Orono, Maine ? Colleen Kilmurray recorded 11 points and nine rebounds to lead Maine to a 59-51 win over UAlbany in America East Conference women's basketball action at Alfond Arena on Wednesday night. The Black Bears, who held a commanding 24-5 advantage in bench points, won their second game in three tries and moved up to eighth in the conference standings, ahead of the Great Danes, with the victory.

UAlbany (3-21, AE 1-10) scored five quick points and forced Maine to burn a timeout with 17:40 left to play in the first half. Britney McGee canned a three-point field goal from the right wing and Kim Clements made a driving layup down the left side during the stretch.

After a layup by Janea Aiken made it 7-0, Maine (4-21, AE 2-10) quickly recovered and tied the score at 9-9 before the game was seven minutes old. Tanna Ross, who entered the contest for the first time after the Black Bear timeout, netted her squad's first bucket at the 16:08 mark and added a three-point field goal following an offensive rebound by Brittany Boser during the spurt.

Trailing 13-9, the Black Bears scored six straight points and went ahead for the first time of the contest, 15-13, when Amanda Tewksbury nailed a long two from the left wing with 8:30 to play in the half. The Great Danes regained the lead when McGee drained a trifecta as the shot clock expired which made it 19-18, but then the UAlbany offense went cold.

Samantha Baranowski came back on the next play to put Maine ahead again by a point with a short jumper at 3:42. The Black Bears did not allow the Great Danes to convert a field goal in the final five minutes of the first stanza and held a 27-20 advantage at the break.

UAlbany, which was outscored 15-0 in bench points through the first 20 minutes of action, rallied back by netting six of the first seven points of the second half. A three-pointer by Aiken tied the game at 30, but Kristin Baker answered with a pair of shots from downtown to put the Black Bears ahead by six. A 15-foot jumper from the left wing by Amanda Tewksbury extended the advantage to nine, forcing the Great Danes to call a timeout.

A conventional three-point play by Baker extended Maine's lead to 12 points at 51-39 with 7:29 to play, and the advantage grew to 14, 55-41, after Baranowski netted a pair of free throws. UAlbany brought the lead down to six, 57-51, courtesy of a layup by Kate Cronin with 1:55 on the clock.

Following a traveling violation by Kilmurray, Cronin drew a foul on the ensuing possession and went to the free throw line for a chance to cut the Black Bear lead to four. However, both of her attempts rimmed out. Maine iced the game at the charity stripe on the other end and held on for the eight-point win.

In addition to Kilmurray, Maine also got strong contributions from Baker as well as Ross and Baranowski off the bench. Baker finished with 10 points and five assists, while Ross and Baranowski added eight points apiece. UAlbany was paced by Aiken and Tabitha Makopondo. Aiken finished with a team-high 19 points, while Makopondo netted a career-best 14 points and matched a career mark with nine rebounds.

“Tabitha has really shown that she can be a player we can build around,” said head coach Trina Patterson. “Even though we are not winning, she has been a player we can count on.”

For the game, the Black Bears outshot the Great Danes, 41.8 percent (23-55) to 34 percent (17-50) from the floor and 30 percent (3-10) to 25 percent (3-12) from behind the arc. UAlbany held an edge at the free throw line,70 percent (14-20) to 62.5 percent (10-16).

“I thought that we had our chances,” Patterson added. “However, we turned the ball over too many times. People were open and we did not connect on our passes. Our bench scoring was terrible, and I thought that was the difference in the game.”