ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team opens America East league play at Vermont on Wednesday at 7 p.m. live on America East TV. The Black Bears will be looking to start league play 1-0 for the second-straight year after winning at Vermont, 62-41, in last season's opener. Maine, which finished league road play 7-1 last year, enters action winners of its last six America East road contests. The Black Bears are 11-9 in America East openers dating back to the league's start in 1996-97.
GAME COVERAGE:
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine looks to snap out of its current losing skid as it opens conference play looking for its third-straight America East regular season title, after winning a share each of the past two season's. Maine, which has now lost three in a row for the first time since Dec. 29, 2013-Jan. 5, 2014; is coming off a 64-53 setback at Boston College. The Black Bears, who at one time trailed BC by 29, were able to claw their way back into the game after outscoring the Eagles 21-6 in the final quarter. Maine featured four-scorers in double-digits.
Fanny Wadling finished with a career-high 11 points and was joined as Maine's high-scorer by
Julie Brosseau.
Blanca Millan chipped in 10 points in 40 minutes while
Isabel Hernandez Pepe came off the bench with a career-high 10 point effort.
Sigi Koizar, who suffered an injury at Boston College, continues to control the offense for Maine. Despite having her seven game double-figure scoring streak snapped against Miami (7 points), Koizar bounced back with a career-high six 3-pointers en route to a 24 point outing at Tulane. Koizar has totaled double-digits in eight of her last 10 outings and has bested 20 points in five of Maine's 14 games. Koizar ranks fourth among America East scoring leaders at 14.0 points per game. The senior is tied for 12th in the league in assists (2.3), seventh from the free throw line (81.3) and eighth in 3-point makes (1.8). Koizar continues to climb the all-time charts at Maine as she stands just 17 points behind former teammate
Liz Wood for seventh in Maine scoring history.
Tanesha Sutton has tallied double-digits in three of her last five and has continued to pad the stat sheet, checking in as Maine's leader in rebounding (5.1) and assists (2.6). Sutton has tallied 5+ assists and 5+ rebounds in a single game on three occasions and ranks third in the league at 49.5% from the floor. A total of 32 of Sutton's boards have came on the offensive end. Freshman
Laia Sole, a three-time America East Rookie of the Week, is averaging 8.4 points and checks in a 42.9% from the field.
Julie Brosseau has hit 27 field goals from 3-point range and is shooting a team-best 38.6% from beyond the arc while averaging 6.3 points. Brosseau has set a career-high with 11 points in Maine's last two outings.
Maine continues to climb back to the upper echelon of defensive rankings that it is used to producing as it is allowing 60.8 points per game, third best in the America East and 111th in the nation. Maine is 7-1 when holding its opponents to 60 points or fewer. The Black Bears are shooting 40.0% from the field, second best in the America East. Maine is shooting 33.7% from 3-point range and rank 72nd in the nation with 94 makes. Part of the reason for that is because they lead the league and rank 30th in the country with 318 attempts from downtown.
The Black Bears have faced one of the most challenging schedules in their history, already playing three teams ranked 11th or higher and five with an RPI inside the top 40. The strength of schedule Maine has played already ranks it 30th in the nation, with the next highest America East team's SOS being Binghamton (60). Maine's RPI currently sits at 77; 73 spots higher than the next America East team (UAlbany - 147).
A LOOK AT VERMONT:
The Catamounts finished non-conference play 3-9 under first-year head coach Chris Day. Vermont has struggled to put up points through its first 12 games of the season, ranking 311th in the nation and last in the America East at 55.7 points per game. The Catamounts are also last in the league from the floor (37.4%) but have been productive inside, ranking third in rebounding (36.8) and second in blocks (4.3). Defensively, the Catamounts are tops in the league in field goal defense (36.2%) and second in 3-point field goal defense (29.6) as team's have struggled to shoot against them. Turnovers have plagued the Catamounts as they're averaging 18.8 give aways per game and sit 333rd nationally with a -6.08 turnover margin. Freshman Hanna Crymble has adjusted well to the college game as she leads Vermont at 10.7 points per game and checks in 12th in the league at 5.5 rebounds per game. Candice Wright is second in AE from the floor (51.5%) and averages 8.7 points and 5.6 rebounds. Â
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH VERMONT:
Maine has met Vermont more than any other team as this will be the 89th contest between the two teams with the Black Bears holding a 55-33 advantage. Maine, which as won each of the last seven meetings, defeated the Catamounts 63-51 on Feb. 3, 2015 in the most recent game.
Sigi Koizar has recorded double-digits in four of her six contests against Vermont, averaging 11.5 points per game in the series. The first meeting in the series came in 1975 when Vermont defeated Maine, 75-71. Dating back to 1985-86, Maine is 17-17 on the road against the Catamounts. Maine has won three-straight at Vermont. Prior to those three meetings, Vermont won eight in a row at home against Maine.
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