Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team is back in action on Saturday at noon when it travels to meet Northeastern in a battle between two of the top mid-major programs in the country. In the latest College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, Maine checks in at No. 15 while Northeastern is ranked tenth. Maine, winners of five of its last six, look to improve to 6-2 away from its home court this season.
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Tale of the Tape
| Maine |
Category |
Northeastern |
| 7-3/0-0 |
Record/Conference |
9-1/0-0 |
| 65.4 |
Points Per Game |
68.6 |
| 66.3 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
59.6 |
| -0.9 |
Scoring Margin |
+9.0 |
| 40.7 |
Field Goal Percentage |
41.8 |
| 31.7 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
38.0 |
| 66.9 |
Free Throw |
73.8 |
| 31.2 |
Rebounds Per Game |
40.1 |
| -7.9 |
Rebound Margin |
+5.4 |
| 16.0 |
Assists Per Game |
15.8 |
| 11.8 |
Turnovers Per Game |
16.7 |
| 2.6 |
Blocks Per Game |
1.3 |
| 8.8 |
Steals Per Game |
5.5 |
LAST TIME OUT:
The University of Maine women's basketball team dropped to 7-3 on the year following an 84-46 loss at No. 10 North Carolina State last Saturday.
Kelly Fogarty paced Maine's scoring with 13 points.
Parise Rossignol added 10 while
Blanca Millan,
Tanesha Sutton, and
Maeve Carroll all finished with six points. North Carolina State, who entered the game ranked #10 in the nation, limited Maine to a 17-for-63 night from the field, including a 10-for-41 mark from three-point range. The Wolfpack controlled action inside, out-rebounding Maine 50-26 while outscoring the Black Bears 40-2 in the paint.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears, who matched their best start since 1997-98 with a 7-2 mark in their first nine, continue to do a fantastic job taking care of the ball on the offensive end. Maine ranks ninth in the nation, averaging just 11.8 turnovers as a team while turning in a 1.36 assist-turnover ratio, good for 13th nationally. In six of their first 10 games, Maine has turned the ball over just 11 times or fewer, including three single-digit turnover performances. Maine's 118 total turnovers are the 21st fewest in the nation. On offense, Maine ranks second in the America East at 65.4 points per game. A large part of the Maine offense comes from beyond the arc, where Maine leads the conference and ranks 25th nationally at 9.1 three-point field goals per game. Defensively, the Black Bears are allowing 66.3 points per game and rank third in the league with 8.8 steals per game.
Blanca Millan leads the America East in scoring at 18.8 points per game. Her 73 field goals are 29th best in the nation as she is shooting 42.2-percent from the floor through 10 games. Millan ranks third among league leaders in three-point field goals per game (2.6). Defensively, Millan ranks 25th nationally and atop the America East at 3.2 steals per game.
Tanesha Sutton ranks ninth in the America East in scoring (13.0) and leads the Black Bears with a league third-best 6.9 rebounds, pulling down 10 a game ago against No. 10 NC State. Sutton joins Millan in the top-10 of the league in steals, checking in eighth best at 1.8 per game.
Parise Rossignol rounds out Maine's double-digit scoring attackers at 10.6 points per game to go along with 4.8 rebounds. Her 2.0 three-point field goals per game rank seventh among America East leaders.
Dor Saar gets the offense moving, helping Maine to a league runner-up 16.0 assists per game. Saar is second in the conference in helps, averaging 5.7 per game while ranking 22nd in the league at 8.2 points per game.
A LOOK AT NORTHEASTERN:
After beginning the season with their best start in school history (9-0), the Huskies were recently handed their first defeat with a 90-84 decision at Marist on Tuesday evening. Jess Genco, Northeastern's leading scorer, matched the school-record when she knocked down her 245th career three-point field goal at Marist, finishing the game with a team-high 30 points. The Huskies tout an impressive defense, ranking 42nd nationally and runner-up in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in scoring defense, allowing just 56.2 points per game. Northeastern has held opponents to a 35.0-percent mark from the floor, 37th best in the nation. The Huskies, averaging 66.9 points per game, check in second in the CAA in three-point percentage (37.7) and three-point field goals per game (7.7).
Genco is Northeastern's top offensive threat, checking in at 18.7 points per game. Genco's shooting has been impressive in the early going, shooting 41.4-percent (36-87) from three-point range, 43.2-percent from the floor overall and a 92.5-percent mark from the charity stripe. Shannon Todd, a York, Maine native, is adding 10.4 points while Gabby Giacone is averaging 9.3 points and team best 6.4 rebounds.
SERIES WITH NORTHEASTERN:
Maine and Northeastern have a storied history as each were conference foes in the Seaboard Conference, the North Atlantic Conference and, most recently up until 2004-05, the America East conference. The teams will meet for the 58th time in history. Maine is 35-22 all-time against Northeastern and will be taking on the Huskies for the first time since 2016. The teams have split each of the last five meetings, with Maine taking the most recent contest, 68-49 back on Dec. 7, 2016. The Black Bears will be looking for their first win on the road at Northeastern since 2005. Maine enters play 15-7 all-time at Northeastern in the series. The two teams have met seven times in postseason play, with Northeastern holding a slight 3-4 record in conference postseason action. Maine defeated Northeastern, 70-59 to capture the 1995 North Atlantic Conference championship. The first-ever meeting between the two squads took place in 1977, a 57-40 win by the Huskies.
SEASON NOTES:
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL - No. 15 (12/18/18)
The Black Bears have been ranked in every edition of the College Insider Mid-Major Poll this season. Following a five-game win streak, Maine peaked in the poll at No. 12 on Dec. 5, hanging strong at the position for two-straight weeks. The Black Bears have been the highest ranking America East school in the poll this season and are currently the only America East school ranked in the latest edition of the poll, released on Dec. 18.
TO BE THE BEST, YOU'VE GOT TO BEAT THE BEST
The Black Bears have challenged themselves with one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Through its first 10 games, Maine currently has gone up against the 78th toughest schedule in the nation. Maine's competition is currently posting a 0.604 win percentage (61-40). Maine's schedule of schedule mark ranks it 55 spots against the next toughest schedule for an America East team, with Binghamton checking in a 133. Even more impressive is Maine's rating percentage index (RPI) which currently sits at 37 nationally. RPI is used to rank teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule.
TURNOVER EFFICIENCY
Maine has been extremely impressive with its ball control this season. The Black Bears currently rank ninth in the nation, averaging just 11.8 turnovers per game as a team. Maine's 1.36 assist-turnover ratio is 13th best among the nation's leaders. In six of its 10 games, Maine has turned the ball over just 11 times or fewer, with three of those performances ending with single-digit turnover totals.
A SCORING EFFORT FOR THE RECORD BOOKS
On Dec. 8, 2018, the Black Bears defeated Brown by a 102-96 final in overtime at the Cross Insurance Center. That win marked the highest combined point total for a Black Bear women's basketball game in history (198). It also marked the second time an
Amy Vachon coached team hit the century mark, and the first 100 point effort for Maine against a Division I team since a 110 point effort in 1997 against Drexel.
MILLAN QUICK TO 1,000
On a three-point field goal in the first quarter at Harvard (12/4),
Blanca Millan became the 20th Black Bear in history to reach 1,000 career points. Millan did so in her 75th career game, making her the seventh fastest in UMaine history to eclipse the mark. Millan is currently 44 points behind Melissa Heon (1,102) for 18th on Maine's all-time scoring list.
MILLAN TALLIES 30, ASSISTED BY SAAR
Blanca Millan poured in a career-best 36 points in Maine's win over Brown. The total marked the first-time a Maine player had bested 30 points in a game since
Sigi Koizar tallied 30 on Feb. 20, 2016. In that same game,
Dor Saar notched a career-high 11 assists - the first time a Black Bear had bested 10 assist sin a game since Koizar's 10 against North Dakota State on Nov. 22, 2015.
RECORD NIGHT IN NORTH CAROLINA
The Black Bears matched an all-time, single-game record for three-point field goals with 16 makes in their win at North Carolina.
STORMING BACK TO WIN THE CLASSIC
In both of its games at the Navy Classic (vs. NC A&T and vs. Penn), Maine trailed both at the half and with five-minutes to go. However, Maine was able to comeback in both games, winning each and capturing the Navy Classic title.
MILLAN DOUBLE-FIGURE STREAK
After starting the season with double-figures in each of Maine's first five games,
Blanca Millan has tallied double-digits in eight of Maine's first nine, including back-to-back 20+ point efforts against Bryant (23) and #20 Duke (25), a 21 point showing at North Carolina and 26 points at Harvard. Millan's season-best effort came in a career-high 36 point showing against Brown. Dating back to last season, Millan has posted double-digit scoring totals in 38 of her last 40. In all, Millan has finished in double-digits in 54 of her 76 career contests.
MILLAN CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME STEALS CHART
Millan has tallied 192 steals over her time at UMaine. Her five steals against Brown moved her ahead of Melissa Heon and into seventh all-time at Maine. Millan currently stands 32 steals away form sixth all-time at Maine (224).
SUTTON ON THE BOARDS
Tanesha Sutton currently leads Maine, ranking third in the conference at 6.9 rebounds per game. Sutton stands just 19 career boards away from 500 in her career. Taking a look at Maine's all-time rebounding standings, Sutton is 71 boards behind Ashley Roberts for 20th all-time (552).
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 27 outings, Maine is 24-1 when holding its opponent to 60 or fewer points. The Black Bears are 32-4 in the Vachon era when limiting teams to 60 or less.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Black Bears have been impressive at home as of late. Maine is 49-6 on its home court in its last 55 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 21-3 at home.
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.
TAPLEY COMPLETES JUNIORS PHASE OF MARINE OFFICER CANDIDATE SCHOOL
In the summer of 2018,
Sierra Tapley completed the Juniors phase of Marine Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Quantico Marine Base in Quantico, Va. Tapley reported to Quantico on May 26 and completed the course on July 6. Tapley plans to complete a six week course next summer known as "Seniors", often described to be more difficult than Juniors due to the advanced physical standards and increased responsibility. Upon completion, she will graduate OCS with a goal of completing a six month period of training known as "The Basic School".
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).
VACHON INDUCTED INTO HALL OF FAME
On Oct. 5, 2018, UMaine women's basketball head coach
Amy Vachon was inducted into the 2018 University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame class. Vachon, who graduated from UMaine in 2000, was a two-time captain for the Black Bears, helping guide Maine to four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Vachon currently still holds the UMaine record for most assists in a single-season (234) and the UMaine and America East record for career assists (759). Vachon was also inducted in the State of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
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