Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (6-4) continues its challenging non-conference stretch when it meets No. 5/3 Mississippi State (10-0),  the defending national champion runners-up, on Sunday at 3 p.m. EST live on SEC Network+ with audio streaming on AM 1230 WGUY and at GoBlackBears.com. Maine will look for its first-ever victory over the Bulldogs in the third meeting between the two teams.

A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears continue road action with the second game of a four-game road swing. Most recently, Maine scored its first road victory of the season with a 64-51 win at Dartmouth. In the victory, Maine featured four double-digit scorers led by Fanny Wadling's career-high 18 points. Parise Rossignol knocked down four 3-pointers en route to a career-best 14 points effort while Tanesha Sutton (13) and Blanca Millan (10) each finished in double-figures. For Millan, it was her ninth-straight double-digit performance and the fifth-straight for Sutton. The Black Bears finished with seven three-point field goals, marking the seventh consecutive game in which they have made six or more triples, and the eighth time in the first 10 games.

Millan leads the way for the Maine offense, ranking fourth in the America East at 17.3 points per game. The sophomore, who is just 35 points from 500 in her career, leads the America East with a 44.0% mark from downtown and is fourth overall from the field (51.4). As impressive as she's been offensively, she has been equally impressive on the defensive end. Millan ranks 19th in the country with 31 steals and is the America East leader at 3.1 steals per game. Tanesha Sutton, averaging 11.4 points per game, is Maine's leader in rebounding (7.6) and assists (3.4), ranking fourth and eighth in the league, respectively. Julie Brosseau is averaging 2.5 three-point field goals per game and rounds out Maine's double-figure scorers, averaging 13.4 per game. Brosseau has made three or more field goals in five of her last six outings, including a Maine record-tying seven at Ohio State.

The Black Bears have the top ranked offense in the America East where they average 71.2 points per game. Maine, which has bested 70 points seven times this season, have also been solid on the defensive end. The Black Bears are tied for second in the league, allowing just 56.8 points per game for a +14.4 scoring margin through the opening 10 contests. Maine is tops in the America East in both three-point percentage (34.7) and field goal percentage (43.6), check in as the America East leader with 17.4 assists per game and are tops in three-point field goals made at 9.1 per game; 23rd best in the nation. Maine ranks in the top 20 nationally in both 3-point field goal's made (91 - 17th) and 3-point attempts (262 - 18th).

SCOUTING MISSISSIPPI STATE:
The Bulldogs have started the season 10-0 after most recently picking up a 90-79 victory over No. 9 Oregon on Wednesday evening. Teaira McCowan led the charge with a career-high 35 points on top of 19 rebounds. Victoria Vivians exploded for 26 second-half points before finishing with a season-best 30.

Vivians leads the way for MSU, ranking 33rd in the nation at 20.1 points per game. McCowan is averaging a double-double with 17.4 points and ranks seventh nationally at 12.3 rebounds per game.

MSU ranks in the top 30 in both scoring offense (83.6) and scoring defense (55.6) in the country, good for the seventh best scoring margin (+28.0) in the country. The Bulldogs check in seven nationally in turnover margin (+8.50), forcing 21.1 per game while turning it over just 12.6 as a unit. Morgan William is the nation's leader in assist/turnover ratio (5.67), averaging 5.1 assists per game.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE MISSISSIPPI STATE SERIES:
Maine and Mississippi State will square off for the third time in history, and the second time in as many years. Maine is looking for its first win against the Bulldogs after suffering an 87-43 setback in last year's UMaine Tipoff Tournament Championship game. In that contest, Julie Brosseau tallied seven points while Tanesha Sutton added six. Maine is 0-1 all-time at Mississippi State, falling in Starkville by an 80-55 final on Dec. 11, 2005.

The Black Bears are 2-19 all-time against the SEC with wins coming against LSU (52-41 / 11/29/15) and Alabama (75-73 / 1/5/95).

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE & RPI:
The Black Bears, who will have played three top-15 ranked teams by the end of December, currently have the 113 toughest schedule, according to the NCAA rankings. Maine's schedule ranks 23 spots ahead of the next closest America East program (Stony Brook - 113). Maine's RPI currently sits at 97 out of 349 Division-I teams. The Black Bears are just eight spots behind the America East RPI leader UAlbany, which ranks 89th.

MILLAN STEALING AND SCORING:
Blanca Millan has been impressive this season on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Millan ranks fourth in the America East at 17.3 points per game. The sophomore is also the league's top threat from 3-point range (44.0) and ranks fourth overall from the field (51.4). Defensively, Millan's 31 steals rank her 19th in the nation and tops in the America East.

SECOND OPPORTUNITY:
Maine has won the second chance points battle in eight of its first 10 games. The Black Bears are outscoring their opponents 116-86 in second chance points. Tanesha Sutton leads Maine and ranks third in the league with 3.5 offensive boards per game (35 total).

-UMaine-