Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team, fresh off a 63-51 victory at Vermont on Wednesday, returns home to host UAlbany in Saturday's matinee at 1 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center. The Black Bears, who have won each of their last three home contests, look to move to 4-0 in conference play. A win today would mark Maine's best start in league play since 2004. With its win at Vermont, Maine has now recorded double-digit win totals in each of the last six seasons.
 

University of Maine (10-6, 3-0 America East) vs. UAlbany (4-11, 1-1)
Date & Time	Saturday, Jan. 12 | 1:00 p.m. | BUY TICKETS HERE
Venue	Cross Insurance Center | Bangor, Maine
Watch	ESPN3 | International Stream
Listen	102.9 WCYR-FM | GoBlackBears.com
Live Stats	UMaine Live Stats
Game Notes	UMaine | UAlbany
Twitter	@BlackBearsWBB | #BlackBearNation | #AEHoops

 

Tale of the Tape

Maine	Category	UALBANY
10-6/3-0	Record/Conference	4-11/1-1
65.6	Points Per Game	50.9
62.8	Opponent Points Per Game	59.3
+27	Scoring Margin	-8.4
41.8	Field Goal Percentage	34.7
31.9	3-Point Field Goal Percentage	27.2
69.0	Free Throw Percentage	58.7
31.6	Rebounds Per Game	36.9
-4.7	Rebound Margin	+0.5
15.3	Assists Per Game	10.8
11.5	Turnovers Per Game	17.5
2.6	Blocks Per Game	3.1
8.3	Steals Per Game	6.3

LAST TIME OUT:
Burlington, Vt. – Tanesha Sutton matched a career-high with 27 points as the Black Bears moved to 3-0 in America East play with a 63-51 at Vermont on Wednesday evening.
 
Maine used a 16-2 run over the final 4:18 to pick up its third consecutive victory.
 
Sutton finished the contest 11-of-16 from the floor, and 5-of-5 from the free throw stripe, for her fourth career 20-plus scoring performance. Blanca Millan joined Sutton in double-digits, tallying 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Parise Rossignol rounded out Maine's double-figure scorers, finishing with 11 points and six boards. For Rossignol, the scoring total marked her third straight game in double-figures.
 
Maine, which entered the evening ranked eighth in the nation in turnovers per game (12.1), gave the ball away just three times. The tally marked Maine's fifth single-digit turnover total performance of the season.
 
The Black Bears had their best free throw shooting night of the year, going 12-of-13 (92.3) from the charity stripe.
 
Sutton and Millan combined for 26 of Maine's 30 first half points.

A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears are off to their best start in league play since 2015 following their win at Vermont. In the victory, Maine used a 16-2 run over the final four minutes to move to 3-0 in America East action. All three of Maine's decisions in league action have been decided by 12 or more, including a 40 point drubbing of UMBC.

Tanesha Sutton matched a career-high with 27 points on 11-of-16 shooting in the victory at Vermont. Sutton, who has tallied double-figures in five of her last six outings, currently ranks fifth in the America East at 14.4 points per game. Sutton leads the Black Bears and ranks third in the league at 7.3 rebounds per game while her 48.4-percent showing from the floor is third-best among league leaders. Blanca Millan, who recently moved into 16th on Maine's all-time scoring list, ranks third in the league at 17.1 points per game. This season, Millan has tallied double-digits in 13 of Maine's 16 contests. Millan also ranks in the top five of the America East in field goal percentage (40.9) and three-point field goals per game (2.1). Defensively, Millan is atop the America East leaderboard at 2.8 steals per game and third in blocks (1.5). Parise Rossignol, the reigning America East Player of the Week, has recorded double-figures in each of her last three games. Rossignol ranks 15th in the league in scoring (10.7) and sixth at 1.9 three-point field goals per game.

Maine, averaging an impressive 71.3 points per game in league play, ranks second overall in scoring at 65.5 ppg. Defensively, the Black Bears are allowing just 47.0 points per game to league foes. The Black Bears, who turned it over just three times at Vermont, enter play with a tremendous trend of success in taking care of the ball, averaging just 11.5 turnovers per game. The 11.5 turnovers rank sixth best in the nation out of 351 Division I teams.

A LOOK AT UALBANY:
The Great Danes, selected fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, are 2-1 in their last three outings but journey to Bangor with a 2-7 mark in road games this season. Under first year head coach, Colleen Mullen, the Great Danes currently rank last in the America East in scoring, and 344 out of 351 Division-I teams (50.9) but second in scoring defense (59.3). UAlbany has struggled shooting the basketball this season, ranking last in the conference in both field goal percentage (34.7) and from the free throw stripe (58.7).

Kyara Frames, who leads the nation in minutes per game (39:01), leads the Great Danes in scoring, checking in eleventh in the America East at 12.2 points per game. Frames ranks fifth best in the league with 2.3 three-point field goals per game and is UAlbany's leader at 2.5 assists per game. Heather Forster leads the America East in rebounding (7.6) to go along with 7.2 points and a 41.8-percent mark from the floor.

SERIES WITH UALBANY:
Maine and UAlbany, who have met in two of the last three America East Championship contests, will square off for the 39th time in history. Maine holds a slim, 20-19, edge in the all-time series after locking up the America East regular season title with a 74-69 overtime victory in last year's regular season finale. Prior to that victory, UAlbany had won three-straight in the series. In Maine's championship clinching win, the Black Bears completed a 16-point comeback behind a 27-point effort from Sutton. Maine trailed by 16 with 4:11 left in the third, outscored UAlbany 31-15 down the stretch before holding the Danes without a field goal in overtime. Since the series began in 2001, Maine is 9-6 all-time at home against UAlbany.

Millan has tallied double-digits in four of her five contests against the Great Danes and enters action averaging 13.8 points per game in the series. Sutton, who has recorded three double-digit showings in four outings with UAlbany, is averaging 13.3 points all-time against the Great Danes while Fanny Wadling checks in at 10.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in the series. Dor Saar recorded 11 points in each of her two games a year ago with UAlbany.

SEASON NOTES:
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL - No. 22 (1/8/19)
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 Jan. 8. Maine currently sits at No. 22 in the most up to date poll.

TO BE THE BEST, YOU'VE GOT TO BEAT THE BEST:
The Black Bears challenged themselves with one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Through its first 13 games, Maine had gone up against the 56th toughest schedule in the nation, out of 351 total Division I squads. Maine's rating percentage index (RPI) currently sits at 80 nationally, 10 spots above the next highest America East team, Hartford. RPI is used to rank teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. Maine's 13 non-conference games included contests against 10 teams who appeared in the 2017-18 postseason in one form or another. Currently, five of the teams Maine has played are ranked inside the Top-50 in RPI.


WHAT A START TO LEAGUE PLAY:
Maine has started conference play with a bang. The Black Bears are 3-0 in the league for the first-time since 2015. Maine is averaging 71.3 points per game against league foes while shooting 42-percent from three-point range. Defensively, Maine is holding league opponents to a 47.0 points per game average and has a +24.3 margin. In its second conference game, Maine routed UMBC, 84-44. The 40-point margin of victory marked Maine's largest since 2002 (96-54 vs. Robert Morris) and largest over a conference foe since 1997 (Drexel - 42).

ROSSIGNOL PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Senior guard Parise Rossignol earned her first-ever America East Player of the Week honor, as announced by the league on Monday, Jan. 7. Rossignol averaged 18.5 points as she helped guide the Black Bears to conference victories over New Hampshire and UMBC. The senior guard shot an impressive 78.9-percent (15-of-19) from the floor, including a 7-for-10 showing from three-point range, over the past week. In Maine's conference opening 67-46 victory over New Hampshire, Rossignol led Maine with an 18 point effort, going 8-for-9 from the floor. Rossignol followed up the effort with 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, in an 84-44 win over UMBC. Rossignol's five three-point field goals against the Retrievers matched her career-high while her 19 points matched the highest scoring output of her career against a league opponent. Rossignol has now recorded double-digit scoring efforts in eight of her last 11 outings.

TURNOVER EFFICIENCY:
Maine has been extremely impressive with its ball control this season. The Black Bears currently rank sixth in the nation, averaging just 11.5 turnovers per game as a team. Maine's 1.33 assist-turnover ratio is 14th best among the nation's leaders. In eight of its 16 games, Maine has turned the ball over just 11 times or fewer, with five of those performances ending with single-digit turnover totals. Maine had a season-low three turnovers in its win at Vermont.

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. With 15 points at Vermont, Millan moved into 16th on Maine's all-time scoring list. She currently stands just 23 points away from passing Bracey Barker for 15th all-time (1,166.

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.

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 13 of Maine's first 16, 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 43 of her last 47. In all, Millan has finished in double-digits in 60 of her 83 career contests.

MILLAN CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME STEALS CHART:
Millan has tallied 200 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 20 steals away from sixth all-time at Maine - a mark held by Cathy Iaconeta (224).

SUTTON ON THE BOARDS:
Tanesha Sutton currently leads Maine, and ranks third in the conference, at 7.3 rebounds per game. On Dec. 30 against Chattanooga, Sutton tallied her eighth career double-double, also tallying her 500th career rebound along the way. Taking a look at Maine's all-time rebounding standings, Sutton is 24 boards behind Ashleigh Roberts for 20th all-time (552).

DEFENSE = VICTORY:
Over the past two years, Maine is 27-1 when holding its opponent to 60 or fewer points. The Black Bears are 35-4 in the Vachon era when limiting teams to 60 or less. This season, Maine is holding league opponents to just 47.0 points per game in America East play.

HOME SWEET HOME:
The Black Bears have been impressive at home as of late. Maine is 51-6 on its home court in its last 57 outings, including a 32-3 mark in America East play over the past 35 league contests. The home mark includes a 21-game win streak, including a 13-0 home record in 2015-16. Under Coach Vachon, the Black Bears are 23-3 at home.

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.

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 COMPLETE 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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