ORONO, Maine -- After capturing the 2017-18 America East Championship, the University of Maine women's basketball team has unanimously been selected first in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, as announced on Thursday, Oct. 18 by the league.

Individually, junior Blanca Millan and redshirt senior Tanesha Sutton each were named to the America East preseason all-conference team.

The Black Bears led the way with 64 points and eight first place votes, placing them first in the nine team league. Hartford earned one first place vote and 53 total points as the America East runners-up were slotted tied for second with Stony Brook, who also received 53 points in the poll. UAlbany (39) and Binghamton (34) rounded out the top five. Vermont was slated sixth with 28 points followed by New Hampshire (25), UMBC (19) and UMass Lowell (9).

The poll is voted on by the league's nine head coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams.

Maine returns four of five starters from last year's team which captured both the America East regular season and championship crowns. The 2017-18 Black Bears finished the year 23-10 overall and 13-3 in America East play. Maine will welcome back six of its top seven scorers, led by preseason all-conference selections Millan (17.5 ppg) and Sutton (12.1). Joining the returning nucleus will be 2017-18 America East Rookie of the Year Dor Saar, 2017-18 America East Sixth Player of the Year Parise Rossignol and junior forward Fanny Wadling who started 32 of Maine's 33 games during the championship run.

Millan, a 2018 America East first team selection, garnered numerous honors during the 2017-18 campaign. The junior guard was named the 2018 America East Tournament most outstanding player, earned a spot on the America East all-tournament team and was recognized on the America East all-defensive team. As a sophomore, Millan, a two-time America East player of the week, ranked second in the America East in scoring (17.5), led the league in steals (3.0) and ranked third in three-point percentage (35.4). Her 99 total steals checked in 13th nationally. A scoring force, Millan featured 13 performances in which she tallied 20 or more points to go along with 31 double-digit scoring marks in Maine's 33 games.

Sutton, who was selected to the America East all-conference second team in 2018, averaged 12.1 points per game while leading the Black Bears in rebounding (6.9), tying for the team-lead in assists (2.9) and checked in fourth among America East leaders with a 49.2-percent mark from the field. Throughout her stellar 2017-18 season, Sutton notched 24 double-digit scoring totals and six double-doubles, finishing the year strong with nine-straight double-digit scoring performances including a team-high 16 points in Maine's NCAA Tournament contest at Texas.

The Black Bears host Stonehill in exhibition action at the Cross Insurance Center on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. before officially opening the regular season Nov. 10 against Toledo, also at 1 p.m. Season memberships and single game tickets are on sale now! Reserve your season membership by calling the UMaine ticket office at 207.581.BEAR. For single game tickets, please visit the Cross Insurance box office during regular operating hours or purchase online at TicketMaster.com.

2018-19 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

No.	School	Points (1st Place Votes)
1.	Maine	64 (8)*
T-2	Hartford	53 (1)
T-2	Stony Brook	53
4.	UAlbany	39
5.	Binghamton	34
6.	Vermont	28
7.	New Hampshire	25
8.	UMBC	19
9.	UMass Lowell	9

  -UMaine-