Women's Basketball Hosts Syracuse in Home Opener Tuesday Evening
11/12/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes -- Live Stats -- Video -- Audio
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (0-2) looks to pick up its first win of the 2012-13 season as it welcomes Syracuse (1-0) to Alfond Arena for the Black Bears' home opener.
Maine is coming off its opening weekend in which it dropped contests to Auburn and Wofford at the 2012 Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational hosted by NC State. The Black Bears lost the opening contest to Auburn (71-41) before falling in a tight, overtime contest to Wofford by a score of 79-76. Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) led the Black Bears at the invitational as she averaged 15.5 points, including dropping a career-high 29 against Wofford. For her efforts, Roberts was named to the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational All-Tournament team.
Roberts leads the Black Bears into its home opener as she is averaging 15.5 points to go along with 3.0 rebounds as she is shooting 54.5% from the field. Four out of Maine's top five scoreres are freshmen as Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) leads the Black Bear freshmen with 9.5 points per game to go along with 5.5 rebounds. Wood's 38.0 minutes per game is tops amongst the Black Bears. Mikaela Gustafsson (Sodertalje, Sweden) is also averaging 9.5 points per game and leads the Black Bears with 6.0 rebounds per game. Gustafsson's 61.5% shooting mark from the field is tops on the squad. Brittany Wells (Indianapolis, In.), who knocked down the game-tying three with 18-seconds left against Wofford, is averaging 7.0 PPG and leads the team with a 36.4% mark from beyond the arc. Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) is chipping in 6.5 points per game to go along with 5.0 rebounds. Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) gets the offense rolling for Maine at the point as she is also averaging 6.5 points per game to go aling with a four assists.
As a team, Maine is averaging 58.5 points per game while shooting 38.6% from the field including a 26.7% mark from beyond the arc. The Black Bears are 17-23 from the free throw line and are averaging 38.5 rebounds per game to go along with 12.5 assists. Maine has forced 16.0 turnovers per contest thus far.
Syracuse enters today's game at 1-0 after defeating Fairleigh Dickinson 94-47 in its home opener. Kayla Alexandra paced the Orange with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the opener. Syracuse, coming off a 2011-12 season in which they went 22-15 (6-10 in the Big East), has a roster made up of 10 upper classmen and five first year players. After only losing two seniors after last season; Rachel Coffey with 5.6 PPG and 3.2 APG while leading the team with 120 assists, Carmen Tyson-Thomas tallying 10.7 PPG and 7.8 RPG while leading the team in rebounds and steals, and Kayla Alexander notching 14.8 PPG and 7.5 RPG setting a season record in blocks with 97 look to add to their 2011-12 success on the court. The Orange will have great depth as they start the 2012-13 season, losing just two seniors this past season while adding five freshmen to the roster. Syracuse was slated to finish seventh in the Big East in the annual women's basketball preseason coaches' poll. Kayla Alexander was named to the preseason All-Big East team for her 2011-12 efforts. Alexander enters her 2012-13 season with 1,451 points, just 336 points behind the all-time leading scorer in program history. The Orange are coached by Quentin Hillsman who is entering his seventh season as head coach. Hillsman has posted a 120-80 overall record and a 40-56 conference record. He is assisted by Kelley Gibson and Vonn Read.
This will be the second overall meeting between Maine and Syracuse as the Black Bears currently hold a 1-0 record over the Orange. The two teams' only meeting came on Dec. 2, 1989 as Maine defeated Syracuse 59-45 in the opening round of the Michigan State tournament. The Black Bears last played a team from the Big East on Dec. 14, 2007 when it fell 80-50 at St. John's. Maine's last win over a Big East foe came on Dec. 2, 1995 when it defeated Villanova 70-62 in the championship game of the Dead River Company Classic.
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