Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine puts its nine game win streak on the line when it meets UAlbany in a battle of the league's No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The game marks Maine's final regular season road contest of the season as the Black Bears enter play a perfect 9-0 on the road in America East play while the Great Danes are undefeated (13-0) on their home court in 2021-22.
Maine has won 10 in a row against the Great Danes, including a 64-55 decision earlier this season in Orono. The Black Bears' 10-game win streak is tied for 10th-longest in Division I. Maine has now won 10 or more conference games in five consecutive seasons.
Wednesday's game will be streamed on
ESPN+. The game can be heard across the
Black Bears Sports Network and locally on 95.7 WWMJ-FM.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears stretched their win streak to nine in a row, matching its longest from the 2020-21 season, and will look for its first double-digit win streak since ending the 2019-20 season on a 10-game win streak. That streak grew to 15 as Maine won its first five of the 2020-21 season. Over the current nine game stretch, Maine has gone 6-0 on the road and its limiting opponents to just 46.4 points per game. The Black Bears, outscoring the last nine teams by a combined mark of +14.0, have four wins of double-digits and have held six opponents to 46 or fewer points. Maine is averaging 14.6 assists over the stretch and forcing 17.8 turnovers. Individually over the last nine games,
Anne Simon (14.9 ppg/3.5 spg),
Alba Orois (11.7 ppg/5.8Â apg),
Maeve Carroll (10.7 ppg/10.0 rpg), and
Caroline Bornemann (10.6 ppg/39.1 3-pt pct.) are leading the charge. Simon has tallied double-digits in each of her last 17 outings and leads the league in scoring at 16.1 points per game. Simon checks eight nationally at 2.96 steals per game with 74 total steals on the season, 28 more than the next closest player in the America East.
Maeve Carroll, coming off a season-high 20 point output at NJIT, is averaging 10.4 points per game and a league-leading 8.6 rebounds. Carroll has posted back-to-back double-doubles, the 16th and 17th of her career and fourth and fifth of the season. Carroll has reached double-figure rebounding totals in 11 games this season.
Alba Orois, who ranks 16th in the country and tops in the America East at 5.7 assists per game, has tallied double-digit scoring performances in each of her last six games. Over her last six games, Orois is averaging 14.5 points and 6.5 assists Orois has posted six or more assists in a game 13 times this season.
A LOOK AT UALBANY:
The Great Danes are a perfect 13-0 on their home court this season and enter play on a two-game win streak after defeating New Hampshire, 55-46, on Sunday. UAlbany leads the nation in defense, allowing just 48.3 points per game while averaging 57.8 on the offensive end, fourth best in the America East. The Great Danes hold a +7.0 margin on the boards, tops in the America East in rebounding margin, averaging 35.7 rebounds per game. Helene Haegerstrand leads UAlbany at 12.1 points per game. Kayla Cooper is adding 11.7 and team-high 7.1 rebounds.
SERIES WITH UALBANY:
Maine and UAlbany will square off for the 49th time in history. Maine holds a 29-19 edge in the all-time series and has won 10-straight against the Great Danes. The Black Bears won the most recent meeting, 64-55, on Feb. 9 in Orono. In that game, all five of Maine's starters posted double-figure scoring efforts, led by
Alba Orois (17) and
Anne Simon (17). Maine is 12-11 on the road against the Great Danes and has won each of the last four meetings at SEFCU Arena. Simon has posted double-figures in each of her last five outings against UAlbany.
Tale of the Tape
| Maine (15-10, 12-3) |
Category |
UAlbany (19-8,12-4) |
| 58.0 |
Points Per Game |
57.8 |
| 57.7 |
Opponent Points Per Game |
48.3 |
| +0.3 |
Scoring Margin |
+9.5 |
| 40.2 |
Field Goal Percentage |
41.0 |
| 29.3 |
3-Point Field Goal Percentage |
32.2 |
| 65.9 |
Free Throw Percentage |
67.0 |
| 33.1 |
Rebounds Per Game |
35.7 |
| -2.3 |
Rebound Margin |
+7.0 |
| 14.0 |
Assists Per Game |
12.7 |
| 14.0 |
Turnovers Per Game |
16.4 |
| 16.0 |
Turnovers Forced Per Game |
16.4 |
| 8.6 |
Steals Per Game |
8.3 |
| 2.6 |
Blocks Per Game |
3.6 |
-UMaine-
