Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine is excited to welcome back two of the greatest teams in UMaine women's basketball history on Jan. 27 as part of an Alumnae Weekend celebration when the Black Bears host Binghamton, presented by Chick-fil-A, at the Cross Insurance Center at noon.

To kickoff the weekend, the Black Bears will host an Alumnae Game on Saturday, Jan. 26 at 2 p.m. in 'The Pit' inside Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of the University of Maine. All fans are encouraged to attend!

A special recognition will be held to welcome back the members of the 1998-99 team which defeated Stanford in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament and players from the 2003-04 team which captured both the America East regular season and tournament titles after going 17-1 in regular season league play.

The 1998-99 team, currently celebrating the 20th anniversary of their legendary season, finished its historic run with a 24-7 overall mark. After going 17-1 in league play, the Black Bears earned an at-large bid and Maine's highest-ever NCAA Tournament seeding, at No. 10, where it would be matched up in the NCAA First Round with No. 7 Stanford. In that NCAA Tournament contest, Martina Tinklova's two free throws with 16.7 seconds remaining put Maine up by a pair. The Black Bears would hold on, winning their first-ever NCAA Tournament game by a final of 60-58. Jamie Cassidy led the Black Bears in scoring that season, racking up 738 total points with an average of 23.8 per game. Cassidy also led Maine in rebounding (262) while Amy Vachon tallied a team-high 234 assists, a mark which still stands atop the America East charts for single-season assist totals. For her efforts, Cassidy was named a WBCA/Kodak District I All-American as well as being named the America East and ECAC Player of the Year while Vachon earned America East All-Conference second team honors.

Currently set to attend from the 1998-99 team is the following: Kelly Bowman Flagg, Andrea Clark, Katie Clark Herbine, Ellen Geraghty, Tracy Guerrette, Chantal Macream, Kristen McCormick, Andrea Pardilla, Martina Tinklova and Vachon.
 

Maine's 2003-04 squad, led by America East Player of the Year Heather Ernest, strung together 15-straight America East victories before finishing league play at 17-1 while racking up 25 overall wins for the second year in a row. Maine's win total matched its third highest in school history. The Black Bears defeated Boston University, 68-43, to earn the America East Tournament Championship. Maine earned the No. 13 seed in the NCAA Tournament where it would go on to drop a 60-50 decision to No. 4 Texas Tech in NCAA First Round action. That season, Ernest paced the Black Bears by averaging 16.1 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Currently set to attend from the 2003-04 squad is: Kim Corbitt, Heather Ernest Bond, Melissa Heon Allen, Nicole Jay, Abby Schrader, Monica Peterson Taylor, Ashley Underwood Markwood, Julie Veilleux Sinclair and Katie Whittier Barnes.
 

For tickets to this game, and all other home contests, please call 207.581.BEAR, purchase at the Cross Insurance Center box office or online by visiting TicketMaster.com.

-UMaine-