Orono, Maine -- Maine and Stony Brook meet in a rematch of what was scheduled to be last season's America East Title Game, before the contest was canceled due to COVID-19. The Black Bears will take on Stony Brook in game one on Saturday at 3 p.m. before closing the series on Sunday at 2 p.m. All games will be streamed via the ESPN+/3 network and can be heard at 96.1 WGUY-Fm and worldwide at GoBlackBears.com.
Maine enters the weekend series riding a nine-game win streak, tied for the 12th longest active win streak in the country. Should Maine sweep its series at Stony Brook, it would clinch the America East regular season title for the third time in the past four season and at least a share of the title for the fifth time in the past seven years.
Stony Brook and Maine rank first and second among America East leaders in scoring defense with Stony Brook checking in fourth nationally at 50.2 points per game allowed and Maine ranked seventh in the nation allowing just 52.1 points per game.
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LAST TIME OUT:
Orono, Maine -- It came down to the final shot on Sunday as
Blanca Millan blocked UMass Lowell's attempt at the final horn, securing a 53-51 victory for the Black Bears on Senior Day. The win, Maine's ninth in a row, moves the Black Bears to 14-1 overall and 11-1 in America East play.
Millan finished the contest with her tenth 20-plus point scoring performance, and her fourth in her last five outings, after pouring in a game-high 27 points to go along with eight rebounds and three steals.
Dor Saar added nine points, six assists and five rebounds while
Anne Simon finished with eight points.
Maine forced 17 UMass Lowell turnovers while holding the River Hawks to just 16-of-51 shooting (31.4), including a 5-of-24 mark from downtown. The Black Bears went 22-of-61 from the floor (36.1) and hit just four of 22 attempts from beyond the arc.
Defensively, Maine held UMass Lowell to single-digit scoring in both the first and third periods while nabbing 11 steals and four blocks on the afternoon.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears are riding a nine-game winning streak after most recently sweeping a two-game weekend series against UMass Lowell in what was just Maine's third and fourth home games of the season. Over the nine game win streak, Maine has held opponents to just 51.2 points per game, including limiting four opponents to under 50 points.
Blanca Millan, a six-time America East Player of the Week this season, was recently named one of 10 semifinalists for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award. Millan has led the America East in scoring since game one and currently checks in 13th in the nation at 22.7 points per game. Millan leads the America East in eight statistical categories, ranking in the top-three among league leaders in 12 different categories. Millan has posted 20 or more points in 10 of Maine's 15 games this season, posting double-figures in all of her outings thus far.
Dor Saar, who currently stands just five assist shy of becoming the first player in Maine women's basketball history to record 1,000 points and 500 assists in a career, enters play ranked first in the America East and 20th nationally at 5.6 assists per game. Saar has been impressive from beyond the arc where she leads the America East in three-point field goals made (38) and three-point field goals made per game (2.53) while checking in second best with a 40.9 three-point field goal percentage.
Anne Simon, the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, ranks fifth in the league in scoring at 12.1 points per game. Simon, who has registered double-figures in five of her last six outings, has also been impressive on the defensive end where she ranks fifth in the league with 1.7 steals.
Maine continues to lead the America East in scoring at 67.1 points per game and check in seventh nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 52.1 points through its first 15 outings. Maine leads the conference in all three-point categories including three-point field goals made (119), three-point field goals made per game (7.9), and three-point field goal percentage (33.3). The Black Bears check in 15th in the nation in turnovers per game, giving it away just 12.3 times per contest, while ranking second in the league with 17.93 turnovers forced per game. Maine features a +5.60 turnover margin, good for 17th nationally and tops in the America East.
A LOOK AT STONY BROOK:
The Seawolves enter the weekend series riding a five-game win streak after most recently taking two games at Hartford. Stony Brook, currently second in the America East standings, are 5-2 at home but have won each of its last five home contests. Stony Brook has played eight of its last 10 games on the road. India Pagan, an America East Preseason All-Conference selection and an America East First Team honoree a year ago, leads the Seawolves in scoring (10.8) and rebounding (5.3). Asiah Dingle, a transfer from Kent State, rounds out Stony Brook's double-digit scorers at 10.5 points and leads the way at 3.6 assists. As a team, Stony Brook ranked third in the league in scoring (59.9) and check in fourth nationally, and tops in the America East, in scoring defense (50.2). The Seawolves lead the America East in rebounding at 39.0 boards per contest and have held opponents to a 34.2 percent mark from the floor, 10th best nationally. Stony Brook also leads the America East in turnovers forced at 18.4 per game.
SERIES WITH STONY BROOK:
Maine and Stony Brook have been evenly matched over their 19 year history. Dating back to the first meeting between the two teams in 2001, Maine holds a slim 23-20 advantage in the all-time series. Maine is 3-2 in its last five against the Seawolves. Stony Brook snapped a two-game losing streak to the Black Bears by defeating Maine, 73-69, back on Jan. 5, 2020 on Long Island. The Black Bears avenged their earlier season loss at Stony Brook by defeating the Seawolves in overtime, 64-62, on Feb. 23, 2020. Maine is 7-13 on the road in the series with Stony Brook. Overall, Maine has won nine of the last 12 contests with the Seawolves. Millan has posted double-digits in five of her six games against Stony Brook while Saar has posted double-figures in four of her six career outings with Stony Brook. Maine and Stony Brook were scheduled to play in the America East Championship game a year ago before the title contest was canceled due to COVID-19.
MILLAN NAMED A SEMIFINALIST FOR MID-MAJOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR AWARD:
University of Maine guard
Blanca Millan has been named a semifinalist for the 2021 Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, presented by Her Hoop Stats, as announced on Feb. 10, 2021. To be eligible for the Becky Hammon Mid-Major Player of the Year Award, players must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major". The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award, and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC. Five finalists being announced in early March. The winner will be announced in late March. The list is fluid and players may play their way on or off the list over the course of the season.
COLLEGE INSIDER MID-MAJOR TOP 25:
The Black Bears check in at No. 8 in the latest poll released on Feb. 9, staying status quo from last week's No. 8 ranking. Maine is the lone America East team represented in the top-25. The No. 8 ranking is Maine's highest ranking of the season and highest in the last five seasons.
WINNING STREAK
The Black Bears enter the weekend series tied the 12th longest active win streak in the nation as they've strung together nine consecutive victories.
MILLAN CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME CHARTS
Blanca Millan, who in 2018-19 became just the fourth player in history to earn both the America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors, continues to climb the all-time charts both at Maine and in the America East record books.
Millan currently ranks 5th on Maine's all-time scoring list with 1,887 points. She stands 266 points behind Liz Coffin (2,153) for 4th all-time.
Millan stands just 113 points from becoming the fifth all-time in Maine history to reach 2,000 points.
Millan currently ranks 13th on the America East all-time scoring list. Millan enters play this weekend 84 points behind Katie Terhune (Boston University - 2000-04, 1,971) for 12th all-time.
Defensively, Millan ranks second on Maine's all-time steals list (309), 25 behind Cindy Blodgett (334) for the all-time lead.
Millan currently ranks fourth on Maine's career 3-point list (209), one behind Ashley Underwood for third all-time.
On Dec. 4, 2018, Millan became the 7th fastest in Black Bear history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark, and just the third-ever to do it in her third season.
Millan's 15.6 points per game average currently ranks 7th all-time at Maine.
MILLAN EARNS 14th AMERICA EAST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR:
Six times this season, and 14 times in her career,
Blanca Millan has been named the America East Player of the Week. Millan trails only Cindy Blodgett (17) for most player of the week awards won during a career at Maine.
DOR IS SO GRACIOUS
Dor Saar is currently the America East active leader in assists (495) and this year leads the America East in assist turnover ratio (2.55), total assists (84), and assists per game (5.6) Saar has amassed five or more assists 50 times and double-figure assist totals four times in her career. With three assists at Hartford (12/23/20), With five assists against UMass Lowell (2/6), Saar moved past Cindy Blodgett and into second on Maine's all-time assists list. Saar trails Coach Vachon by 264 for the top spot on Maine's all-time assists list (759). Saar matched Maine's single-game assists record (14) in her outing with Husson. Saar is Maine's all-time leader with a 1.94 assist to turnover ratio over her time with the Black Bears. Saar stands 63 assists shy of moving into the top-5 on the America East career assists list.
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FOGARTY SETS SINGLE-GAME 3-POINT MARK:
On Jan. 3, 2021 at New Hampshire,
Kelly Fogarty set a new Maine women's basketball school-record, while matching the all-time America East mark, after she knocked down 10 three-point field goals in a single game. The 10 triples broke her own school-record (9), a mark she set during the 2019-20 season.
SAAR CLOSING IN ON 1,000 POINTS/500 ASSISTS
On Jan. 23 at Binghamton,
Dor Saar became the 22nd Black Bear in program history to reach the 1,000 point plateau. Saar now stands just five assists shy of 500. Should Dor reach the assist mark, she'd become just the second in program history to reach 500 assists, and the first to achieve both 1,000 points and 500 assists.
SAAR - MAINE'S ALL-TIME LEADER FROM DOWNTOWN
With three triples at UAlbany (1/17,)
Dor Saar surpassed Cindy Blodgett as Maine's all-time record holder for three point field goals made with 220. Saar currently has 228 career triples, 16 out of fifth on the America East all-time three-point field goals made list.
600 BOARDS
Fanny Wadling, who missed the entire 2019-20 season due to injury, returned to action on Dec. 20 at Northeastern for the first time since March, 23, 2019. Wadling is looking to become just the 17th Black Bear in history to record 600 career rebounds. Wadling is 33 career rebounds away from 600.
DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE DEFENSE
As impressive as Maine's offense has been through 15 games in 2020-21 (67.1 ppg), the defense has been equally, if not more, impressive. Maine enters the weekend with the seventh ranked defense in the nation, allowing just 52.1 points per game. Maine has held seven of its first 15 opponents to 50 points or fewer.
ENERGIZER SAAR
Dor Saar ranked second in the nation in 2019-20 with 1,238:53 minutes played. Saar led the America East and checked in sixth nationally at 38.72 minutes per game. In her career, Saar has produced 40 or more minutes in a single game 42 times, including 21 times last season. From Jan. 5 to March 8, 2020, Saar tallied 40+ minutes in 16-straight outings. Currently, Saar ranks 19th in the nation in 2020-21 at 37.32 minutes per game.
HOME SWEET HOME:
Over the past four seasons, Maine has built a 51-9 overall record at home and a 38-3 record in league play.
ROAD WARRIORS:
Only two teams have played more road games than Maine this season - Stanford and Santa Clara each at 12. The Black Bears have compiled a 10-1 record on the road this season and have strung together five-straight road victories.
CONFERENCE TIDBITS
Over the past four seasons, Maine has gone 53-9 in America East play.
Maine, which has captured two titles in the past five seasons, has earned five consecutive appearances in the America East title game.
Maine has registered double-digit conference win totals in seven of its last eight seasons.
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL:
For the third consecutive season, the Black Bears were selected first in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll, as announced by the league on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Maine also received three selections to the America East Preseason All-Conference team with
Maeve Carroll,
Blanca Millan, and
Dor Saar each earning a spot on the squad. The Black Bears received six of the league's 10 first place tallies, positioning them at the top of the league with 78 total votes. Maine, which earned three of the five Preseason All-Conference slots, is the first school since Boston University in 2010-11 to earn three or more selections to the Preseason All-Conference team.
CARROLL'S SEEING DOUBLE:
Last season (2019-20),
Maeve Carroll led all America East players with 11 double-doubles, including 10 against league competition. In league play, Carroll averaged 15.3 points and league-best 9.0 rebounds against league competition. Carroll earned her first-ever all-conference honor in 2019-20 with a spot on the America East second team.
THREE-POINT OFFENSE
Maine currently leads the America East in 3-point field goals made 119), 3-point field goals made per game (7.9), and 3-point field goals percentage (33.3).
FACTOR OF 60
Over the past seven seasons, Maine is 133-21 when holding its opponent to 60 or fewer points. The Black Bears are 75-11 in the Vachon era when limiting teams to 60 or less. Over the past seven seasons against league competition, Maine is 80-9 when holding America East opponents to 60 points or fewer.
60 OR MORE
On the flip-side, Maine is 135-25 over the past seven seasons when it scorers 60 or more. In league play, Maine has an 83-8 record when scoring 60 or more points.
DECIDED AT THE HALF
Maine is 48-4 when leading at halftime over the past three seasons and 75-10 when taking a lead into the half under Vachon.
FROM DOWNTOWN
The Black Bears have broke the America East record for 3-point field goals made in a season in two of the past three seasons and, in 2019-20, put up the third most made triples (250) in league history. Over the last four years, Maine is 25-8 when it records double-digit 3-point makes in a single game. Maine now holds each of the top four spots for most 3-point field goals made in a season in America East history (273, 256, 250, 245).
RARE OPPORTUNITY
The Black Bears have the opportunity to become just the fifth team in America East history to complete a three-peat of the league championship after earning America East Tournament titles in 2017-18 and 2018-19. Maine earned four-straight titles during the 1994-98 seasons. Maine earned a return to the AE Title game in 2019-20, but was unable to compete in the game at Stony Brook when the game was canceled due to COVID-19.
BLACK BEARS IN THE PROS
Maine currently has six former players competing professionally for their respective teams overseas:
Kira Barra (Saarlouis/Dillingen - Germany);
Christiana Gerostergiou (Dafni Agioy - Greece);
Mikaela Gustafsson (Sodertalje); Isabel Hernandez (La Spezia - Italy);
Sigi Koizar (Flammes - France);
Maddy McVicar (Newcastle E. - United Kingdom); and
Milica Mitrovic (Radivoj Korac - Serbia).
CLASS OF 2021
On Nov. 12, Coach Vachon announced five newcomers to the 2021 signing class: Paula Gallego (6-1 - G - Barcelona, Spain); Sera Hodgson (5-11 - G - Rindge, N.H.); Pénélope Mathieu-Castillo (5-11 - F - Montreal, Que.); Adrianna Smith (5-10 - F - Reston, Va.); Bailey Wilborn (5-8 - G - Wichita, Ks.).
INTERNATIONAL VIBE
As has been the norm over the last few seasons for the Black Bears, Maine features numerous players from around the globe. This season, Maine features players from seven different countries including players from Luxembourg (Simon); Israel (Saar); Spain (Millan, Orois), Finland (Kahelin), Denmark (Bornemann), and Sweden (Wadling).
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