Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team, off to its best start since 2013, looks to move to 3-0 when it welcomes #--/20 Duke to the Cross Insurance Center for Thursday evening's contest. Maine, in search of its first-ever victory over Duke, meets the Blue Devils for the fourth time in history and the second-time in as many seasons after a visit to Cameron Indoor Stadium a year ago.
Single game tickets are available online at
TicketMaster.com or for purchase by visiting the Cross Insurance Center box office during normal operating hours. Season memberships and group tickets may be purchased through the University of Maine ticket office by phone at 207.581.BEAR or in-person at the Black Bears' box office, located at Alfond Arena.
A special ceremony will take place prior to Thursday's game in which the Black Bears will take a moment to honor the memory of Stacey Porrini Clingan who
passed away on March 27, 2018 following a battle with cancer. Porrini Clingan graduated from UMaine in 1997 with a degree in elementary education.
On the court, Porinni Clingan left her name all over the UMaine record books. Porinni Clingan ranks 17th on Maine's all-time scoring list (1,128), fifth in rebounding (929), and still holds UMaine record's for blocks in a single game (7) and, along with Jamie Cassidy, blocks in a single season (79). In all, Porinni Clingan was a key threat in the paint for the Black Bears as she recorded 185 blocks over her 117 game career.
Porinni Clingan did whatever her team needed her to do. She was on the first UMaine women's basketball team to make it to the NCAA Tournament (1995). After that season, Porinni Clingan helped lead the Black Bears back to the NCAA Tournament each of the next two seasons. A captain in 1997, Porinni Clingan was a three-time all-conference selection, earning a spot on the league's first team in 1997 after a pair of second team honors in 1995 and 1996.
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LAST TIME OUT:
Fanny Wadling tallied her second career double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while two other Black Bears finished with double-figure scoring efforts as the University of Maine women's basketball team (2-0) cruised to a 74-57 victory at Bryant (2-1) on Tuesday evening.
The Black Bears, off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2013, executed well on the offensive end and another impressive defensive effort to pick up their second win of the season.
Blanca Millan poured in a game-high 23 points, the 15th performance of her career in which she's recorded 20 or more points, to go along with nine rebounds and matching a career-high with three blocks.
Tanesha Sutton added 17 points and five rebounds as the Black Bears finished the victory 29-for-59 (49.2%) from the floor.
Defensively, the Black Bears turned 17 Bryant turnovers into 16 points, finishing the night with 11 steals.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The offense has been on display through two contests for Maine this season as the Black Bears have racked up 70+ points in each of its first two outings and enter action averaging 73.5 points per game, tops in the America East. Five Black Bears are averaging double-figuring scoring totals.
Blanca Millan leads the scoring attack as she has tallied double-digits in each of Maine's opening contests while averaging 20.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.0 assists. Millan, who has tallied double-figures in 33 of her last 34 outings, stands 89 points away from 1,000 for her career and enters play as the leading scorer in the America East.
Fanny Wadling, fresh off her second career double-double (16 pts/10 rebs), is adding 13.5 points and a team-best 8.5 rebounds.
Tanesha Sutton is chipping in 11.5 points and 7.0 rebounds while
Parise Rossignol and
Dor Saar each enter play at 10.0 points per game.
Defensively, the Black Bears have forced 15.5 turnovers in their first two games, averaging 9.0 steals per game and limiting the opposition to just 58.0 points per game. Millan has racked up 164 career steals, ranking her 12th all-time in Maine history, just one behind Lauree Gott for 11th.
A LOOK AT DUKE:
The Blue Devils, who were selected fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) preseason poll a year after falling to UConn in the NCAA regional semifinal, dropped their season opener at Northwestern by an 84-58 final. Junior Leaonna Odom led the charge with 14 points and 14 rebounds while freshman Rayah Craig added 13 points in her career debut. Duke turned the ball over 24 times in the contest and shot just 3-of-16 from 3-point range in defeat.
The Blue Devils return just 39.7 percent of its scoring from the 2017-18 season and feature nine freshman and sophomores. Odom, who was recently named to the Naismith Trophy Watch List presented nationally to the player of the year, returns after averaging 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in 2017-18.
Duke is coached by Joanne P. McCallie who served as head coach at UMaine from 1992-2000 where she guided Maine to 167 wins and six NCAA Tournament appearances.
SERIES WITH DUKE:
Maine enters play 0-3 all-time against the Blue Devils after dropping a 69-39 decision at Duke a year ago. In that contest, Millan led all Maine scorers with 16 points while
Tanesha Sutton added nine points, seven rebound and five steals. A bright spot for Maine in defeat was on the defensive end, where it was able to force 19 Blue Devil turnovers. Maine and Duke first met in 2008, a 98-31 Blue Devil victory. The two matched up again a year later and Duke again came out on top, this time by a 75-34 margin in Orono.
Maine is 9-28 all-time against the ACC with its last victory against a school from the conference coming last season when it defeated Boston College, 61-40. The Black Bears will take on three ACC opponents this season; Duke, North Carolina and NC State.
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