Women's Basketball Goes for Sixth-Straight Win Saturday vs. Northeastern
12/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (6-3) returns to action looking for its sixth-straight win when it welcomes Northeastern (2-3) to Cross Insurance Center. A win for Maine would give it a six-game winning streak for the first time since 2005 and move it to 4-0 in December for the first time since 1997.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS...
Maine continues to roll through its most recent match-ups as it defeated Dartmouth 53-38 on Wednesday evening. The defensive pressure once again proved to be the difference for the Black Bears as they forced 23 Dartmouth turnovers and outscored the Big Green 27-2 in points off turnovers. Maine, which totaled 13 steals in the win, was led by sophomore Sigi Koizar who notched a game-high 19 points with seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Sophie Weckstrom chipped in nine points and three steals while Liz Wood recorded a game-high five steals to go along with seven points and five rebounds.
The Black Bears are led by their two biggest scoring threats in Koizar and Wood. Koizar, who ranks sixth in the league in scoring, is netting 15.9 points and has recorded double-figures in her last four games and eight of Maine's first nine. Wood is close behind in the scoring race, ranking eighth in the league at 15.3 points. Each have been spot-on from the field as they rank in the top ten in field goal percentage with Wood at 54.0 percent (4th) and Koizar coming in at 52.8 percent (6th). Wood also leads the squad in rebounding (5.9), assists (3.2), steals (2.8) and 3-point shooting (41.2 percent). Sophie Weckstrom leads Maine's supporting cast as she is tallying 7.0 points per game while posting a 30.0 percent mark from 3-point range. Anna Heise is adding 6.4 points in the middle with 2.7 rebounds while Bella Swan is averaging 3.2 rebounds, third most among team leaders.
Maine is averaging 61.3 points per game as a unit and have limited its opponents to a 56.7 mark; ranking them second in the league in scoring defense. The Black Bears are shooting 41.8 percent from the floor, 67.8 percent from the free throw line and 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. Maine ranks second in the league in both assists (14.0) and steals (9.7) while pulling down 31.4 rebounds and lead the league in 3-pointers made (7.2).
SCOUTING NORTHEASTERN...
The Huskies come into today's game on a two game losing streak with a 2-3 record, their last game played was on Nov. 29 vs. Florida Atlantic and resulted in a 74-81 loss. The top scorers for the Huskies were A'lece Mark with 18 points and Francesca Sally who also had 18 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
The Huskies are led by A'lece Mark, the senior guard is averaging 19 points a game and a team high 8.3 rebounds. Samantha DeFreese is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14 points a game and 7.4 rebounds. Tiffany Montagne adds a three point threat to the team shooting a 36.4 percentage from behind the arc, she is averaging 13.4 points on the season.
The Huskies are ranked 62nd in the country shooting the three as a team posting a 35.5 percentage and are 43rd in the country for 7.6 3-point field goals made per game. Look for this to be a key factor in today's game.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE SERIES...
The Black Bears will be meeting Northeastern for the 55th time in history this afternoon. The 55th meeting ranks fifth in terms of most meetings between a team in Black Bears history as the Huskies are a former member of the America East conference. Maine owns the all-time series record 33-21. Maine dropped an 81-55 road meeting a season ago to the Huskies. Maine's last win in the series came on Feb. 15, 2005, a 71-45 win at home. Prior to last season's loss, the Black Bears had won seven-straight and are 8-2 in their last 10 meetings. Northeastern won the first ever meeting by a score of 87-64 in 1983.
OH THE WEATHER OUTSIDE IS FRIGHTFUL...
But on the court it is delightful in December. The Black Bears are currently 3-0 in December for the first time since the 2001 season. If Maine is able to pick up a victory today, it would move to 4-0 in the month of December for the first time since 1997. Maine has been on fire in the chilly month, averaging 63.3 points per game while limited its opposition to just 47.3 ppg; a difference of +16.0. Wood (18.3), Koizar (18.0) and Weckstrom (12.0) are all averaging double-figures in scoring for the month.
HOME SWEET HOME...
Maine has been on a roll at the friendly confines of the Cross Insurance Center. The Black Bears are 5-1 at home this season and have won their last four contests in Bangor. Maine is averaging 61.3 points per game and outscoring opponents by a +8.2 margin at home. The Black Bears are dialed in at home as they are posting a 40.4 percent mark from the floor and have cranked up their defensive pressure, forcing 135 turnovers (22.5 per game) at home. Wood leads the way at home as she is averaging 16.0 points per game and is shooting 54.7 percent on the hardwood at Cross Insurance Center.
800 AND COUNTING...
Just 68 games into her career as a Black Bear, Liz Wood topped the 800 point plateau. Wood's layup 1:21 into the first half on Dec. 7 against Harvard pushed the junior forward over 800 points. Wood is trying to be just the 8th Black Bear all-time to reach 1,000 points in three years. The last to do so was Heather Ernest who eclipsed the mark in the 2002-03 season.
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