The University of New Hampshire (UNH) Wildcats (4-15, 1-7) were faced with a tough test this week – two games in just three days. It began with rivalry Wednesday in Lundholm Gymnasium as the University of Maine Black Bears (7-10, 4-3) trekked to Durham and came away with a 53-45 victory behind a strong defensive effort.  

Maine jumped out to an early 13-6 lead in the first quarter as Black Bears head coach Amy Vachon did not shy away from putting pressure on the Wildcats offense. UNH was confronted with a mix of full-court press and double teams, creating turnovers and easy baskets for Maine’s offense.  

“It was their physicality, it was the aggressiveness that they showed on ball screens, but to me, it’s also the confidence that we kind of lacked in that first half,” said UNH head coach Kelsey Hogan.   

UNH was able to put together a nice run in the second quarter. They climbed out of a 22-16 hole after a shot from junior Brooke Kane and a triple from senior Sophia Widmeyer. However, Maine ended the first half up 31-26. 

The Wildcats did not roll over despite trailing. The team pieced together a 10-1 run in the third quarter, tying the game at 36.  

Hogan was proud of her team’s second-half fight, explaining that “it just shows what we’re capable of and now we’ve just got to try to find it on a more consistent basis.” 

Back-to-back threes from the Black Bears put Maine up 47-38 late and, in the end, the Black Bears wound up victorious by an eight-point margin.  

Widmeyer led the ‘Cats in scoring with 11 points. Two guards also cracked double digits including junior Helena Delaruelle and graduate student Amanda Torres who each finished with 10 in the loss.  

“I was happy with our defensive effort, but I don’t think that we came out from the start ready to play with the energy and the fight that we needed to, especially given the rivalry with Maine,” Hogan added. 

The ‘Cats were dealt a schedule change as a result of the impending snowstorm. Saturday’s road game at Stony Brook (17-2, 8-1) was changed to Friday afternoon instead so the team could make it back to Durham by Friday night. 

The Wildcats came out with a lot of energy against the Seawolves. Stony Brook came in with a 16-2 overall record, an 8-1 record within the America East, and a perfect 10-0 record at home. The Wildcats, hoping to play spoiler, found themselves up 29-28 at the half. 

Stony Brook rebounded with 45 points in the second half, knocking off the ‘Cats by 13. Junior Brooke Kane led the Wildcats with 14 points on 4-for-6 shooting, including 3-for-4 from deep.  

First-year forward Talia Davis and Widmeyer each added 12, while sophomore Adara Groman scored 11.  

UNH is back in action on Monday at 6 p.m. from the Lundholm Gymnasium against the UMass Lowell Riverhawks (6-8, 3-2) as they try to put an end to their current three-game losing skid. 

Photo courtesy of Andrew Yourell