Women Cagers Bow To Maine, 53-46
December 11, 1999 | Women's Basketball
The Terrier women's basketball team, outscored 12-5 over the final 5:24 of the game, dropped a hard-fought 53-46 decision to host University of Maine in America East action on Saturday (December 11th).
The loss dropped B.U.'s record to 3-5 overall and 1-1 in the league, while the Black Bears are 2-4 overall and 1-1 in conference play.
The highly-partisan crowd of 4500 jammed the Augusta (Me.) Civic Center expecting to see the Black Bears roll over the much younger Terrier team. That's not what happened, though, as the Terriers led by a point at the half, 22-21, and led by as many as four in the second half, 35-31, with 12:27 to play.
Maine came back behind a three-point basket by Amy Vachon, who finished the game with 11 points and 7 assists, and a free throw by Jamie Cassidy, a team-high 15 points and 9 rebounds, to tie the game, 35-35, with 9:04 left in the game.
For the next 5:23, the Terriers and Black Bears played nip-and-tuck basketball as no more than two points separated the two teams. Then, with just 3:41 showing on the clock, Vachon made a three-pointer to stake Maine to a 46-43 lead. They would never trail after that. In fact, the score was never tied after that point as the Black Bears continued to build on their lead with their largest bulge being seven points, which was the final score.
The cold spell down the stretch along with turnovers proved costly for B.U.
Sophomore Anne Nelson (Blue Bell, PA) made a jumper to tie the game, 41-41, with 5:24 to play in the game. From then until the final buzzer, the Terriers did not make a basket and had to settle for free throws to account for their final points. Nelson made three of the free throws, while sophomore Jen Tulley (Old Orchard Beach, Maine) made two. Also, during this stretch, the Terriers committed three of their game-total 24 turnovers.
In the meantime, Maine sunk a pair of three-pointers, two two-pointers, and two free throws to account for its final 12 points, while they turned the ball over just once, and that came with just seven seconds to play in the game. In all, the Black Bears turned the ball over 14 times in the game.
"I am really proud of our team," said Terrier head coach Margaret McKeon after the game. "Our players showed a lot of character, but it was a question of their making the plays and we didn't.
"But, we are a young team," continued the coach, whose team has now lost two games by seven points, one game by four points, and another game by one point this year. "Today, we started one freshman, three sophomores, and a junior, and they were really thrown into the fire."
The freshman was guard Alison Argentieri, who finished the game with six points, four assists, and three steals as she played 38 of the game's 40 minutes.
The sophomores were guard Annie Tomasini (Boston, Mass), forward Dia Dufault (Malone, NY), and center Nelson. Tomasini played 35 minutes had 3 points and 3 assists. Dufault, who was in foul trouble with four, played just 19 minutes, scored 4 points, had 6 rebounds, and 3 assists. Nelson had 11 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in 33 minutes.
The only junior was forward Alison Dixon (Norwood, Mass.), who played 38 minutes and had a double-double as she led the team in both scoring with 18 points and rebounding with 13, 11 of which were on the defensive boards.
The game was also billed as the return to Maine by B.U. assistant coach Cindy Blodgett. A 1998 graduate of the University of Maine, Blodgett led the Black Bears to four straight America East titles and four berths into the NCAA Tournament. During her collegiate career, she set 18 school records including scoring with 3005 points in 118 games for an average of 25.5 ppg. The point total currently ranks as the fifth-highest career total in NCAA Division 1 history.
During the pre-game introduction of the starters and the coaching staff of the respective teams, when Cindy's name was given as a member of the Terrier staff, the crowd gave her a standing ovation.
"It is nice they remember," Blodgett said of her reception. "But, that's the way Maine people are."
"The State of Maine loves her for what she has meant to the University and the State," McKeon said of her assistant coach. "And, I am proud to have her on our staff.
"I think our kids came out here wanting to play well for themselves but also play well for Cindy," the coach went on.
The Terriers did just that in the first half, especially defensively as they held the Black Bears to just 8-of-29 from the field for a meager 27.6 percent. In the meantime, B.U. was 10-of-25 for 40.0 percent as they took a 22-21 lead into intermission. During those first 20 minutes, the Terriers led by as many as nine points, 12-3 with 12:52 to play in the half. Most of the damage was done by Dixon, who 10 of her 18 points in the first half.
The Terriers also outshot Maine in the second half, 9-of-22 for 40.4 percent to 10-of-27 for 37.0 percent.
The difference came down to making the plays late in the game.
"We came here to win a game," said McKeon. "We hit them with a jab. We just didn't get the TKO."
