ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team hosts Dartmouth in what will be Maine's final appearance at Cross Insurance Center in the 2016 calendar year. Today's game, brought to you by Northeast Pain Management, will be the 16th all-time meeting between Maine and Dartmouth. Maine is 21-1 at the Cross Center in its last 22 games.
GAME COVERAGE:
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine looks for its second consecutive home win after cruising to a 68-49 win on Wednesday over Northeastern. In the win, Maine continued to get production from its underclassmen as
Laia Sole led the way with 16 points.
Sigi Koizar chipped in 14, all coming in the first half, with four 3-pointers while freshman
Julie Brosseau added 11. Maine forced 16 Northeastern turnovers, turning the mishaps into a 19-4 margin for points off turnovers. The swarming Maine defense limited the Huskies to a dismal 27.7 percent shooting from the floor.
Koizar continues to rank at the top of Maine's scoring. The senior guard, who recently passed
Liz Wood to move into sixth on Maine's all-time 3-pointer list (148), ranks fifth in the America East at 14.4 points per game. Her 91.3 percent mark from the free throw line is fourth best in the league and 20th nationally. Koizar, who has notched double-digit scoring efforts in each of her last four outings, is averaging 18.3 ppg over that stretch and has knocked down nine 3-pointers in her last two outings. Maine is receiving 71% of its scoring from first-year Black Bears, led by
Laia Sole who is averaging 10.3 points while shooting 42.9% from the floor; the 11th best mark among league leaders. Sole, the two-time America East Rookie of the Week, is adding 3.4 rebounds and a team-high 2.7 assists. Fellow freshman
Blanca Millan is chipping in 7.1 points while transfer guard
Tanesha Sutton is averaging 6.1 points. Sutton, coming off a career-high seven assist outing against Northeastern, is also contributing 4.8 rebounds.Â
Julie Brosseau, who hit a trio of threes against Northeastern, leads Maine at 41.2% from beyond the arc. Freshman
Naira Caceres leads all Maine rebounders at 5.1 pre game.
Maine, which has held two of its last three opponents under 50 points, enters ranked third in the league in defense, allowing 60.0 points per game. Offensively, Maine is averaging 55.6 points and checks in fourth in the league from the free throw line (70.3) and fifth from the field (38.5).
SCOUTING DARTMOUTH:
The Big Green enter action 1-3 in their last four but are coming off a 61-49 win at Boston University on Wednesday evening. Kate Letkewicz led Dartmouth in the victory, posting her second double-double of the season with 17 points and 12 boards.
Letkewicz has led the Big Green in scoring in four of their first eight games and checks in at 12.0 points with a team-high 7.0 rebounds. Letkewicz leads Dartmouth from long-range, hitting at 42.1% from 3-point land. Fanni Szabo is adding 8.6 points and 2.7 rebounds while Isalys Quinones is averaging 8.0 points and 5.3 boards.
Dartmouth is averaging 56.4 points per game while giving up 60.1. The Big Green check in at 35.9% from the floor, 34.6% from 3-point range and 72.5% from the free throw line
A GLIMPSE INTO THE SERIES:
Maine and Dartmouth are meeting for the 16th time as the Black Bears enter with an 11-4 mark in head-to-head action against the Big Green. Maine, which has won four-straight in the series, took the most recent meeting last season by a score of 59-41. In the last two meetings, Maine has outscored Dartmouth 112-79, holding the Big Green to just 38 points in the 2014 meeting. In two games against Dartmouth, Koizar is averaging 17.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists. The Black Bears are 5-2 at home against Dartmouth. The two teams first met on Jan. 3, 1985, a 67-47 win by the Black Bears. Maine is 32-18 all-time against the Ivy League. Earlier this season, Maine dropped a 69-62 decision at Harvard, who is now 8-1.
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