Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (6-5) takes on its second-straight ranked opponent when it travels to No. 14/14 Duke (8-2) for a Tuesday evening meeting on the ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m. Maine, making its second-ever trip to Duke, will meet the Blue Devils for the first time since 2009.
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A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears face a quick turn around after dropping an 83-43 decision at No. 5/3 Mississippi State on Sunday afternoon.
Blanca Millan led Maine with a team-high 13 points against the National Championship runners-up from a year ago. Freshman Dor Saar added eight points off the bench while
Parise Rossignol and
Fanny Wadling each chipped in seven. The Bulldogs distanced themselves after ending the first half on a 31-8 run.
Millan leads the Black Bears, ranking fourth in the conference at 16.9 points per game. After her 13 point effort at Mississippi State, Millan has now tallied double-digits in each of Maine's last 10 outings. Millan has contributed to Maine's impressive 3-point shooting in the early going as she leads the league at 42.6-percent from beyond the arc. Defensively, Millan ranks 21st nationally with 33 steals, averaging an America East leading 3.0 per game. Sophomore
Julie Brosseau is adding 12.4 points. Brosseau is fourth in the league from beyond the arc (33.8) while her 25 overall triples is second-best in the conference.
Tanesha Sutton rounds out Maine's double-digit scorers at 10.9 points per game. Sutton leads Maine in rebounding (7.2) and assists (3.2).
As a team, Maine's offense checks in second in the conference as it enters action averaging 68.6 points per game while allowing 59.2 points. Maine leads the America East in a number of 3-point categories including three-point field goals made (94), three-point field goals made per game (8.5) and three-point attempts (282), checking in second in the league with a 33.3 percent mark from beyond the arc. Maine also is the America East leader in overall field goal percentage (42.8) as well as assists (16.5).
SCOUTING DUKE:
The Blue Devils are a perfect 6-0 at home and currently riding a two-game win streak after a convincing, 101-30 victory over Winthrop back on Dec. 10. Lexie Brown leads the way, averaging 20.0 points with an impressive 52.2 percent mark from the floor. As well as she scores it, she also distributes it as she ranks fifth in the ACC at 5.2 assists per game. Preseason All-American Rebecca Greenwell, who missed Duke's last game, enters just two treys short of the all-time Duke record. Greenwell is averaging 14.8 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 45.1-percent from 3-point range. Leonna Odom is adding 10.3 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds while Erin Mathias is adding 10.0 points.
Duke is averaging 74.8 points while giving up 55.2. The Blue Devils have posted incredible shooting marks as they rank 12th in the country from 3-point range (40.5) and 14th in overall field goal percentage (48.3). Duke has been impressive in its ball security, turning it over just 13.7 times which is second-lowest in the ACC.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE DUKE SERIES:
Maine and Duke will meet for the third time in history and the first since 2009. The Blue Devils are 2-0 all-time against Maine, including a most recent 75-34 victory over the Black Bears back on Dec. 21, 2009. Duke also won the only meeting in Durham, a 98-31 victory in Maine's regular season opener on Nov. 16, 2008.
Duke head coach Joanne P. McCallie spent eight years as the head coach at Maine. During her time with the Black Bears, McCallie went 167-73 while guiding Maine to six-straight NCAA tournament appearances. McCallie also coached current UMaine interim head coach
Amy Vachon during Vachon's time with the Black Bears.
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