ORONO, Maine -- No. 2 Maine defeated No. 7 Vermont, 78-66, to advance to their sixth-straight America East semifinal where they will host No. 3 UMass Lowell in the first-ever postseason showdown between the two squads on Sunday, March 8 at 1 p.m. at 'The Pit' inside Memorial Gymnasium. A year ago, Maine defeated UAlbany in a semifinal played in the Pit. Prior to that, Maine's last playoff at The Pit came in 1991. The Black Bears are 19-3 all-time in the semifinal round and, with a win, would advance to their fifth-straight title game.
Limited tickets remain for Sunday's game and may be purchased at
GoBlackBears.com.
For those unable to make it to Sunday's contest, the game 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 |
UMass Lowell |
| 17-14, 12-4 |
Record |
16-14, 11-5 |
| 62.2 |
Points Per Game |
58.2 |
| 61.7 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
63.2 |
| +0.5 |
Scoring Margin |
-5.0 |
| 40.7 |
Field Goal Percentage |
36.9 |
| 33.2 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
28.7 |
| 75.7 |
Free Throw Percentage |
66.4 |
| 30.9 |
Rebound Per Game |
37.0 |
| -6.3 |
Rebound Margin |
-0.9 |
| 13.8 |
Assists Per Game |
11.2 |
| 12.9 |
Turnover Per Game |
18.0 |
| 7.1 |
Steals Per Game |
8.4 |
| 1.4 |
Blocks Per Game |
2.0 |
OVERVIEW:
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears remain red hot as they roll into America East semifinal play tied for the 10th longest active win streak in the nation, winning of each of their last nine outings. Coming off a game with 19 assists and just two turnovers, Maine now ranks 27th in the nation and first among America East leaders at just 12.9 giveaways per game. Maine's efficient offense leads the America East at 13.8 assists while the Black Bears also lead the league in both field goal percentage (40.7) and free throw shooting (75.7). With eight games of double-digit makes from 3-point range, Maine checks in among the nation's leaders from beyond the arc. The Black Bears rank 15th nationally in 3-point field goals attempted (727), 20th in 3-point field goals made (241) and 41st in 3-point field goals made per game (7.8), all tops among America Eat leaders.
Individually, Maine is led by its own version of the Big Three with
Anne Simon (9th - 12.7 ppg),
Dor Saar (12th - 12.4) and
Maeve Carroll (13th - 12.3) all ranking inside the top-13 on the America East scoring leaderboard. Simon, the America East Rookie of the Year, has put together a streak of nine consecutive games scoring in double-digits, with 20 total double-figure performances on the season. The guard, who led all league freshmen in scoring, also checks in seventh best at 1.7 steals per game.
Dor Saar, the America East active leader with 407 career assists, leads the league at 4.9 assists per game. Saar, with five or more assists in each of her last nine outings, has tallied double-digit scoring efforts in each of her last three games, averaging 18.0 points per game over the stretch. The junior point guard leads the nation in total minutes, ranking third nationally at 39.07 minutes per game, and has played every minute of each of the last 16 games. Saar has been one of the league's top threats from 3-point range this season, ranking fourth in 3-point percentage at 35.0 and second with 2.6 triples made per game. Recently, Saar moved into third on Maine's all-time 3-point list (2000-now) with 188 career triples.
Maeve Carroll has registered 10 double-doubles on the season, nine coming against America East opponents, and enters play ranked second in the league at 8.1 rebounds on the season. Carroll finished America East regular season action averaging 15.3 points and 9.0 rebounds in league action. Carroll, with three double-doubles in her last four outings, leads the America East with a 50.3-percent mark from the floor.
Kelly Fogarty checks in second best among league leaders at 35.6-percent from 3-point range, with two or more triples in 17 of her games this season, while
Maddy McVicar checks in 19th best among league scoring leaders at 9.9 points per game while ranking sixth best in the America East with 1.8 triples made per game.
A LOOK AT UMASS LOWELL:
The River Hawks enter play on a three-game win streak and fresh off their first-ever America East playoff victory, a 66-58 win over No. 6 UMBC. After losing all-conference player Ren'Cia Rolling 20 games into the season, the River Hawks battled to earn the No. 3 seed in the postseason. Kharis Idom, an America East All-Conference second team selection, leads the team in scoring at 12.2 points per game, 14th best among league leaders. Jaliena Sanchez, an America East All-Rookie Team and All-Defensive Team selection, is averaging 9.2 points per game and ranks ninth in the league with 3.2 assists while checking in second among league leaders at 1.9 assists per game. The River Hawks, sixth in the America East in scoring (58.2) and seventh in scoring defense (63.2), force the highest turnover rate among America East teams, with 18.2 giveaways per game. However, UMass Lowell also averages the second-highest turnover rate per game, giving it away 18.0 times per game.
SERIES WITH UMASS LOWELL:
Maine and UMass Lowell will meet for the 15th time, and first in the postseason. Maine, 13-1 all-time against the River Hawks, had its 12-game win streak against the River Hawks snapped when it was defeated, 66-57 earlier this season at Lowell. Maine avenged that loss by defeating UMass Lowell, Since the River Hawks joined the America East in 2013, Maine is 7-0 on its home court in the all-time series. The first-ever meeting between the two teams came on Jan. 23, 2014, a 75-66 victory by the Black Bears in Lowell.
MAINE IN THE AMERICA EAST PLAYOFFS:
The Black Bears are 47-24 all-time in conference postseason play and enter semifinal play riding a seven-game, conference postseason win streak after capturing each of the last two America East titles. Maine, entering the tournament as the No. 2 seed for the first time since 2016, is 12-5 all-time as the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. Maine is 6-3 when playing the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Black Bears are 19-3 all-time in the semifinal round of the conference tournament. 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 semifinal match-up for the seventh consecutive season.
-UMaine-
