Women's Basketball Hosts Rhode Island Saturday in Portland
12/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game Notes -- Live Stats -- Audio
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (1-7) hosts Rhode Island (3-6) Saturday at 1 PM at the Portland Expo in Portland, Maine. This will be the first time the Black Bears have played in Portland since defeating Holy Cross 77-67 on Jan. 2, 2006. Maine has had great success in Portland as it has won eight-straight games and nine of its last 10 dating back to the 1993-94 season. In all, Maine has a record of 11-2 in games hosted by the Black Bears in Portland dating back to the 1987-88 season. Maine and Rhode Island previously met in Portland on Dec. 22, 1996, a game won by the Black Bears 78-56.
The Black Bears enter today looking to get back to their winning ways after dropping a heartbreaking 53-50 decision at Siena on a last second three-pointer from the Saints. The Black Bears led by as many as 14 in the game but fell in the end after losing the lead for the first time with 3:16 remaining in the second half. Freshman Liz Wood led the Maine offensive attack with 12 points and four rebounds as she went 3-for-6 from three-point range. Danielle Walczak and Courtney Anderson each netted eight points as the Black Bears shot 41.2% from the field.
The Black Bears enter Saturday's game averaging 56.5 points per game (PPG) while shooting 38.1% from the field and 28.9% from beyond the arc. Maine is shooting 69.1% from the free throw line while pulling down 37.0 rebounds per game (RPG) and dishing out 13.2 assists.
Junior guard Ashleigh Roberts leads the Black Bears in scoring as she is netting 11.9 PPG while pulling down 4.6 RPG. Sophomore forward Danielle Walczak is contributing 9.2 PPG with 4.0 RPG and leads Maine with a 50.0% mark from the field. Freshman Liz Wood, the current America East Rookie of the Week, is averaging 8.2 PPG and leads the team with 5.1 RPG. Wood has scored in double-figures in back-to-back games and has also tallied at least two three-pointers in her last three games and four of her last five. Freshman center Anna Heise is averaging 6.4 PPG and 3.8 RPG and leads the team in free-throw shooting at 88.1%. Brittany Wells is chipping in 6.1 PPG while sophomore point guard Courtney Anderson is averaging 5.6 PPG and 1.6 assists. Fellow point guard Sophie Weckstrom is tallying 3.5 PPG and a team-high 2.5 assists.
The Rams enter today's game at 3-6 after falling last time out to Delaware by a score of 57-40. Rhode Island had three scorers in double-figures against Delaware and was led by Lauren Carra's 16 points while Danielle Parker tallied a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. On the season, the Rams are led by Emilie Cloutier who is averaging 10.4 PPG and 4.6 RPG while leading the squad in field goal percentage at 45.7%. Tayra Melendez is netting 9.3 PPG with 3.6 RPG while Samantha Tabakman is chipping in 6.8 points and a team-high 8.8 RPG. The Rams are coming off a 1-25 season in which they went winless in Atlantic-10 conference action. Rhode Island's lone win of the 2011-12 campaign came in its third game of the season when it defeated Providence. The Rams return seven from last season's squad while adding six freshmen to the 2012-13 team.
This will be the 24th all-time meeting between Maine and Rhode Island as the Black Bears hold a slight edge in the career series, 12-11, after picking up a 62-58 victory in last season's meeting at Rhode Island. Ashleigh Roberts netted 15 points with eight rebounds in last year's meeting while Courtney Anderson was also in double-figures with 10 points. Maine and Rhode Island first met in the 1975 season opener, a game won by the Rams 91-71.
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