By Kalle Oakes,Staff Writer

PORTLAND – The University of Maine women’s basketball team knew it would be fine if it could just get through December.

There weren’t many wins or warm, fuzzy feelings during the Black Bears’ holiday season. Reading between the lines, though, first-year coach Ann McInerney and a relatively inexperienced team could see themselves growing by leaps and bounds while consuming a steady diet of nationally-ranked competition.

Maine’s payoff came Monday afternoon in its final non-conference tune-up for America East play, a hard-earned, 77-67 victory over perennial Patriot League power Holy Cross in front of 2,113 at Cumberland County Civic Center.

Bracey Barker scored 25 points while tucking away nine rebounds to lead Maine (4-6), which hasn’t played at Alfond Arena in Orono since Nov. 30. The Black Bears encountered Michigan, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and George Washington on their recent tour of the Eastern Seaboard, ending a six-game losing streak last Thursday with a rout of North Carolina A&T in the consolation game of the Hurricane Holiday Classic in Miami.

“It’s great to be back in our white uniforms and playing in front of people who actually want us to win,” said Barker.

Ashley Underwood didn’t enjoy her usual bounty from beyond the 3-point arc, but the Augusta junior chalked up five steals and four assists, went 13-for-15 from the free-throw line and finished with 17 points for Maine.

Abby Schrader (15 points, 12 rebounds) and New Gloucester’s Katie Whittier (eight points, five rebounds) ruled the paint as the Black Bears dominated the boards by more than a two-to-one margin, limiting Holy Cross (4-8) to only two offensive caroms in the contest.

“It was exciting to see us work through all those losses knowing the end result was that we would get better,” McInerney said. “They stuck together through that.”

If Maine sees another opponent outside America East, it would be in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in March. The Black Bears, who tied for second behind Hartford in a preseason coaches poll and have won three straight America East regular-season titles, open league play at home Wednesday against Binghamton.

Holy Cross reached the NCAAs last winter and hit plenty of glass ceilings in its own non-conference fun house that included losses to Connecticut, Boston College and Virginia. The Crusaders couldn’t get leading scorers Kaitlin Foley and Brittany Keil untracked and uncovered no answers defensively to stop Barker.

“Barker is better than I expected,” said Holy Cross coach Bill Gibbons. “We knew she was an all-conference player, but she did all the things that Brittany usually does for us, in terms of scoring inside, scoring outside and handling the ball.”

The Crusaders challenged Maine throughout a wild first half that featured nine ties and seven lead changes before falling into a double-digit hole shortly after the break.

Jessica Conte led Holy Cross with a career-high 20 points in only her second start of the season. Foley, who entered the game averaging 15 points, was held to a dozen. Keil fought foul trouble throughout the game and ended with eight.

Sophomore point guard Kris Younan enjoyed a career game off the bench for Maine, dishing out a team-high seven assists to go with five rebounds.

Younan was on the floor during Maine’s most significant run of the game, feeding four Barker buckets during a seven-minute span that saw the Black Bears transform a 39-38 deficit into a 58-46 lead with 11:17 remaining.

Holy Cross clawed within five on a 3-pointer by Sarah Placek and a Foley free throw. Foley missed her second attempt, however, and Barker knocked down a short jumper on Maine’s next possession to make it 67-60.

Whittier iced it with a pair of lay-ups in the final five minutes.

Barker more than doubled her early-season average of 11.6 points per game and fell one shy of her career high of 26, set last season against Buffalo.

“She had to play all five positions the last month in different situations,” McInerney said. “It was nice to be able to concentrate on getting her the ball in scoring position.”