PROVIDENCE — Blanca Millan scored 30 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, and the University of Maine women’s basketball team opened its season Thursday afternoon with a 62-48 win over Providence College.
Abbe Laurence added 10 points and nine rebounds in her second career start, and Anne Simon had nine points and seven rebounds for the Black Bears, who played their first game since March 8, when they won an America East semifinal. The season was called off soon after, and the start of this season was delayed because of COVID-19 concerns.
Millan, the 2019 America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, played her first game since tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee in the sixth game of the 2019-20 season. She made 13 of 25 shots, including 3 of 9 3-pointers.
Providence (3-3) was led by Chanell Williams with eight points.
Maine was in front almost from start to finish. Millan opened the game with a defensive rebound, followed by a 3-pointer, then made a layup after a Providence turnover to help the Black Bears race out to an 8-0 start.
Providence fought back to take a 14-13 lead, but Millan hit another 3-pointer that put the Black Bears ahead for good.
Simon then started an 11-0 run with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter, breaking a 16-16 tie. Maine stretched its margin to 33-20 by halftime and opened the third quarter with another 8-0 surge, triggered by another Millan 3-pointer.
The Black Bears play again Friday evening, at Rhode Island.
(6) ARIZONA 65, ARIZONA STATE 37: Aari McDonald scored 22 points and made five 3-pointers, and the Wildcats (4-0, 3-0 Pac-12) turned their rivalry game into a rout over the Sun Devils (4-2, 1-2) in Tucson, Arizona.
(7) BAYLOR 65, WEST VIRGINIA 45: DiJonai Carrington scored 14 of her 19 points in the decisive third quarter as the Bears (3-1, 1-0 Big 12) pulled away from the Mountaineers (4-1, 0-1) in Morgantown, West Virginia.
(17) NORTHWESTERN 93, EASTERN ILLINOIS 57: Veronica Burton scored 21 points, Lindsey Pulliam added 18 and the Wildcats opened their season with a rout against Eastern Illinois (2-3) in Evanston, Illinois.
(18) OHIO STATE 104, MIAMI, OHIO 65: Dorka Juhasz matched her career high with 27 points and also grabbed 15 rebounds for her 24th career double-double, and the Buckeyes (4-0) cruised past the RedHawks (1-2) in Columbus, Ohio.
The Buckeyes finished with at least five players in double-figure scoring for the third straight game. Jacy Sheldon and Braxtin Miller each scored 13 points, Kateri Poole and Madison Greene had 12 apiece and Rebeka Mikulasikova finished with 10.
CANCELED: Georgia canceled its game against Radford, scheduled for Saturday, because of a positive COVID-19 test within the Radford program.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
CANCELED: South Carolina called off its game Monday at George Washington because of a positive COVID-19 test.
The team paused activities Tuesday and previously canceled a home game with Wofford scheduled for Thursday. The school said the earliest the team can resume activities is Dec. 16, and only if there are no further positive tests between now and then.
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