Maine Returns Home to Host Siena Thursday Evening
12/28/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes -- Live Stats -- Video -- Audio
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (3-9) returns home from the Gator Holiday Classic to take on the visiting Siena Saints (1-7) Thursday at 6 p.m. from Alfond Arena. The Black Bears are 1-1 at Alfond Arena this season while the Saints are 0-3 on the road.
Each team enters the game on a bit of a losing skid as the Black Bears will be looking for their first win in the month of December.
Maine enter's tonight's contest on a six game losing skid as it is in search of its first win in the month of December. The Black Bears are coming out of the Gator Holiday Classic in which they dropped decisions to Duquesne and Charleston Southern. The Black Bears are currently led in scoring by sophomore guard Ashleigh Roberts who is averaging 8.3 points to go along with 3.9 rebounds. Senior tri-captain Brittany Williams is chipping in 7.3 points to go along with a team-leading 27.4 minutes of playing time per game. Maine is getting key minutes from its freshmen this season as Courtney Anderson is tallying 6.1 points per game and has started her last six games and currently is fourth in the conference with a 40.6% mark from beyond the arc. Fellow freshman Rebecca Knight had a very solid pair of games at the Gator Holiday Classic as she averaged 5.5 points to go along with 5.5 rebounds while averaging 35.5 minutes including playing 38 minutes in the finale, a new career-high for her. Shareka Maner has picked up her game as of late as she is now averaging 5.2 points per game and is tied for the team-lead in rebounds at 5.0 per game. Maner dropped a career-high 13 points in Maine's last contest against Charleston Southern. As a unit, Maine is averaging 55.4 points per game while shooting 37.1% from the field. The Black Bears continue to be strong on the glass as they are averaging 40.8 rebounds per game, +3.2 more than their opponents.
The Saints enter tonight's contest on a five game losing skid as their last, and only, win came on Nov. 19 when they defeated Rhode Island on the road, 73-65. Siena has lost to several familiar opponents that the Black Bears have seen or will see this season including losses to Albany (72-48), Binghamton (80-70), UMass (58-53) and at Central Connecticut State (51-47). The Saints, selected to finish seventh in the pre-season Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference poll, are led by junior forward Lily Grenci who leads the team in both points per game (13.3) and rebounds per game (7.0). Grenci currently ranks fourth in the MAAC in scoring and rebounding. Cristina Centeno, a MAAC third-team all-conference selection a year ago, is averaging 11.3 points per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds. Centeno gets the offense rolling for the Saints as she leads the team with 4.1 assists per game. Senior guard Maja Gerlyng is the third member of the Saints averaging double-figures as she is also tallying 11.3 points per game. Sophomore Clara Sole Anglada gets things done on the defensive side of the ball as she leads the team in both steals (1.6) and blocks (1.0) per game to go along with a team-high 3.9 defensive rebounds per game. The Saints enter tonight averaging 54.9 points per game while giving up 64.5 points to the opposition, a difference in scoring margin of -9.6. Siena is currently shooting 34.6% from the field while pulling down 35.8 rebounds per contest.
The Black Bears currently hold a 4-1 edge in five career games against Siena dating back to the two teams first meeting on Dec. 1, 1984, a game won 55-52 by Siena. Since then, Maine has won four-straight over the Saints with the first win coming the following year on Dec. 7, a 87-54 victory by the Black Bears. The teams' most recent meeting came on Feb. 18, 1991 a game won 81-55 by Maine. The Black Bears last hosted Siena in the season opener on Nov. 24, 1989 a 68-52 win for the Black Bears at the Bangor Auditorium. This will be the first ever meeting of the two teams at Alfond Arena in Maine's 47 year history.
