Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team attempts to run its current winning streak to double-digits as it carries its nine-game win streak to UMass Lowell. Maine's win streak is currently tied with James Madison for the seventh longest active win streak in the nation. The Black Bears, who recently picked up their 20th win of the season, have now tallied 20 or more wins in four of the last five seasons. Maine enters play 11-0 all-time against the River Hawks.
With a win and a Hartford loss, the Black Bears would clinch their second consecutive America East regular season title, thus locking up home court throughout the America East playoffs.
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Tale of the Tape
| Maine |
Category |
UMass Lowell |
| 20-7/13-1 |
Record/Conference |
7-21/3-12 |
| 67.4 |
Points Per Game |
53.6 |
| 59.2 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
62.9 |
| +8.2 |
Scoring Margin |
-9.3 |
| 43.2 |
Field Goal Percentage |
37.6 |
| 33.9 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
28.2 |
| 70.6 |
Free Throw Percentage |
69.4 |
| 33.3 |
Rebounds Per Game |
31.8 |
| -1.1 |
Rebound Margin |
-3.4 |
| 16.5 |
Assists Per Game |
11.8 |
| 11.4 |
Turnovers Per Game |
17.6 |
| 2.9 |
Blocks Per Game |
1.8 |
| 8.9 |
Steals Per Game |
7.4 |
LAST TIME OUT:
Tanesha Sutton tallied her fifth double-double of the season, racking up 19 of her career-high 28 points in the first half, to held guide Maine to its ninth consecutive victory, a 71-61 decision over Stony Brook at the Augusta Civic Center.
Maine turned on its defensive effort in the second half. After surrendering 24 points to Stony Brook in the first quarter, the Black Bears limited the Seawolves to just 18 total points in the second half.
Sutton, who tallied her 1,000th point in a UMaine uniform in the win, finished 11-of-16 from the floor for 28 points to go along with 11 rebounds.
Blanca Millan finished in double-digits for the fifth game in a row, recording 13 of her 18 points in the second half.
Dor Saar chipped in 15 points on 5-of-10 shooting with four assists while
Fanny Wadling added a career-high 16 points and matched a career-best with four steals.
The Black Bears went 29-of-59 overall (49.2) while hitting 7-of-10 free throws and winning the rebounding battle, 36-33.
For the fourth time in five years, the Black Bears have reached the 20 win plateau as the victory lifted Maine to 20-7 overall and 13-1 in America East play.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears continue to roll as they've run their win streak to nine in a row. Maine, which leads the America East in scoring at 67.4 points per game, is averaging 70.5 points in league play. Maine has held its America East opponents to just 52.5 points per game, outscoring league foes by a +18.0 scoring margin while knocking down an impressive 8.6 three-point field goals per game in league competition.
Five-time America East Player of the Week this season,
Blanca Millan, continues to cruise in league play. Millan, who leads the league in overall scoring at 17.7 points per game, stretched her double-digit scoring streak to five straight with an 18 point effort in Sunday's win over Stony Brook. Millan, who ranks 66th nationally in scoring, has been equally as impressive on the defensive end. The junior guard leads the America East with 3.0 steals per game, good for 17th nationally while her 80 total steals are 14th highest in the NCAA. Millan has tallied four or more steals in five of her last six outings.
Tanesha Sutton, the reigning Co-America East Player of the Week, is coming off a career-high 28 point outing and her fifth double-double of the season. Sutton, who notched her 1,000 career point in a Black Bear uniform in the game against Stony Brook, leads the America East with a 49.5-percent mark from teh field. Sutton also ranks among the top-10 league leaders in scoring (4th-14.0), rebounding (3rd-7.0), assists (8th-2.7) and steals (7th-1.8).
Parise Rossignol is eighth in the league in scoring at 12.0 points per game and checks in atop the America East leaders in 3-point percentage (43.8). Her 3-point mark is good for 16th best from downtown in the nation.
Dor Saar ranks second in the league and 41st in the nation with 5.1 assists per game while her 2.46 assist to turnover ratio is an America East best and 24th overall.
Fanny Wadling, who has pulled down double-digit rebounds in each of her last three outings including a career-high 16 boards last time out, is averaging 8.8 rebounds in 17 games this season.
Overall, the Black Bears continue to do a tremendous job taking care of the ball and shooting it. The Black Bears are seventh in the nation in turnover per game, giving it away just 11.4 times including eight instances in which they turned it over under 10 times. Maine's 1.44 assist to turnover ratio is sixth best in the nation. The Black Bears, who lead the America East in both field goal percentage (43.2) and 3-point percentage (33.9), rank 30th in the nation with 223 triples made this season. That mark stands just 33 shy of the all-time school record (256) set last season.
A LOOK AT UMASS LOWELL:
The River Hawks return home after dropping each of their last two contests on the road, including a 69-45 loss at Hartford on Saturday. UMass Lowell, which is 4-8 at home this season, have struggled to score the ball as they rank seventh in the America East and 337th overall in scoring (53.6). In league play, UMass Lowell enters play averaging 51.5 points per game. Brianna Rudolph leads the way for the River Hawks, averaging team-highs in scoring (13.3), rebounding (5.7) and steals (1.9). Rudolph is sixth among league leaders in scoring average. Ren'Cia Rolling is adding 8.1 points and leads UMass Lowell at 4.2 assists per game. Defensively, the River Hawks are surrendering 62.9 points per game. They rank second in the league in turnovers forced (16.9) but struggled to take care of it themselves, giving it away 17.7 times.
SERIES WITH UMASS LOWELL:
Maine and UMass Lowell will meet for the 12th time. The Black Bears are undefeated against UMass Lowell, entering action with an 11-0 record in the series. Since the River Hawks joined the America East in 2013, Maine is 5-0 on the road in the series. Earlier this season, Maine scored a 79-45 victory over UMass Lowell at the Cross Insurance Center. In the win, Rossignol set a new UMaine school-record with eight 3-point field goals before finishing with a career-high 32 points. Three Black Bears are currently averaging double-figures in their careers against the River Hawks; Rossignol (11.2), Millan (11.0) and Sutton (10.0).
Millan has tallied double-digits in five of her six contests against the Great Danes and enters action averaging 16.0 points per game in the series. Sutton, who has recorded four double-digit showings in five outings with UAlbany, is averaging 13.6 points all-time against the Great Danes.
SEASON NOTES:
THE BLACK BEARS IN LEAGUE PLAY...
Maine is 13-1 in league action, currently riding a nine-game league winning streak, and a perfect 9-0 at home against league opponents. Against league foes, the Black Bears rank at the top in scoring offense (70.5), while ranking second-best in scoring defense, allowing just 52.5 points per game for a scoring margin of +18.0. Maine has defeated seven conference opponents by 20 points or more, with 12 of its 13 league wins coming by double-digits. Maine is shooting 45.7-percent from the floor in America East action and averaging 17.9 assists. Individually,
Blanca Millan (17.1),
Parise Rossignol (14.2) and
Tanesha Sutton (14.2) rank first, fifth and sixth among league leaders in America East scoring average.
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL - No. 19 (2/30/19)
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 Feb. 30. Maine currently sits at No. 19 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 58 nationally, 55 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.
DURING THE STREAK:
The Black Bears are currently riding an eight game win streak where they've gone 5-0 at home and 4-0 in the road. Five of the nine wins have come by 20 or more points. Over the stretch, Maine is averaging 72.3 points per game while holding its opponent to a 53.3 point showing. Maine's scoring margin differential during the win streak currently sits at 19.0. Maine has been impressive from 3-point range over the nine games, shooting 38.8-percent from downtown while averaging 9.0 treys per game. Maine is holding a +6.6 turnover margin as it has averaged just 10.6 turnovers per game during the streak.
TOSSIN DIMES:
The Black Bears have tallied 20 or more assists in six of their last nine outings. Over the nine-game win streak, Maine has racked up 171 assists to just 95 turnovers. Nine times this season Maine has surpassed the 20 assist mark in a single game.
Dor Saar ranks 42nd in the nation at 5.1 assists per game and 23rd with a 2.46 assist to turnover ratio. Over Maine's current nine-game win streak, Saar has recorded 47 assist to just 14 turnovers. On the season, Saar has tallied five or more assists on 16 occasions.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Black Bears have been impressive at home as of late. Maine is 57-6 on its home court in its last 63 outings, including a 38-3 mark in America East play over the past 41 league contests. Under Coach Vachon, the Black Bears are 29-3 at home. This season, Maine is 10-1, 8-0 in league play, at home with the lone loss being a three point decision to then No. 20 Duke. Maine is averaging 77.6 points per game at home. Millan is averaging 20.0 points at home while Rossignol is adding 16.9 on the home court. The Black Bears are shooting 47.6% on their home court and averaging an impressive 20.6 assists.
SUTTON REACHES 1,000 POINTS:
With a free throw in the second half at UAlbany,
Tanesha Sutton became the 21st player in UMaine women's basketball history to eclipse the 1,000 point plateau. The point total included her 28 points tallied as a freshman at Duquesne. In all, it took Sutton 116 games to reach the mark. If you look at only her time at UMaine, Sutton eclipsed 1,000 points in a Black Bear uniform on Feb. 24 against Stony Brook. Currently, Sutton stands just 16 points behind Lisa Cormier for 20th on Maine's all-time scoring list (1,052).
FEATURED SCORERS - TOP 10
The Black Bears currently have three scorers ranked in the top-10 among America East overall leaders in leading scorer
Blanca Millan (1st-17.7),
Tanesha Sutton (4th-14.0) and
Parise Rossignol (8th-12.0). Taking a look at conference only stats, Maine is the only school with three players ranked in the top-10 of the league's leaders in scoring with
Blanca Millan leading all scorers (17.1), Rossignol fifth (14.2) and
Tanesha Sutton (6th - 14.2). Â
TURNOVER EFFICIENCY:
Maine has been extremely impressive with its ball control this season. The Black Bears currently rank seventh in the nation, averaging just 11.4 turnovers per game as a team. Maine's 1.44 assist-turnover ratio is sixth best among the nation's leaders. In 14 of its 27 games, Maine has turned the ball over just 11 times or fewer, with eight of those performances ending with single-digit turnover totals. Maine had a season-low three turnovers in its win at Vermont. Against Binghamton, Maine tallied 23 assists to just four turnovers.
MILLAN QUICK TO 1,000 AND CLIMBING THE CHARTS:
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 against Hartford, Millan moved into 10th on Maine's all-time scoring list. She currently stands just 39 points away from passing Lauree Gott for 10th all-time (1,387).
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 22 of Maine's first 27, including back-to-back 20+ point efforts against Bryant (23) and #20 Duke (25), a 21 point showing at North Carolina, 26 points at Harvard and 27 against UAlbany. Millan's season-best effort came in a career-high 36 point showing against Brown and added her second 30 point effort with 31 points at UAlbany. Dating back to last season, Millan has posted double-digit scoring totals in 53 of her last 60. In all, Millan has finished in double-digits in 69 of her 94 career contests.
DEFENSE = VICTORY
Over the past two years, Maine is 33-2 when holding its opponent to 60 or fewer points. The Black Bears are 41-5 in the Vachon era when limiting teams to 60 or less. This season, Maine is holding league opponents to just 51.1 points per game in America East play and is 14-1 when holding opponents under 60 points, 7-1 when opponents are held under 50.
CLOSING IN ON ANOTHER 3-POINT RECORD:
The Black Bears enter play just 33 three-point field goals away from tying the all-time mark of 256 triples made in a season, a mark set last season. Maine has tallied 200 or more 3-point field goals in seven-straight seasons.
MILLAN CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME STEALS CHART:
Millan's four steals against UAlbany moved her into fifth on Maine's all-time steals list (236). She now stands 39 steals behind
Amy Vachon for fourth all-time (279).
SUTTON ON THE BOARDS:
Tanesha Sutton currently ranks third in the conference, at 7.0 rebounds per game. On Dec. 30 against Chattanooga, Sutton tallied her eighth career double-double, also tallying her 500th career rebound along the way. With her 10th career double-double (10 rebs) at UNH, Sutton moved into 18th on Maine's all-time rebounding list. She now stands just 11 rebounds out of 17th all-time (598).
RECORD BREAKING NIGHT FOR ROSSIGNOL - PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
On Jan. 30 against UMass Lowell,
Parise Rossignol set a new UMaine school-record with eight three-point field goal makes. Rossignol finished the game with a career-high 32 points. Hereight three-point field goals are tied for 13th most in a single game in the NCAA this season and tied for third in the America East all-time record books. The senior guard recorded 21 of her game-high 32 in the first half alone. Rossignol bounced back with a 13 point showing at UNH, helping her earn her second America East Player of the Week honor of the season.
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.
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 on Dec. 2. Since then, UNC has gone on to defeat Notre Dame and NC State.
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.
BLACK BEARS IN THE PROS:
Maine currently has five former players in the professional level in Europe.
Sigi Koizar ('17) - ZTE NKK (Hungary);
Milica Mitrovic ('16) - Partizan (Serbia);
Anna Heise ('16) - Jahn Muenchen (Germany);
Mikaela Gustafsson ('16) - Telge (Sweden);
Chantel Charles ('16) - Ciudad de la Adelantados (Spain).
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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