University of Maine
North Dakota St.
Preview: Women's Basketball Back in Action at North Dakota State
11/22/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team looks to even up its overall record and move to 2-0 against North Dakota State on Sunday afternoon at 1 P.M. EST.
FOLLOW YOUR BLACK BEARS:
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine looks to improve to 2-2 on the year after falling on Friday evening at Minnesota. Maine, which trailed by just three late in the third quarter, dropped its meeting at Minnesota by a score of 91-64. The Black Bears featured two scorers in double-figures in the loss, led by Sigi Koizar's 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds while Sophie Weckstrom hit four triples for 12 points.
Maine is averaging 58.7 points per game through its opening three road contests. The Black Bears enter play shooting 37.9% from the floor, 28.9% from 3-point range and 71.4% from the free throw stripe. Maine is averaging 22.3 field goals per game and assisting on 16.0 buckets per game.
Individually, Sigi Koizar has tallied double-figure scoring efforts in all three games and leads Maine with 15.7 points per game. Koizar is shooting 44.4% from 3-point range, is perfect from the free throw line (7-7) and leads the team with 4.7 assists. Liz Wood is adding 8.3 points and a team-high 6.7 rebounds to go along with 3.3 steals. Mikaela Gustafsson is chipping in a consistent 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds while guard Chantel Charles is averaging 7.7 points.
Maine returns all five starters and 13 letterwinners from its 2014-15 squad which finished 23-9 after capturing the America East Regular Season Co-Championship following a 14-2 league record. Maine welcomes two newcomers in a pair of freshmen guards; Madddy McVicar (Calais, ME) and Isabel Hernandez Pepe (Rome, Italy).
The Black Bears return their top eight scorers from a year ago, headlined by All-Conference first team selections Sigi Koizar and Liz Wood. A year ago, Koizar led the Black Bears in scoring with 14.3 points per game while adding 42. rebounds and 2.7 assists after starting all 32 games. Wood, a senior forward, ranked second on the squad with 13.8 points per game and led the Black Bears in rebounding (7.7), assists (3.4) and steals (2.7). Senior guard Sophie Weckstrom finished last year at 7.5 points per game while shooting 31.4% from 3-point range. Anna Heise (5.9 ppg/3.2 rpg) and Mikaela Gustafsson (5.8 ppg/2.4 rpg) added depth in the paint.
Maine finished last season ranked first in the league in defense (54.5 ppg) and third in scoring (61.1). The Black Bears hit at a high rate from the floor, shooting second-best in the league at 43.3% and fourth from long-range (31.0). Maine was runners-up in the league in assists (14.4), third in steals (8.6) and averaged 6.6 three-point makes per game.
SCOUTING NORTH DAKOTA STATE:
North Dakota State has won two-straight and are 2-1 on the year after posting 80+ points in its last two games. The Bison are averaging 80.7 points per game and are shooting 43.8% from the floor, 44.4% from 3-point range and 68.6% from the line. NDSU is averaging 40.3 rebounds per game and feature a pair of scorers posting 20.0+ points per game. Marena Whittle leads the squad at 22.0 points per game with 8.3 rebounds while Taylor Thunstedt is adding 20.3 points and a team-high 5.0 assists. Brianna Jones is averaging a double-double with 10.0 points and 12.0 rebounds.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH NORTH DAKOTA STATE:
Maine and North Dakota State will be meeting for only the second time in history. Maine won the first ever meeting between the two team's, 64-59 back in 2013. The game was Maine's first ever at its current home court Cross Insurance Center. Liz Wood posted a double-double in the win back in 2013 with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
-UMaine-
