ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team hosts UMBC in its America East home opener on Saturday at noon at the Cross Insurance Center! The Black Bears enter play 13-7 in America East home openers dating back to the conference's inaugural year in 1996-97.

GETTIN' SIGI WITH IT:
The first 2,000 people through the doors on Saturday will receive a 'Gettin Sigi With It' t-shirt!



A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine looks to climb out of its current losing skid as it has dropped four in a row for the first time since the 2012-13 season. Most recently, Maine opened America East play with a 55-52 loss at Vermont. In the loss, Maine's first against the Catamounts in the two team's last eight meetings, freshman Laia Sole poured in a career-high 21 points to lead the Black Bears. Julie Brosseau knocked down five 3-pointers, also setting a career-high with 15 points. Maine, which trailed by 11 at one point, clawed its way back into the game and had two chances late to tie or win but failed to hit the shot.

Sigi Koizar, who had played 90-straight games for Maine entering action at Vermont, was forced to miss the conference opener with an injury sustained at Boston College. Koizar currently leads the Black Bears in scoring, averaging 14.0 points per game which ranks her third among America East league leaders. Freshman Laia Sole, coming off a career-high 21 point effort at Vermont, has tallied double-digit scoring performances in seven games so far. Sole, a three-time America East rookie of the week, is averaging 9.2 points, finishing at a high-level at 44.6%, seventh best in the league. Julie Brosseau has recorded double-figure scoring performances in each of her last four outings, including setting and matching career-highs in each of her last three games. At Vermont, Brosseau knocked down five 3-pointers, finishing with a career-high 15 points. The freshman sharp-shooter has proven to be Maine's threat from downtown, ranking sixth in the league with 32 field goals from beyond the arc and 10th in 3-point percentage (39.5). Tanesha Sutton is averaging 6.8 points and leads the Black Bears in rebounding (5.1), assists (2.6) and field goal percentage (47.9). A total of 33 of her 82 rebounds have come on the offensive end.

Defensively, Maine continues to show progress back to its high-level of a year ago. The Black Bears are holding opponents to 60.4 points per game and have limited eight teams to under 60. Maine continues to hit at a high-percentage (39.9) from the floor, ranking third in the league.

SCOUTING UMBC:
The Retrievers won three of their final four non-conference games but most recently dropped their America East opener, 69-62, at Binghamton. Freshman Te'yJah Oliver led the way at Binghamton with a career-high 26 points and has now tallied double-digits in each of her last two outings.

UMBC, which opened the season with a pair of wins before suffering through a 7-game losing skid, features four scorers who are averaging double-figures, led by senior Taylor McCarley (12.1). McCarley also leads the Retrievers in assists (3.7) while hitting at a 44.8% from the floor. Freshman Tyler Moore is adding 10.9 points while senior Pandora Wilson (10.2) and junior Laura Castaldo (10.1) round out the double-digit scorers.

As a team, UMBC averages 57.6 points per game while giving up 63.6. The Retrievers rank second in America East from outside, shooting 35.9% from beyond the arc but do not defend the three well, ranking eighth at 36.4%.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE SERIES:
Maine and UMBC are meeting for the 27th time with the Black Bears holding a 15-11 advantage. Maine, which has won six-straight in the series, took the most recent meeting by a score of 72-38 a year ago at UMBC. In the most recent home meeting, Maine defeated UMBC, 65-55. The Black Bears are 8-3 all-time when hosting UMBC. In six meetings with UMBC, Koizar has scored in double-digits on four occasions and is averaging 9.8 points against UMBC.

-UMaine-