ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (12-12, 4-4 America East) goes for its eighth-straight win in its series with UMBC when it meets the Retrievers on Saturday, Feb. 4 at 1 p.m. on ESPN3.

FULL PREVIEW/NOTES

A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Last time out, the Black Bears held Vermont to single digits in two quarters before defeating the Catamounts, 59-43, avenging an earlier conference loss in Vermont. Maine, which outscored Vermont 21-15 in the second and third quarters, were led by Laia Sole (13 pts/10 rbs) and Tanesha Sutton (10 pts/13 rbs) who each tallied their first career double-doubles. Maine's defense, which limited its ninth opponent of the year to 50 points or less, forced Vermont into tough shooting situations, leading to a 9.5-percent (2-for-21) showing for the Catamounts from 3-point range.

With 13 points against Vermont, Sigi Koizar became just the seventh Black Bears in history to eclipse the 1,500 point plateau. Koizar, who has notched double-digits in 13 of her 21 games this season, ranks eighth in the league at 13.0 points per game. Koizar has done a fair amount of her damage from the free throw line where she checks in fourth in the league at 81.0% from the charity stripe. Moving outside, Koizar is seventh in the league with 1.8 makes from 3-point range per game. Laia Sole, who is averaging 9.8 points per game overall, has elevated her game in league play. Sole ranks ninth in the league at 12.1 points per game in league contests to go along with 5.0 rebounds. Fellow freshman Blanca Millan has followed a similar path, averaging 8.8 points overall but checking in 10th among league leaders in conference scoring (12.0). Also in conference action, Millan is shooting 53.2% from the floor and 36.6% (15-for-41) from 3-point range; ranking third and sixth, respectively. Defensively, Millan (1.8 steals) and Anita Kelava (1.0 blocks) have helped lead Maine to one of the best defensive teams in America East. Kelava's 24 blocks are already the most for a Black Bear since current assistant coach Samantha Baranowski recorded 29 back in 2011-12. Tanesha Sutton is averaging 7.4 points and leads the Black Bears in rebounding (5.3), assists (2.8) and field goal percentage (47.0).

Maine, which ranks third in the league in defense allowing 57.9 points per game, have held nine opponents under 50 points. The Black Bears are fourth in the league in blocks (3.2). The Black Bears will look for just their third road victory of the season as they enter 2-10 as the visitor, allowing 62.3 points per game away from their home court.

SCOUTING UMBC:
Since returning senior forward Pandora Wilson from an injury, the Retrievers have won five of their last six and enter coming off from a 53-45 victory over Binghamton. UMBC's lone loss in its last six came in a 60-50 defeat to league-leading New Hampshire. UMBC, who has won four-straight at home, is led by senior all-conference pick Taylor McCarley who ranks fourth in the America East in both scoring (13.7) and assists (4.4). McCarley is the league's leader in steals at 2.2 per game. The Retrievers, averaging 59.1 points per game, feature four double-digit scorers with Wilson (10.7), Laura Castaldo (10.5) and Tyler Moore (10.5) joining McCarley. UMBC ranks second in the league from the free throw line (71.4) and from 3-point range (34.3). Castaldo is UMBC's biggest 3-point threat, ranking second in the conference at 39.8-percent from beyond the arc, just ahead of teammate Moore (37.2), who sits third.

A GLIMPSE INTO THE SERIES:
Maine and UMBC will be meeting for the 28th time, with the Black Bears holding a 16-11 advantage after winning the last seven head-to-head matchups. Maine is 6-7 all time at UMBC and have won three-straight road games in the series. Maine, which has hit 7+ 3-pointers in each of its last seven meetings with UMBC, is outscoring the Retrievers 144-78 over the past two meetings. In each of the last two matchups, Maine has tallied 72 points and have defeated UMBC by 10+ in each of the last seven meetings. The Black Bears have tallied 20+ points in four of their last eight quarters against UMBC. In the latest meeting, Maine defeated UMBC 72-40 behind 17 points from Blanca Millan and 12 by Julie Brosseau. Maine's +32 points win was its largest winning margin of the year to date.

-UMaine-