Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team, currently mired in its first two-game losing streak since December of last season, looks to bounce back when it meets North Carolina A&T on day one of the 2018 Navy Classic. Maine will be making its first appearance at the Classic in Annapolis since 2011.
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LAST TIME OUT:
The University of Maine women's basketball team dropped to 2-2 on the year following a 70-39 loss at Green Bay on Tuesday evening. The Black Bears, who trailed by six after the second quarter, were outscored 46-21 in the second half.
Blanca Millan paced Maine's scoring with 11 points, her fourth-straight game in double-digits.
Tanesha Sutton added eight while
Maddy McVicar hit a pair of threes, chipping in seven points off the bench.
Green Bay, who statistically was the top team in the NCAA a year ago in terms of scoring defense, limited Maine to a 14-for-47 night from the field, including a 6-for-29 mark from three-point range. The Phoenix controlled action inside, outrebounding Maine 41-22 while outscoring the Black Bears 36-6 in the paint.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Despite a rough shooting night in Green Bay, Maine still checks in third in the America East with a 42.4-percent mark from the floor. The Black Bears are averaging 62.2 points per game and looking to move to 2-1 on the road early in the non-conference slate. Individually,
Blanca Millan leads Maine's scoring efforts as she currently sits atop the America East at 19.3 points per game. Millan, who has tallied double-digits in each of Maine's first four contests, ranks 66th in the nation in scoring average. Millan continues to climb the all-time steal charts at Maine, currently sitting just nine steals out of 10th all-time. Millan's 39 attempts from 3-point range are 13th highest among NCAA leaders while her 36.5 minutes per game check in second most in the America East.
Tanesha Sutton is adding 11.3 points and 5.5 rebounds through her first four games. Sutton, Maine's leader in rebounding a year ago, is shooting 47.6 percent from the floor, good for fifth in the America East.
Fanny Wadling, who missed action at Green Bay, has had a impressive start to the season. Wadling is averaging 11.0 points and leads the America East in both rebounding (8.7) and field goal percentage (62.5).
Dor Saar is contributing 9.3 points and ranks third in the America East at 4.0 assists per game. Saar tallied five assists in Maine's first three contests and ranks second in the league with a 38.5-percent showing from three-point range.
As a unit, the Black Bears have done a good job in the early going taking care of the ball. Maine is averaging just 13.0 turnovers per game, good for 31st in the nation and second in the America East.
A LOOK AT NORTH CAROLINA A&T:
The Aggies, coming off an impressive 2017-18 campaign which saw them finished with a 23-9 overall mark after going 15-1 in Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) play and capturing the MEAC crown before falling in the first-round of the NCAA Tournament to South Carolina, 63-52, have begun this season 1-3. In its most recent outing, NC A&T suffered a 67-57 loss at Virginia. The Aggies, selected atop the MEAC preseason coaches' poll to start the year, return their leading scorer from a year ago in C'Coriea Foy. Foy has led the Aggies in scoring in two of their first four games and enters play averaging 13.7 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 31.6-percen from 3-point range. Alexus Lessears, the Aggies' leading rebounder from a year ago, is adding 9.3 points and a team-best 7.0 boards through four games.
In all, the Aggies have struggled to score in the early going as they rank 311th in the nation at 55.0 points per game.
A LOOK AT PENN:
The Quakers are off to a 3-1 start to the season with wins over Siena, Saint Joseph's and NJIT. Penn's only loss this season came at No. 1 Notre Dame, a 75-55 decision. Last season, Penn went 22-9 and 11-3 in the IVY. Penn fell to Princeton in the Ivy League Championship and went on to defeat UAlbany in the first round of the WNIT before falling at St. John's in the second round.
Penn, selected second in the Ivy League preseason poll, is led by Ashley Russell. Entering the Navy Classic, Russell leads the Quakers in points per game (14.0), rebounds per game (6.5) and assists (3.3). Last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Eleah Parker, is adding 9.8 points and 6.3 rebounds.
Penn's early season strength has been its rebounding where it leads the Ivy League and ranks 71st nationally with 43.5 rebounds per game. Defensivly, Penn currently leads the league at 53.3 points allowed, good for 53rd best in the nation.
SERIES WITH NORTH CAROLINA A&T:
Maine and North Carolina A&T will meet for just the second time in history. The two teams first met back on Dec. 29, 2005 in the consolation round of the Miami Holiday Classic, hosted at the University of Miami. The Black Bears captured the victory in 2005 by a final of 78-68.
Maine is 3-0 all-time against MEAC member schools. The Black Bears defeated Delaware State in 1989 (86-33) before taking down Maryland Eastern Shore in 1993 (79-44).
SERIES WITH PENN:
Maine and Penn will square off for the first time in history and first since a 2010 match-up. In that meeting on Dec. 10, the Black Bears dropped a 69-48 decision on the road to the Quakers. Maine has a long history with the Ivy League as it will be playing its 54th game against an Ivy League member school. Maine is 36-17 all-time against the Ivy League. Maine's contest with Penn will be the first of three this season with the Ivy League (Harvard, Brown). Maine will play three of its next four against the Ivy League.
MILLAN DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK:
Blanca Millan has tallied double-digits in each of Maine's first four contests this season, including back-to-back 20+ point efforts against Bryant (23) and #20 Duke (25). Dating back to last season, Millan has posted double-digit scoring totals in 35 of her last 36. In all, Millan has finished in double-digits in 51 of her 71 career contests. Millan, averaging 13.3 points per game in her career, currently sits seventh all-time in points per game during her time at Maine.
MILLAN CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME STEALS CHART:
Millan has tallied 167 steals over her time at UMaine. Currently, Millan's steals total ranks her 11th on Maine's all-time steals list. Millan needs nine more steals to tie Kim Corbitt for 10th all-time (176).
SUTTON ON THE BOARDS:
During the 2017-18 campaign, Sutton led the Black Bears in rebounding and ranked fourth among America East leaders at 6.9 rebounds per game. Currently, Sutton stands just 66 career boards away from 500 in her career. Taking a look at Maine's all-time rebounding standings, Sutton is 118 boards behind Ashley Roberts for 20th all-time (552).
WADLING OFF TO A HOT START:
Fanny Wadling, who entered the season with career averages of 5.7 points per game and 4.6 rebounds, has nearly doubled each of those totals in the early going. Wadling is averaging 11.0 points per game and an America East leading 8.7 rebounds. Against Bryant, Wadling tallied her second career double-double with 16 points and 10 boards in just 22-minutes of action.
INTERNATIONAL VIBE:
As has been the norm over the last few seasons for the Black Bears, Maine features numerous players from around the globe on its roster including players from Turkey (Alper); Israel (Saar); Spain (Millan), Germany (Barra), Slovakia (Bolozova) and Sweden (Wadling).
ANNE SIMON SIGNS NLI:
On Nov. 21, it was announced that Anne Simon signed her National Letter of Intent to join the Black Bears for the 2019-20 season. Simon, a 5'8" guard from Sandweiler, Luxembourg, was a three-year captain for her Luxembourg National Team. Simon averaged 16.4 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists at the 2018 European Championship. During her career at the National Team level, Simon has averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
-UMaine-
