11th double-double of the season.
Freshman guard Lala Woods had nine points; senior guard Sarah Talon had six points and three assists; Gruber had two points and four rebounds and freshman guard Olivia Alvarez had six rebounds.
UMaine was leading 40-38 in the fourth quarter when Blauenfeldt’s layup off a Talon pass and Gruber’s jumper off a Woods pass made it 44-38.
Emma Haan hit a 3-pointer for UVM with 4:07 left but a Blauenfeldt layup off another Talon feed; a Blauenfeldt steal and three free throws by Smith and two by Talon sewed up the win.
Senior center Nikola Priede had 13 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots for UVM. Senior guard Keira Hanson had 13 points and five rebounds, redshirt senior guard Jadyn Weltz had 11 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals and junior guard Malia Lenz produced six points and nine rebounds.
UMaine shot 40.8 percent from the floor and forced 15 UVM turnovers leading to a 15-9 edge in points off turnovers. UMaine also outscored UVM 24-14 in the paint. UMaine only had eight turnovers. UVM outrebounded UMaine 34-27.
Both teams will be in action at 1 p.m. on Saturday as UMaine will entertain Bryant and Vermont will visit New Hampshire.
