Black Bears Set to Host the 18th Annual Dead River Company Classic
11/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes
ORONO, Maine - The Maine women's basketball team will welcome Florida, Navy and South Alabama to the state of Maine when it hosts the 18th Annual Dead River Company Classic Friday and Saturday at Alfond Arena.
Florida and South Alabama will square off in the first contest of the day at 4 p.m. on Friday. Maine and Navy will follow in the second game of the day at 6 p.m., with the consolation game set for 12 p.m. and the championship game set for 2 p.m. on Saturday.
Maine is coming off a tough 62-57 loss to Central Connecticut State Tuesday. The Black Bears rallied from a double-digit deficit to within one point twice against the Blue Devils. Maine found itself down 12 in the first half but pulled to within a point, 32-31 at the break. Central Connecticut State opened up a 10-point lead late in the second half, but UMaine cut the lead to one point with a minute to play. The Black Bears had the ball down three with 30 seconds to play but could not find a game-tying shot.
Maine added to their America East leading 10 steals a game with 11 more against the Blue Devils. The Black Bears' defense also held CCSU to 35.6% shooting and forced 28 turnovers.
Amber Smith (Ipswich, Mass./Ipswich) scored in double figures for the third-straight game and is fourth in the America East with 16.7 points a game. Smith drained all three of her attempts from behind the arc and leads the conference in three-point percentage. Two other Black Bears rank in the top-20 in scoring in the America East. Samantha Wheeler (Derry, N.H./Timberlane Regional) is 8th with 11.3 a contest, while Katelyn Vanderhoff (Lititz, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) ranks 18th with 9.3 a game.
Navy and Maine have squared off only once. Maine won 92-55 in the Bangor Auditorium back in 1988. The Mids are coached by former Bowdoin head coach Stefanie Pemper. She is assisted by former Black Bear Julie Veilleux. Veilleux was a three-year starter for Maine and helped lead the Black Bears to a NCAA Tournament appearance in 2004.
Navy is coming off a 17-14 season last year. The Midshipmen are off to a 3-1 start this season and went 1-1 in their tournament last weekend. The Midshipmen defeated Harvard 65-60 behind a 19-point effort by Angela Myers last Saturday for their third win of the season. The reigning Patriot League Player of the Week and two-time Defensive Player of the Year leads the team with 16.8 points and 4.8 assists per game.
If Maine faces Florida, it will be the third meeting between the two squads. The Gators are 2-0 against the Black Bears and won the 2000 Dead River Company Classic. UF is 3-1 after defeating North Florida 54-51 Tuesday. Jordan Jones leads the Gators with 11.3 points a game, while Azania Stewart is nearly averaging a double-double with 11.0 points and 9.3 rebounds a game.
South Alabama is making their first appearance in the Dead River Company Classic, and if they face UMaine it will be for the first time. South Alabama is 2-2 after dropping a 56-43 decision to Mississippi State Tuesday. Christian Shelter leads the Lady Jags with 13.8 points a game.
For fans who cannot make it to the game at Alfond Arena, Don Shields will provide radio play-by-play for the Maine games on the Black Bear Sports Network. The game can be heard on WAEI-FM 97.1, WAEI 910 AM and GoBlackBears.com, while live stats and a paid video stream will be available for all four games on GoBlackBears.com(.)
