Orono, Maine -- Maine makes the 3,321 mile trip to Moraga, Calif. where it meets Kansas and Niagara in the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, Nov. 25 and Saturday, Nov. 26. Both games will tip-off at 3 p.m. ET. Maine and Kansas meet for the second time, and first since 2010, while the Black Bears and Niagara square off for the first time in history. Both games can be seen live on YouTube and heard locally on 92.9 The Ticket and nationwide at
GoBlackBears.com.
LAST TIME OUT:
Orono, Maine -- Adrianna Smith's first career double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds guided Maine to a 61-59 victory over Northeastern in a game which featured 13 lead changes and seven ties.
Smith, who posted career-highs in both points and rebounds in the win, finished the night 9-of-13 from the floor with three assists and eight of her 12 rebounds coming on the offensive end. Freshman Jaycie Christopher added a career-high nine points off the bench while fellow freshman Sarah Talon pitched in a career-best eight points in her 24 minutes off the pine.
Maine dominated the boards, outrebounding Northeastern 34-23, while shooting 51 percent from the floor with a 50 percent showing (7-of-14) from three point range.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears enter play at 2-2 with a win at James Madison to open the season and a victory at home over Northeastern last time out. Through four games, Maine has held three of its opponents under 60 points and enter play ranked third in the America East in scoring defense, allowing 59.8 points per game. The Black Bears lead the league in three point field goals made per game (7.2) and are coming off a 50 percent shooting effort from downtown (7-of-14) against Northeastern. Individually, the Black Bears are led by sophomore forward Adrianna Smith who is coming off her first career double-double with career-highs in points (20) and rebounds (12) against Northeastern. Smith ranks 18th in the America East in scoring (10.8), third in rebounding (8.3) with six or more rebounds in each of her first four games, and fifth in assists (3.8) while shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Olivia Rockwood checks in 25th among America East leaders in scoring (9.0) and third at 2.5 triples per game. Rockwood began the season by tallying back-to-back double-digit scoring totals with a career high 17 in the opener and a career-best five triples in each of the first two games.
Caroline Bornemann, who checks in fifth among league leaders at 7.8 rebounds per game, is averaging 7.8 points per game with double-digits in two of Maine's first four. The Black Bears will be without leading scorer
Anne Simon who an undetermined amount of time after the senior guard suffered a lower leg injury in Maine's game against Yale.
A LOOK AT KANSAS:
The Jayhawks, who received 11 votes in the latest Associated Press Top-25 poll, will be playing their first game away from Allen Fieldhouse after starting the season 3-0 at home. Kansas, picked fifth in the Big 12 Preseason poll, returns 11 letterwinners from a team which went 21-10 and made an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Kansas is led by Preseason All-Big 12 selection Holly Kersgieter (13.3 ppg/8.0 rpg), and Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention selections Zakiyah Franklin (9.0 ppg) and Taiyanna Jackson (14.0 ppg/10.3 rpg). Wyvette Mayberry (13.3 ppg) and Chandler Prater (10.3 ppg) round out four Jayhawks who are averaging double digits in scoring. Kansas has dominated the boards this season, ranking first in the Big 12 and 28th nationally at 46.3 rebounds per game. The Jayhawks are adding 74.7 poits per game while allowing 59.3. Kansas ranks 16th in the country with 6.0 blocks per game.
SERIES WITH KANSAS:
Maine and Kansas meet for the second time in history and the first since 2010. The Jayhawks came away victorious in the first meeting, 126-63 at Allen Fieldhouse. Maine is 1-7 all-time against the Big 12 with its lone winning coming in 1995 over Texas Christian University. Maine's last meeting with a Big 12 member came in 2018, an NCAA First Round meeting at Texas.
SERIES WITH NIAGARA:
Maine and Niagara will meet for the first time in history.
Â
Tale of the Tape
| Maine |
Category |
Kansas |
| 55.3 |
Points Per Game |
74.7 |
| 59.8 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
59.3 |
| -4.5 |
Scoring Margin |
+15.3 |
| 39.5 |
FG Pct. |
42.4 |
| 30.2 |
3-Pt FG Pct. |
28.3 |
| 60.0 |
FT Pct. |
75.0 |
| 32.5 |
Rebound Per Game |
46.3 |
| -2.8 |
Rebound Margin |
+10,3 |
| 12.8 |
Assists Per Game |
10.7 |
| 18.5 |
Turnovers Per Game |
19.0 |
| 14.8 |
Turnovers Forced Per Game |
17.0 |
| 7.5 |
Steals Per Game |
8.7 |
| 2.8 |
Blocks Per Game |
6.0 |
-UMaine-
