Women's Basketball Hits the Road for a 1 p.m. Contest at UMass on Sunday
12/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes -- Live Stats -- Video -- Audio
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (3-6) will be looking for its fourth win in a row vs. UMass (1-8) as it travels to battle the Minutewomen at the Mullins Center Sunday at 1 p.m.
The Black Bears, currently in the midst of a three game winless slide, will be looking for their fourth-straight win over UMass as it last defeated the Minutewomen on Dec. 29, 2010, a 66-62 victory for Maine.
Maine, looking to get back on the winning track, will meet up with a familiar foe as it has done battle with UMass for the past four years. The Black Bears, currently 3-6 on the season, enter the matchup at 1-2 on the road with its last road contest coming on Dec. 3, a 73-56 loss at Navy. Maine is led by 2011 America East All-Rookie selection Ashleigh Roberts who is averaging 8.7 points to go along with 4.1 rebounds. Senior tri-captain Brittany Williams is chipping in 8.1 points per game as she has been the on-court leader for Maine for much of the season averaging a team-high 29.9 minutes per game. Fellow senior captain Samantha Wheeler has picked up her game since returning from injury on Nov. 25. Wheeler, a former All-Conference Third Team selection, is averaging 7.2 points per game along with a team-high 5.2 rebounds. Wheeler has double-figures in her last two games, including an 18 points performance last time out against James Madison. Wheeler also started that game, her first start since Nov. 27, 2010 when she had a career-high 19 points and eight rebounds against South Alabama. Samantha Baranowski has also picked up her play as of late as she is averaging 9.8 points per game and 5.0 rebounds in her last four games. Maine continues to be strong on the boards, pulling down 40.3 rebounds per contest, outrebounding the opposition by a +3.4 margin overall. The Black Bears have outrebounded or tied its opponent in rebounding in its last seven games, including outrebounding the opposition in four of those seven.
The Minutewomen, picked to finish tenth in the 14 team Atlantic-10 conference, are currently on a eight game slide after winning their first game of the year. However, UMass' one win on the season came over Boston University of the America East Conference, a 55-49 win at the Mullins Center. UMass is led by junior forward Shakia Robinson who is averaging 13.1 points per game (7th best in the A-10) to go along with 5.4 rebounds. Junior Jasmine Watson has proven to be a force in the middle for the Minutewomen as she also averaging double-figures with 12.3 points per game to go along with a team-high 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Watson ranks ninth in the A-10 in rebounds per game. As a unit, the Minutewomen are averaging 57.9 points per game but are giving up 67.0 points, a difference of -9.1. UMass is shooting 38.7% from the field and spreading around the offense with 15.1 assists per game. The Minutewomen's 3.13 blocks per game rank them fourth in the A-10.
Maine currently leads the all-time series with the Minutewomen 13-6 and enter this contest winners of the last three matchups between the two teams. The Black Bears won the most recent meeting 66-62 at Alfond Arena in Orono on Dec. 29, 2010. The Black Bears had four scorers in double-figures in that win as Amber Smith had 13 points and six rebounds. Ashleigh Roberts chipped in 11 points while Corinne Wellington narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and nine rebonuds. The game was tied 28-28 at the half before Maine outscored UMass 38-34 to take the decision in a game that featured 11 lead changes and six ties. Before that game, Maine defeated UMass at the Mullins Center in Amherst, Mass 65-49 on Jan. 3, 2010 and also took the prior meeting 54-45 on Nov. 23, 2008, a game played at the Augusta Civic Center in Augusta, Maine. Maine and UMass first did battle in 1976, a tight game won by the Black Bears 58-56.
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