Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team (1-0) takes to the road for the first time in 2018-19 with its ninth meeting with Bryant (2-0) on Tuesday evening at 7 p.m. The Black Bears will be looking to start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2013-14.
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OFF TO A GOOD START:
The Black Bears began the season 1-0 thanks to some superb three-point shooting which helped guide them in a 73-59 season opening win over Toledo. Maine hit an impressive 13 triples in the victory, its most in a single game since a 14 make performance on Jan. 28, 2018 against UMBC.
Blanca Millan led four Black Bears in double-digits with 18 points to go along with six rebounds and a career-high matching six assists.
Parise Rossignol, who hit five triples include four in the first quarter, finished with 15 points while Dor Sar notched a career-best 15 and
Fanny Wadling added 11. The win was Maine's third season opening victory in the last four seasons, but first since 2016.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine returns four of five starters from last year's team which captured both the America East regular season and championship crowns. The title was Maine's league record eighth and its first since 2004. 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. Maine, which earned the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament via winning the America East title, went on to play No. 2 Texas in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament, falling to the Longhorns 83-54. The 2017-18 Black Bears broke the school-record for three-point field goals made (256) and three-point attempts (779), leading the conference in each along with three-point percentage (32.9) and three-point makes per game (7.8). Maine also featured the league's top field goal percentage (42.0) and ranked second in assist rate (14.9). Defensively, the Black Bears were extremely impressive through the year. Maine finished the campaign ranked 24th in the nation, and tops in the America East, in scoring defense as it limited opponents to just 56.6 points per game. The Black Bears held a total of 14 opponents under 50 points. Maine was 19-1 last season when holding opponents to 60 points or less.
A LOOK AT BRYANT:
The Bulldogs, predicted to finish fourth in the Northeast Conference preseason poll, have started the year 2-0 with wins over UMass Lowell (58-57) and Brown (75-57). In the early going, junior Sydney Holloway has set the tone for the Bulldogs as she enters play averaging 22.5 points and 16.5 rebounds while shooting 48.5-percent from the floor. Senior Haley Connors has chipped in 17.0 points while sophomore Hannah Scanlan is adding 10.0 points and 7.5 rebounds. The Bulldogs, averaging 66.5 points per game through their first two, have controlled the boards as they average 46.5 rebounds per game, outrebounding the opposition by a +14.5 margin. Bryant returns 10 of 12 from a year ago, including Holloway who was a 2017-18 First Team All-NEC selection and was also named to the 2018-19 Preseason All-NEC team.
SERIES WITH BRYANT:
Maine and Bryant will meet for the ninth time and also the ninth time in as many years. Maine currently holds a 5-3 edge in the all-time series and have won each of the last three meetings, including a 70-68 overtime victory a year ago in Bangor. Maine is 2-2 on the road against the Bulldogs, winning in its last trip to Bryant, 77-52 back in 2016. The two teams first met in 2010, a 75-66 road victory for the Black Bears. The teams split the first six meetings, before Maine has most recently been able to roll off three-straight wins against Bryant. In two career meetings with the Bulldogs,
Blanca Millan enters play averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds against Bryant.
Tanesha Sutton is also averaging double-figures (11.0) in her two games against the Bulldogs. A year ago, Millan was able to record her first career double-double (26 pts, 11 rebs) to help lead Maine past Bryant in overtime, 70-68.
Dor Saar (12) and Sutton (10) each added double-digits while
Maeve Carroll contributed four points, nine rebounds and four assists off the bench. The game featured 11 ties and eight lead changes. Â
PRESEASON HONORS
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.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Black Bears have been impressive at home as of late. Maine is 48-5 on its home court in its last 53 outings, including a 30-3 mark in America East play over the past 33 league contests. The home mark includes a 21-game win streak, including a 13-0 home record in 2015-16. Last season, Maine went 12-2 at home and averaged 70.1 points per game with a +15.6 scoring margin while averaging 9.1 three-point field goals. In 2017-18,
Blanca Millan averaged 18.7 points while shooting 47.7% and averaging 3.3 steals at home. Under Coach Vachon, the Black Bears are 20-3 at home.
DEFENSE = VICTORY
The Black Bears have prided themselves on the defensive end of the court, leading the America East a year ago with a 56.6 scoring defense. The total ranked 24th in the nation. In its last 21 outings, Maine is 20-1 when holding its opponent to 60 or fewer points. The Black Bears are 28-4 in the Vachon era when limiting teams to 60 or less.
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