The University of Maine received a career-high 18 points from senior guard Olivia Rockwood as the Black Bears bounced back from a Friday loss to post a 60-54 win over Louisiana Tech at the Vibrant Thanksgiving Tournament in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday afternoon.
UMaine improved to 4-2 on the season and 1-1 in the tournament while Louisiana Tech fell to 2-3 and 0-2. The Black Bears will take on host Drake University on Sunday at 3 p.m. to conclude the tournament.
The Black Bears outscored the Lady Techsters 9-2 over the final 3:21 to earn the victory. Junior guard Sera Hodgson’s jumper off an Anne Simon pass gave the Black Bears the lead for good at 53-52 with 3:27 remaining.
Junior forward Adrianna Smith extended the lead to 55-52 by converting a layup with 1:59 left after senior guard/forward Caroline Bornemann extended the possession with an offensive rebound.
Anna Larr Roberson responded for Louisiana Tech with a turnaround jumper 19 seconds later, but Rockwood answered with her sixth 3-pointer of the game off a Simon feed with 1:24 remaining. Simon and Smith added free throws in the final 26 seconds to sew up the win.
Rockwood went 6-for-12 from the floor. All of her points came on 3-pointers. She also grabbed two rebounds.
Bornemann netted 13 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Smith had 11 points and a game-high 13 rebounds to go with two assists. Simon had eight assists and four steals, both game highs, to go with nine points and two rebounds. Sarah Talon had five points and Hodgson finished with four for UMaine.
Junior guard Silvia Nativi paced the Lady Techsters with 13 points, five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Senior guard Salma Bates had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists and Roberson produced eight points and six rebounds. Mackenzie Wurm and Evie Goetze had six points apiece.
UMaine head coach Amy Vachon told Black Bears Sports Properties/Van Wagner radio after the game that she was proud of her team in bouncing back from Friday’s loss to Richmond.
“I was proud about how composed they were,” Vachon said. “They did a great job.”
The Black Bears trailed 24-19 in the second quarter but closed out the half on an 11-2 run to take a 30-26 lead into the intermission.
Rockwood had a pair of threes; Bornemann nailed a three and Simon finished off the half with a steal and a layup.
UMaine was without Smith during its late first-half run because she picked up her third foul early in the second period. Vachon called the run without her “huge.”
UMaine shot 40 percent from the floor (22-for-55) and 30 percent beyond the 3-point arc (9-for-30) compared to Louisiana Tech’s 41.2 percent (21-for-51) and 25 percent (4-for-16), respectively. The team also outrebounded Louisiana Tech 35-30.
