Maine earns invite to NCAA tourney

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Heather Ernest scored 15 points Saturday as Maine earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 68-43 win over Boston University in the America East tournament championship game.

The NCAA berth is the seventh overall for Maine (25-6) but the first since it made six straight appearances from 1995 to 2000.

The tournament field will be announced Sunday.

No America East women’s team has won more titles than the Black Bears.

Melissa Heon and reserve Missy Traversi added 12 points each for the Black Bears, while Monica Peterson had 10 points and a game high 11 rebounds.

The Terriers scored the game’s first points, but Maine answered with a 10-1 spurt.

With Ernest, Maine’s leading scorer and the America East player of the year, on the bench with two fouls, the Black Bears took command late in the first half.

Traversi scored eight points and Ashley Underwood’s 3-pointer capped a 13-0 run that gave the Black Bears a 27-8 lead.

The Black Bears led 33-12 at halftime and Boston University, which shot 14.8 percent from the floor and had 10 turnovers in the first half, got no closer than 17 the rest of the way.

Boston University could not take advantage of Maine’s 28 percent shooting performance in the final 20 minutes.

Traversi matched the Terriers offensive output in the first half with 12 points, aided by 7-for-7 effort from the foul line.

The Black Bears dominated the boards and set a championship game record with 53 rebounds.

Ernest was named the tourney’s most outstanding player as she averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in three wins. Nadia Bibbs led Boston University (19-11) with 10 points.