VILLANOVA, PA — Maine couldn’t recover from a 40-21 first half deficit and fell to Villanova, 71-60, in the first round of the Women’s NIT basketball tournament Friday night.

Villanova (20-13) made seven of 12 3-pointers to build the big first-half lead and ultimately hold Maine off in the second half.

Maine shot a blistering (15-for-22 (68.2 percent) in the second half to chip away and eventually pulled within 10 with six minutes left. But Villanova got hot from 3-point range again to keep the Black Bears at a safe distance the rest of the way.

Sigi Kolzar scored all of her team-high 22 points in the second half for Maine (23-9). Mikaela Gustafsson added 17 points for Black Bears. Alex Louin led four Wildcats in double figures with 17 points.

THOMAS MOORE 62, TUFTS 52: Cony alum Josie Lee scored a team-high 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds in 23 minutes but it wasn’t enough as Thomas Moore defeated Tufts in the NCAA Division III Final Four in Grand Rapids, MI.

Thomas Moore (32-0), the top-ranked team in the Division III, ended the first half with an 11-0 run, then started the second half with a 15-6 run to take a commanding 44-27 lead. Tufts closed to within six with 45 seconds to play but didn’t get any closer.

Lee, a sophomore guard, made six of nine shots and grabbed six offensive rebounds for the fifth-ranked Jumbos (30-2). Sydney Moss led all scorers with 23 points and 11 rebounds for Thomas Moore.