ORONO, Maine -- The Black Bears, currently riding the America East's longest active win streak at seven, look to continue rolling into postseason play when they travel to UMBC for the regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 1 p.m. Maine, undefeated in February, has reached double-digit conference win totals in three-straight seasons, and six of its last seven. The Black Bears, looking to avenge an earlier loss to UMBC, are 8-8 all-time on the road against the Retrievers and have won in two-straight trips to Baltimore.
Saturday's contest will be streamed at
ESPN+ and also broadcast via radio on 94.1 WGUY-FM and worldwide at
GoBlackBears.com.
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TALE OF THE TAPE:
| Maine |
Category |
UMBC |
| 15-14, 11-4 |
Record |
10-16, 6-9 |
| 61.5 |
Points Per Game |
58.4 |
| 61.8 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
61.0 |
| -0.3 |
Scoring Margin |
-2.6 |
| 40.5 |
Field Goal Percentage |
39.9 |
| 32.7 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
34.1 |
| 75.1 |
Free Throw Percentage |
71.3 |
| 30.9 |
Rebound Per Game |
38.1 |
| -6.4 |
Rebound Margin |
+2.5 |
| 13.8 |
Assists Per Game |
9.9 |
| 13.3 |
Turnover Per Game |
17.5 |
| 7.1 |
Steals Per Game |
6.1 |
| 1.3 |
Blocks Per Game |
1.8 |
OVERVIEW:
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine has reached double-digit league wins for the third consecutive year and enter play riding the league's current active long win streak at seven in a row. Maine, winners of each of its last four road games, has secured the No. 2 seed in the upcoming America East Playoffs and will be the higher seed in their quarterfinal round match-up for the seventh consecutive season.
Anne Simon continues to pace the Black Bears on offense as the freshmen leads all rookies in scoring, checking in ninth in the league at 12.5 points per game. Simon, who has reached double-digit scoring totals in each of her last seven outings, and nine of her last 10, is averaging an impressive 15.6 points against league competition.
Dor Saar, recently coming off a 21 point showing at New Hampshire, is adding 12.1 points and ranks second in the league at 4.9 assists per game. Saar, who has played every minute of each of Maine's last 14 games, leads the nation in total minutes (1131:10) and ranks third nationally at 39.01 minutes per game. Saar, who ranks fifth on Maine's all-time assists list (395), has posted five or more assists in each of her last seven outings.
Maeve Carroll, who has eight double-doubles on the season including seven in league play, enters at 11.6 points per game while ranking third in the league at 7.7 boards per game. In league play, Carroll is nearly featuring a double-double per game at 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds. Fogarty, who has hit two or more triples in 17 games this season, ranks third in the league with a 35.5-percent mark from beyond the arc.
Maddy McVicar, recently coming off a career-high 28 point outing in Maine's win over Stony Brook, is chipping in 9.8 points and a team-high 89.4-percent mark from the free throw stripe.
The Black Bears' continue to grow on offense as they now rank third in the league in scoring (61.5) and first among league-leaders in scoring offense in league play (67.5). Maine's 3-point threat ranks 19th in the nation in attempts (681), 22nd in 3-point makes (223) and 46th in 3-point makes per game (7.7) - all tops among America East. Maine, 35th nationally and second in the league in turnovers (13.3), lead the league in assist per game (13.8) to go along with a league-leading 1.03 assist to turnover ratio. Maine is averaging 8.1 field goals made from beyond the arc in league play.
A LOOK AT UMBC:
The Retrievers, 7-4 at home this year, have won each of their last three outings on their home court. Overall, UMBC is 2-2 in its last four, most recently suffering a 66-58 setback at Binghamton on Wednesday evening. Te'yJah Oliver, who tallied 25 points and 12 rebounds in her last outing against Maine, leads UMBC in scoring. Oliver ranks second in the league at 18.0 points per game with a league-leading 38.3-percent mark from 3-point range. Janee'a Summers ranks 10th among league leaders in scoring at 12.5 points per game and checks in sixth best on the boards at 7.0 rebounds per game. UMBC is fifth in the league in scoring (58.4) and fourth in scoring defense (61.0). The Retrievers enter play with the league's second rated 3-point shooting offense (34.1) while ranking third in 3-point defense, allowing opponents to hit at a 29.5-percent clip.
SERIES WITH UMBC:
Maine has won five of its last six meetings against the Retrievers and lead the all-time series, 21-13. Maine is 8-8 on the road against UMBC and have won two in a row in Baltimore. The two teams first met on Jan. 24, 2004 with Maine coming away with a 60-45 victory in Baltimore. The Black Bears would go on to win each of the first five meetings in the all-time series. Earlier this season, UMBC defeated Maine 74-54 behind 25 points and 12 boards from Te'yJah Oliver. In that game, Maine was outrebounded 42-20.
Dor Saar led Maine with a game-high 26 points while
Kelly Fogarty added 10. Saar is averaging 7.8 points and 2.5 assists in six career games against UMBC.
AMERICA EAST POSTSEASON
The Black Bears have clinched the No. 2 seed in the upcoming America East playoffs and will host a quarterfinal on Wednesday, March 4. Maine, who has reached double-digit league wins for the third-straight year, and its six in its last seven years, will be the higher seed in its quarterfinal match-up for the seventh consecutive season.
-UMaine-
