Women's Basketball Meets Purdue for First Time Monday Evening
12/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (9-4) goes for its fourth-straight victory when it travels to take on Purdue for its first time in history. Maine is coming off back-to-back 30+ point victories.
FOLLOW YOUR BLACK BEARS:
- WATCH - Monday's contest will be available by subscription via the BTN Plus, BTN2Go
- LISTEN - Don Shields will have the call of the game live at 94.1 WGUY-FM or worldwide at GoBlackBears.com
- LIVE STATS
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine has won three-straight including a pair of 30+ point victories over Bryant (76-38) and Clemson (75-42). It is the first time in history Maine has picked up back-to-back 30+ point victories. Most recently, the Black Bears knocked off ACC foe Clemson. In that win, Sigi Koizar tallied a game-high 25 points in 9-for-13 shooting. Liz Wood added her 20th career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds while Sophie Weckstrom added 15 points. Maine has now defeated two opponents from power conferences for the first time since is defeated Wake Forest and Rutgers
Koizar leads the Black Bears attack, ranking third in the league at 17.6 points per game. Koizar, who has tallied 20+ points in four games this season and tallied double-figure efforts in 12 of Maine's 13 games, leads the America East with 229 total points and is 11th in the country with 81 made field goals. Koizar leads the league from 3-point range (47.8%) and ranks seventh at 3.9 assists. Liz Wood is adding 9.8 points and ranks sixth in the America East at 7.7 rebounds per game. Wood, shooting 44.2% from the floor, is second in the league at 2.9 steals per game and ranks fourth nationally with 38 total steals. Mikaela Gustafsson is averaging 8.4 points and ranks fourth in the league with a 51.8% mark from the floor.
Maine's defense ranks 20th nationally and tops in the America East, allowing just 51.9 points per game. Maine has now held 10 opponents under 60 points and have held six under 50, including LSU and Clemson. Maine's last three opponents are averaging 40.3 points per game. The Black Bears rank 19th in the country with 115 steals, averaging 8.8 points per game. Offensively, Maine is averaging 62.6 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the floor, 32.1% from 3-point range and 69.2% from the free throw line. Maine ranks third in the nation with 212 assists and leads the America East in assist/turnover ratio (1.23) and assists per game (16.3).
SCOUTING PURDUE:
Purdue has won three-straight including a most recent 73-63 victory over Ball State. The Boilermakers are 5-1 at home with the lone loss coming against Boston College (58-56). Purdue is led by senior April Wilson who is averaging 15.1 points and a team-high 5.5 assists. Junior Ashley Morrissette is adding 12.6 points and 3.9 rebounds while junior Bridget Perry is averaging 11.1 points anda team-leading 6.4 rebounds. The Boilermarkers, who are receiving votes in the AP poll, have held nine of their opponents to 60 points or less. Purdue ranks fifth in the nation from the free throw line (77.9%) and are shooting 43.2% from the floor and 37.3% from the 3-point line. Purdue, averaging 68.0 points per game, are adding 14.9 assists and 36.5 rebounds.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE SERIES:
This will be the first ever meeting between Maine and Purdue. The Black Bears are 4-11 all-time against current Big 10 member schools. Maine is 0-1 this season against the Big 10 after a 91-64 loss at Minnesota on Nov. 20. Maine's last win over a school from the Big 10 came in 1999 when it defeated Northwestern 66-50. Purdue head coach Sharon Versyp was the head coach at Maine from 2000-05. Versyp went 98-51 with the Black Bears and led the team to the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
Illinois 0-1
Indiana 0-2
Iowa 0-0
Michigan 1-1
Michigan St. 0-1
Minnesota 0-2
Maryland 0-0
Nebraska 1-0
Northwestern 1-0
Ohio St. 0-1
Penn State 0-1
Purdue 0-0
Rutgers 1-1
Wisconsin 0-1
HOME COOKING
The Black Bears, who are 4-0 this season at home, have won 11-straight home games dating back to last season and are 17-2 at Cross Insurance Center since the start of 2014-15.
HISTORIC ACC DEFEAT:
On Dec. 18, the Black Bears defeated Clemson 75-42. The 33 point victory over the Tigers marked the largest margin of victory for any America East team over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent.
BACK-TO-BACK 30+:
Last time out, Maine defeated Bryant by a score of 76-38. The margin of victory showed the Black Bears doubling-up Bryant and winning by 38. The 38 point margin of defeat was Maine's largest over a Division I opponent since is defeated Drexel by a score of 110-68 (42) on March 5, 1997. Maine follow up that win by defeating Clemson by 33. It marked the first time ever that Maine defeated back-to-back opponents by 30+.
NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS:
The Black Bears have racked up nine non-conference wins thus far. Maine also won nine non-conference games last year which was the first time doing so until 1990-91.
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