Orono, Maine -- With a quarterfinal win over Binghamton, the Black Bears earned a spot in the America East semifinal round for the ninth consecutive year where they will meet UAlbany in a rematch of last year's title game in Troy, N.Y. on Sunday, March 5 at 3 p.m.

Maine enters play 22-3 all-time in the semifinal round and 4-4 against the Great Danes in postseason action. This will mark the fourth consecutive season in which Maine and UAlbany have met in playoff action.

The game can be seen live on ESPN+ and heard locally on 92.9 The Ticket and nationally at GoBlackBears.com.

LAST TIME OUT:

Orono, Maine -- Anne Simon tallied 17 of her game-high 24 points in the second half as the Black Bears used a strong fourth quarter performance to defeat Binghamton in the America East quarterfinal round, 64-54, on Wednesday night in front of a raucous 1,065 fans at Memorial Gymnasium.

The contest featured 15 lead changes and two ties.

Simon finished her impressive performance with 24 points on 7-for-16 shooting, including four triples, while going a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line with nine rebounds. Adrianna Smith registered her 16th double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 boards to go along with five assists while Olivia Rockwood came off the bench to hit three, big triples en route to an 11 point evening.

Maine, which turned it over 11 times in the first two quarters, featured just one turnover in the second half. The Black Bears shot 20-of-54 from the floor with nine triples while going 15-of-16 from the free throw stripe. The Black Bears won the rebounding battle, 37-32, for the 17th time this season and improved to 11-1 against league opponents when controlling the boards.

A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:

The Black Bears, who have won four of their last five, will play their first true road playoff game since a 2017 trip to UAlbany after playing 14 straight home playoff contests. Maine finished the America East regular season at 11-5, marking the sixth straight season with double-digit conference wins. Adrianna Smith, who became the third Black Bear in as many years to be named America East Player of the Year, became the first player since Sheri Turnbull (UVM - 1993-94) to average 20 points and 10 rebounds during conference play as she completed the season at 23.5 points and 10.8 rebounds in league action. Smith, who has tallied double-figures in 20 straight games, is averaging a league best 17.8 points and league-high 9.6 rebounds with 16 double-doubles, good for 12th best in the nation. Anne Simon returned from injury three games ago and has posted double-digit scoring in each of her last three games, including a season-high 24 points with a season-best nine rebounds in Maine's quarterfinal win over Binghamton. Since returning from injury, Simon is averaging 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.7 steals over her last three outings.Simon is averaging 12.9 points and 4.1 rebounds on the year and recently moved into 11th on Maine's all-time scoring list at 1,310 points.  Caroline Bornemann has posted 10 double-figure scoring performances this season and ranks 24th in the league in scoring (9.2) and 13th with 5.8 rebounds.

A LOOK AT UALBANY:

The Great Danes carry a six-game win streak into semifinal action after earning a 59-51 win over No. 7 seed UMass Lowell on Wednesday evening. Kayla Cooper led all scorers in the win with 13 points and eight rebounds while Ellen Hahne added 12 points and seven boards. The Great Danes feature the America East's second ranked scoring defense, 14th best in the nation, allowing just 54.6 points per game with the top ranked three-point defense, fifth best in the nation, at just 25.0 percent. UAlbany, which forces 15.1 turnovers per game, averages 58.7 points on the offensive end. Cooper leads the Great Danes in scoring (14.9) and rebounding (8.4) while Helene Haegerstrand checks in at 14.6 points. Each were named to the America East All-Conference First Team. Hahne is adding 11.6 points and team leading 2.5 assists.

SERIES WITH UALBANY:

Maine and UAlbany will square off for the 53rd time in history and the ninth in postseason action. The teams split the two meetings this year, with Maine winning on its home court, 50-49 while UAlbany earned the most recent win, 53-50, on its home court. Anne Simon did not play in either of the two regular season meetings. The Black Bears have won 12 of the last 14 meetings. Maine holds a 31-21 edge in the all-time series. Maine is 17-14 on the road all-time against UAlbany. Adrianna Smith tallied 22 points in both of the meetings this season.

The Black Bears are 4-4 in postseason play against UAlbany and 3-0 against the Great Danes in the semifinal round. Maine and UAlbany have met in the postseason in each of the last two seasons with the Great Danes capturing a 56-47 victory at Maine in last season's America East title game. Maine is 0-2 all-time at UAlbany in the postseason, with the last meeting coming in the 2017 title game.

Maine is 52-26 all-time in postseason play, 34-19 in America East postseason play, 3-2 as the No. 3 seed, and 9-3 against the No. 2 seed, and 22-3 in th semifinal round.