ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team advanced to the America East semifinal round for the fifth-straight year and will host UAlbany, with a trip to the championship game on the line, on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m.
The contest will be played at 'The Pit' in Memorial Gym and will mark Maine's first time playing a postseason game at The Pit since it defeated Vermont, 79-64, in the NAC Championship Game on March 9, 1991. Maine's last regular season contest at The Pit came on Nov. 11, 2017 when it defeated Harvard, 76-51.
A win for Maine would give Maine a spot in the title game for the fourth consecutive season as the Black Bears look to repeat as champions for the first time since 1998. The Black Bears are 2-3 in postseason play against the Great Danes as the two teams have met in two of the last three conference championship games. Maine will be looking for its first postseason win over UAlbany since 2006.
Maine enters the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed for the second-straight year. The Black Bears are 44-24 all-time in conference tournament action including a 26-17 mark in America East postseason play. Maine is 25-6 all-time as the No. 1 seed and will be looking to add to its record eight conference titles.
Tale of the Tape
| Maine |
Category |
UAlbany |
| 23-7/15-1 |
Record/Conference |
13-17/9-7 |
| 67.2 |
Points Per Game |
55.4 |
| 57.9 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
59.1 |
| +9.4 |
Scoring Margin |
-3.7 |
| 42.5 |
Field Goal Percentage |
39.8 |
| 33.2 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
30.3 |
| 71.5 |
Free Throw Percentage |
58.6 |
| 33.9 |
Rebounds Per Game |
35.6 |
| -0.6 |
Rebound Margin |
+1.7 |
| 16.2 |
Assists Per Game |
13.0 |
| 11.1 |
Turnovers Per Game |
17.2 |
| 3.0 |
Blocks Per Game |
3.4 |
| 9.0 |
Steals Per Game |
7.1 |
LAST TIME OUT:
Tanesha Sutton registered her sixth double-double of the season to help lead the University of Maine women's basketball team to a 69-36 victory over New Hampshire in America East quarterfinal action on Wednesday evening.
The Black Bears, who extended their win streak to 12-straight, outscored New Hampshire 22-9 in the first quarter and never looked back. Maine forced 21 Wildcat turnovers, outscoring UNH 25-0 in points off turnovers, while forced 13 steals, seven blocks and holding the visitors to a 25-percent shooting night. The win marked the fourth consecutive season in which Maine has defeated New Hampshire in the postseason.
Sutton paved the way on offense with her 13th career double-double after recording a game-high 24 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The point total stretched her double-digit scoring streak to six-straight while her rebounding total moved her into 14th on Maine's all-time list. Sutton, who went 10-for-10 from the free throw stripe, was one of four Black Bears to tally three steals on the evening.
Blanca Millan added 19 points and three assists while
Dor Saar chipped in 10 points, four assists and three steals.
Fanny Wadling continued her rapid rebounding pace, narrowly missing out on a double-double with 13 rebounds and nine points. Wadling has now recorded double-digit rebounds in four of her last five outings.
The Black Bears held New Hampshire to single digit scoring efforts in the first and fourth quarters while shooting above 40-percent in each period to help distance themselves from the Wildcats. Maine won the rebounding battle with 42 boards including 19 on the offensive glass. The Black Bears outscored New Hampshire 26-6 in second chance points, 32-12 in the paint, and cashed in on 18-of-21 free throw attempts for its highest made free throw total of the season.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears are currently riding a 12-game win streak, just two short of matching their longest since 2016 (14). The 12-straight wins is currently the 11th longest active win streak and only the 12th active double-digit win streak in the nation. After committing just four turnovers in their quarterfinal win over New Hampshire, the Black Bears now check in second in the nation out of 349 teams in fewest turnovers per game (11.1). The four turnovers against New Hampshire marked the ninth time this season Maine has limited its turnovers to single digits.
Millan's 19 points against New Hampshire moved her into ninth on Maine's all-time list as she enters semifinal play with 1,399 career points. Millan, who has turned in 24 double-digit scoring performances this season, is the league's leader in scoring at 17.6 points per game. The junior guard also leads the way in conference only scoring, averaging 16.9 points per game against league foes. In seven career conference postseason games, Millan is averaging 16.3 points and 5.1 rebounds. Millan has been equally as impressive on the defensive end. The league's defensive player of the year leads the league in steals (2.8) and ranks second in the conference in blocks (1.5). Millan ranks 24th nationally in steals per game.
Tanesha Sutton, who finished the year strong by capturing each of the final two America East Player of the Week awards, ranks in the top-10 among league leaders in scoring (5th-14.4), rebounding (2nd-7.3), assists (9th-2.6) and steals (9th-1.7). Sutton, who has reached double-digit scoring totals in each of her six outings, is shooting 50.5-percent from the floor, second in the conference and 59th nationally. Rossignol checks in 14th in the league in scoring (11.1) and ranks second from beyond the arc with a 40.4-percent mark from 3-point range. Her 2.1 three-point field goals per game rank fifth best.
Dor Saar gets Maine's league leading offense (67.2) moving as she ranks second in the league in assists (5.0) to go along with an impressive +2.48 assist to turnover ratio, 25th best in the nation. Saar has posted five or more assists 16 times this season and has recently improved her scoring, averaging 9.7 points in league play and a league-best 44.9-percent mark from 3-point range.
Fanny Wadling has been a rebounding force for the Black Bears since returning from her mid-season injury. Wadling has recorded nine double-digit rebounding performances, including five of her last six games, and ranks second among league-leaders in conference only rebounding (8.9).
Maine leads the league in scoring at 67.2 points per game and features a +18.3 scoring margin against America East competition. Defensively, Maine's 57.9 points per game allowed overall rank third in the league and 43rd nationally. The Black Bears continue their impressive effort in taking care of the ball, ranking ninth nationally in total team turnovers (334) to go along with a sixth-best assist to turnover ratio (1.46). Maine is tops in the America East in field goal percentage (42.5), second in 3-point percentage (33.2) and first in 3-point field goals made per game (8.1). Maine's 244 made 3-point field goals this season rank just 12 makes behind the all-time school record (256), set last season.
A LOOK AT UALBANY:
The Great Danes advanced to the semifinals after erasing a seven-point deficit before coming back to beat No. 5 Binghamton, 61-56. Alexi Schecter led the charge with 13 points and nine rebounds while Kyara Frames and Chyanna Canada each added 12 points. UAlbany struggled to end the season, going 1-4 in its final five regular season contests. The Great Danes went 4-4 on the road against America East competition and rank fourth in the league in rebounding (35.6) and scoring defense (59.1). All-Conference second team selection Heather Forster checks in third among America East leaders in rebounding (7.3) and 18th in scoring (9.6). Third team All-Conference honoree ranks ninth in the league and tops for the Great Danes at 12.6 points per game while averaging 2.3 makes from 3-point range per game and a fifth best 3.1 assists. Overall, the Great Danes rank sixth in the league at 55.4 points per game offensively but have struggled from the free throw stripe, shooting a conference worst 58.6-percent. UAlbany ranks fourth in the league from 3-point range (30.3) and third overall from the field (39.8).
SERIES WITH UALBANY:
Maine and UAlbany, who have met in two of the last three America East Championship contests, will square off for the 41st time in history. Maine holds a slim, 22-19, edge in the all-time series and has won three-straight against the Great Danes. The Black Bears took their home meeting by a final of 76-65 before going on the road to beat UAlbany, 67-61. In both games, the Black Bears held leads of 17 points or more. Millan tallied 27 points in the home win before pouring in 31 on the road. In that victory, Millan posted a game-high 27 points, starting the day 8-of-9 from the field before finishing 10-of-14. Rossignol added 20 points in the win while Sutton chipped in 15 points, six boards and five assists.
Since the series began in 2001, Maine is 9-6 all-time at home against UAlbany. In postseason play, Maine is 2-3 against the Great Danes and are in search of their first postseason victory in the series since 2006. UAlbany has won each of the last three postseason meetings between the two squads.
Millan has tallied double-digits in six of her seven contests against the Great Danes and enters action averaging 18.1 points per game in the series. Sutton, who has recorded five double-digit showings in six outings with UAlbany, is averaging 13.3 points all-time against the Great Danes.
SEASON NOTES:
THE BLACK BEARS IN LEAGUE PLAY...
Maine finished league play at 15-1, its most league wins since also capturing 15 in 2016. Maine ended the regular season riding a 11-game league winning streak, and a perfect 8-0 at home against league opponents. Against league foes, the Black Bears rank at the top in scoring offense (69.6), while ranking second-best in scoring defense, allowing just 52.2 points per game for a scoring margin of +17.4. Maine has defeated seven conference opponents by 20 points or more, with 13 of its 15 league wins coming by double-digits. Maine is shooting 44.6-percent from the floor in America East action and averaging 17.5 assists. Individually,
Blanca Millan (16.9),
Tanesha Sutton (14.3) and
Parise Rossignol (12.9) rank first, sixth and ninth among league leaders in America East scoring average.
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25 POLL - No. 13 (3/6/19)
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 March 6. Maine currently sits at No. 13 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 62 nationally, 51 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 12-game win streak where they've gone 6-0 at home and 6-0 in the road. Six of the 12 wins have come by 20 or more points. Over the stretch, Maine is averaging 70.6 points per game while holding its opponent to a 51.4 point showing. Maine's scoring margin differential during the win streak currently sits at +19.2. Maine has been impressive from 3-point range over the 12 games, shooting 35.5-percent from downtown while averaging 8.5 treys per game. Maine is holding a +7.3 turnover margin as it has averaged just 10.0 turnovers per game during the streak.
TOSSIN DIMES:
The Black Bears have tallied 20 or more assists in six of their last 12 outings. Over the 12-game win streak, Maine has racked up 213 assists to just 120 turnovers. Nine times this season Maine has surpassed the 20 assist mark in a single game.
Dor Saar ranks 47th in the nation at 5.0 assists per game and 25th with a 2.48 assist to turnover ratio. Over Maine's current 12-game win streak, Saar has recorded 58 assist to just 18 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 58-6 on its home court in its last 64 outings, including a 38-3 mark in America East play over the past 41 league contests. Under Coach Vachon, the Black Bears are 30-3 at home. This season, Maine is 11-1, 8-0 in league play, at home with the lone loss being a three point decision to then No. 20 Duke. Maine is averaging 76.9 points per game at home. Millan is averaging 19.9 points at home while Rossignol is adding 15.7 and Sutton is chipping in 15.3 on the home court. The Black Bears are shooting 46.7% on their home court and averaging an impressive 19.2 assists. Maine also leads the America East in home attendance (1,706).
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. With 19 points at UMass Lowell, Sutton moved into 20th on Maine's all-time scoring list. She now stands 14 points behind Melissa Heon (1,102) for 19th all-time.
FEATURED SCORERS - TOP 10
The Black Bears currently have two scorers ranked in the top-5 among America East overall leaders in leading scorer
Blanca Millan (1st-17.6) and
Tanesha Sutton (5th-14.4). 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 first (16.9), Sutton sixth (14.3) and Rossignol ninth (12.9).
TURNOVER EFFICIENCY:
Maine has been extremely impressive with its ball control this season. The Black Bears currently rank second in the nation, averaging just 11.1 turnovers per game as a team. Maine's 1.46 assist-turnover ratio is sixth best among the nation's leaders. In 17 of its 30 games, Maine has turned the ball over just 11 times or fewer, with nine 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 19 points against Hartford, Millan moved into ninth on Maine's all-time scoring list. She currently stands just 63 points away from tying
Liz Wood for eighth all-time (1,462).
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 24 of Maine's first 30, 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, 27 against UAlbany and 23 at Binghamton. 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 55 of her last 63. In all, Millan has finished in double-digits in 71 of her 97 career contests.
DEFENSE = VICTORY
Over the past two years, Maine is 36-2 when holding its opponent to 60 or fewer points. The Black Bears are 44-5 in the Vachon era when limiting teams to 60 or less. This season, Maine is holding league opponents to just 52.2 points per game in America East play and is 17-1 when holding opponents under 60 points, 9-1 when opponents are held under 50.
CLOSING IN ON ANOTHER 3-POINT RECORD:
The Black Bears enter play just 12 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 six-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 36 steals behind
Amy Vachon for fourth all-time (279).
SUTTON ON THE BOARDS:
Tanesha Sutton currently ranks second 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. With her 12 rebounds vs. UNH, she moved into 14th all-time (625). She now stands just four rebounds out of 13th (629). This season, Sutton has tallied double-digit rebounding totals in eight games while tallying seven double-doubles. Â
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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