Women's Basketball Travels to Florida Gulf Coast University for Saturday Game
11/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
GAME NOTES -- LIVE STATS -- VIDEO -- AUDIO
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (1-5) takes to the road for the first of eight straight games away from Alfond Arena as it takes on Florida Gulf Coast University (3-3) on Saturday at 4:45 PM.
Maine looks to get back on the winning track as it dropped its last two contests (Minnesota/VCU). Freshman Brittany Wells (Indianapolis, In.) led the Black Bears last time out as she tallied a career-high 14 points on 6-for-13 shooting including hitting a pair of three-pointers, her second multi three pointer game of the season.
As a team, the Black Bears are averaging 58.8 points per game and are shooting 38.4% from the field and 28.3% from beyond the arc. Maine is knocking down 74.2% of its free throws while pulling down 36.2 rebounds per game. The Black Bears are averaging 14.3 assists per game, a 4.3 increase on last seasons 10.1 final number. Defensively, the Black Bears are averaging 8.0 steals per game and 3.2 blocks while giving up 72.7 points per game.
The Black Bears are led by junior guard Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) who leads the team in scoring at 14.0 points per game. Roberts is averaging 5.0 rebounds and 2.5 assists and recently had her five game streak of scoring in double-figures snapped. Sophomore Danielle Walczak (Lee, N.H.) is averaging 9.7 points per game and leads the team in rebounding at 5.3 in her three games thus far. Walczak is shooting 54.2% (13-24) from the field. Freshman Liz Wood (Catlett, Va.) leads the team with 29.7 minutes per game and is chipping in 7.3 points per game and 4.2 rebounds. Wood has knocked down a team-high seven three pointers on the season and is shooting 35.0% from beyond the arc. Fellow freshman Anna Heise (Halle, Germany) is netting 6.8 points per game to go along with 3.8 rebounds while Wells is averaging 6.3 points with six steals. Point guard Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) is averaging 5.8 points per game while fellow point guard Sophie Weckstrom (Espoo, Finland) is averaging 3.3 PPG and leads the team with 3.0 assists per game.
Florida Gulf Coast enters Saturday's game 3-3 on the season and is coming off a 70-59 win over Hampton in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam tournament. The Eagles return six letterwinners, including a pair of starters, from last season's squad which went 29-3 and 18-0 in Atlantic Sun play while winning their conference and making it to the NCAA first round. The Eagles have won their last 15 home contests and are paced by Sarah Hansen, a first team all conference selection both last season and this pre-season, who is averaging 18.0 points per game to go along with a team-high 8.8 rebounds. Lerrin Cook is chipping in 10.7 PPG while Brittany Kennedy is averaging 9.6 PPG, 3.4 RPG and leads the team with 5.8 assists per game. Betsy Adams is averaging 8.5 PPG while Joyce Iamstrong is netting 7.2 PPG to go along with 3.0 rebounds. As a team, the Eagles are averaging 67.2 PPG and outscoring their opponents by an average of 10.7 PPG. FGCU shoots 42.9% from the field and 69.6% from the free throw line while bringing down 33.2 RPG.
This game marks the first time Maine and FGCU have ever met in Maine's 49 year history. The Black Bears enter the game 4-1 against current members of the Atlantic Sun conference. Maine's last meeting with a team from the A-Sun came on Dec. 21, 2010 when it lost to Stetson by a score of 76-70. The Black Bears last defeated a team from this league on Nov. 25, 2005 when it defeated Kennesaw State 88-56 in the opening round of the Dead River Company Classic.
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