MAINE IN THE MIAMI HOLIDAY CLASSIC:

2007

at Miami (W, 54-53)

vs. Toledo (L, 61-57)

2005

vs. Mississippi (L, 72-52)

vs. NC A&T (W, 78-68)

1997

vs. East Carolina (W, 92-70)

at Miami (L, 92-70)

A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine enters Holiday Tournament action coming off its third-straight win and its first true road victory of the season (2-1 in neutral site contests). Maine defeated Bryant 77-52 on Saturday afternoon. The Black Bears, who at one point led by 27, were led by Sigi Koizar who tallied 20 points in the win. Koizar was joined in double-figures by Sutton (12) and Millan (11). The 77 points were the most scored by Maine this season and the most total since an 82 points performance on Dec. 1, 2015. Maine netted a season-high 12 field goals from 3-point range in the win and outscored Bryant 31-6 in points off turnovers after forcing 24 Bryant mishaps.

Koizar has now posted double-figure scoring efforts in each of her last six games and leads Maine at 15.0 points per game. The senior guard, who tallied the 1,400th point of her career at Bryant, moved into eighth on Maine's all-time scoring list and also moved into a tie for fifth on Maine's 3-point field goal list (150). Koizar, who has scored 20+ in three of her last six outings, is averaging 18.0 points over her last six games. Laia Sole, a three-time America East Rookie of the Week, is adding 10.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and leads the Black Bears at 2.6 assists per game. Blanca Millan, who has netted double-digits in each of last two games, is averaging 8.1 points while shooting 35.4% from 3-point range. Tanesha Sutton has been packing the stat line and doing a little bit of everything for Maine. Sutton is posting 6.3 points, leads the team in rebounding (5.4) with 2.5 assists. Sutton is second on the team at 44.8% from the floor and leads the team with 23 offensive rebounds. Julie Brosseau is averaging 5.5 points and leads Maine from downtown at 40.5% (17-for-42).

In its recent games, Maine has been looking like the teams of the past few years with great 3-point shooting and stellar defensive efforts. Maine has hit 37 shots from 3-point range of its last four games (9.3 per game). Defensively, Maine is holding opponents to 58.8 points per game, including holding four of its last five foes under 55. The Black Bears have forced 169 turnovers (15.4 per game) with 78 steals (7.1 per game). Overall, Maine is shooting 40.3% from the floor and 30.5% from 3-point range.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH ETSU:
Maine and East Tennessee State will be meeting for the first time in history. ETSU competes in the SoCon and are led by junior Tiana Tarter who leads the Bucs in several categories including points (20.7), rebounds (5.6) and assists (4.4). Tarter ranks 11th in the country in scoring and in the top-10 in field goals made (6th-85) and free throw makes (10th-54). The Black Bears are 3-1 all-time against SoCon member schools with wins over Mercer, UNC-Greensboro and a 49-39 win earlier this season over UT-Chattanooga. Maine's lone loss against a SoCon team came against Wofford.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH MIAMI:
Maine is 2-1 against Miami, last meeting the Hurricanes in 2007 during a previous trip to the Holiday Tournament. In that game, Maine defeated Miami 54-53 in the opening round of that year's Holiday Tournament. Maine would lose to Toledo, 61-57, in the Championship game. Prior to that meeting, Maine also took part in Miami's Holiday Classic in 1997; dropping a 92-70 decision to the Hurricanes. Maine and Miami first met on Jan. 13, 1988. In that contest, Maine hosted Miami and beat the Hurricanes, 76-56.

ALL-TIME SERIES WITH COPPIN ST.:
Maine and Coppin St. have never met before. The Eagles compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Earlier this season, Maine dropped a 58-49 decision to Hampton; also a MEAC member. The Black Bears are 3-1 against MEAC teams, defeating Delaware St., Maryland Eastern Shore and North Carolina A&T.

-UMaine-