Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (11-8, 4-2 America East) will look for its third consecutive victory when it travels to New Hampshire (14-5, 5-1) to take on the preseason favorite Wildcats on Wednesday evening live on ESPN3 at 7 p.m. Maine and UNH will be meeting for the first time since the Black Bears knocked No. 1 New Hampshire out of last year's America East tournament in semifinal action.
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A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears are coming off their bye weekend after most recently picking up a convincing road win at Hartford, 59-44, to move to 4-2 in the league and extend their win streak to two games. Maine showcased an impressive defensive effort at Hartford in which it limited the Hawks to a season-low 44 points while forcing 19 turnovers and outscoring Hartford 19-5 in points off turnovers.
Blanca Millan led Maine in scoring for the ninth consecutive game after finishing with 15 points and five boards.
Tanesha Sutton added 14 points, four rebounds and four steals while
Dor Saar chipped in 10 points. Maine also held a 17-4 advantage in offensive rebounding which led to a 21-5 advantage in second chance points.
Millan, the reigning America East Player of the Week, has posted double-digit scoring efforts in each of her last 18 games and enters play fourth in the league at 17.7 points per game. Millan, who is two games removed from tallying her third double-double (23 pts/10 rebs) of the season, has recorded seven 20+ scoring outputs this season. Millan has posted impressive shooting numbers as she ranks fourth in the league from three-point range (34.5) and fifth overall from the floor (47.7). The sophmore guard has also been magnificent on the defensive end. Millan, who has recorded a steal in 25-straight games, leads the league in steals per game (2.7) and ranks 35th nationally with 52 total takeaways.
Tanesha Sutton, averaging 10.4 points per game, leads Maine in rebounding (6.8) and assists (3.1); checking in fourth and seventh in the America East in those categories, respectively. Sutton, who has recorded six or more boards in 13 contests, ranks 10th in the league with a 44.8 field goal mark and is tied for fifth at 2.1 steals per game.
Julie Brosseau is chipping in 11.9 points and ranks fourth among league leaders with 2.2 three-point field goals per game.
Dor Saar, the current America East Rookie of the Week, has posted three-straight double-figure scoring totals.
Maine, which ranks fourth in the league in scoring (64.3), continues to climb in the defensive scoring rankings. The Black Bears now rank second in the league, to New Hampshire, and 39th nationally as they're allowing just 57.8 points per game. Maine has held three of its last four opponents to 55 or fewer points. Maine ranks third in the league from the floor (40.7), fourth from three-point range (31.0) and is the league's leader at 15.2 assists per game. The Black Bears' offensive success has come largely from beyond the three-point arc as they enter averaging a league-best 7.8 three-point field goals per game.
SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE:
The Wildcats were selected as the America East preseason favorites and enter play a perfect 7-0 on their home court. UNH has won four-straight after narrowly outlasting Stony Brook, 51-50, on Sunday afternoon thanks to Carlie Pogue's bucket with just two seconds remaining. New Hampshire can credit a large amount of its success to its defense as it leads the America East and ranks 14th nationally allowing just 55.1 points per game. Carlie Pogue (14.7 ppg) leads four Wildcats who are averaging double-figures. Pogue, who ranks sixth in the league in scoring, checks in 12th among league leaders with 5.9 rebounds. Olivia Healy is adding 12.9 points and 5.9 rebounds while Kat Fogarty checks in with 11.9 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds. The Wildcats have been impressive with their ball security this season, ranking 26th nationally and tops in the league with just 12.9 turnovers per game.
A GLIMPSE INTO THE NEW HAMPSHIRE SERIES:
Maine and New Hampshire, the league's top two defensive teams in terms of points allowed per game, will meet for the 88th time. The Black Bears enter play with a 52-35 advantage in the series include a 61-52 victory a year ago in the America East Championship semifinal round. Dating back to 1985, Maine is 18-15 on the road against the Wildcats. The teams have split the last four contests with UNH capturing a 50-44 victory in the teams' last meeting in Durham (1/19/17). The two teams first met in 1920, a 15-13 victory by the Wildcats.
Blanca Millan has tallied double-digits in two of her three games against UNH.
BLACK BEARS SWEEP AE WEEKLY AWARDS
On Jan. 22, it was announced that
Blanca Millan (Player of the Week) and
Dor Saar (Rookie of the Week) had combined to sweep the America East weekly awards. Millan, who earned her first Player of the Week honor, averaged 19.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in two Maine wins. The sophomore notched her third double-double of the year (23 pts/10 rebs) against Vermont to highlight the week.
Dor Saar, who earned her first weekly accolade, posted double-digits in each of Maine's games, ending the week averaging 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists with a 57.1-percent showing from three-point range.
LEADING THE WAY
Blanca Millan has led the Black Bears in scoring in each of the last nine games. Over that span, Millan is averaging 18.2 points and 6.2 rebounds while shooting 44.2% to go along with 21 steals. Millan began conference play with back-to-back 20+ scoring efforts in is averaging 19.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds in league play.
TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
Maine has limited its turnovers to single digits in each of its last two outings. In its win over Vermont, Maine had just four turnovers. It was the least amount of turnovers for the Black Bears in a single game dating back to the 1987 season.
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