Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team opens America East action on Thursday when it travels to take on UMass Lowell at 6 p.m.
Maine has won six-straight conference openers and seven of its last eight. The Black Bears are 16-10 in conference openers dating back to the league's start in the 1996-97 season.
Broadcast Details:
Thursday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on the Black Bears Sports Network and locally in the Bangor market on 92.9 FM.
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LAST TIME OUT:
Philadelphia, Pa. --
Adrianna Smith and
Caroline Bornemann each totaled 18 points as the Black Bears came up short in their non-conference finale, falling at Penn by a final of 72-69.
It was a see-saw contest which featured 20 lead changes and eight ties as the Quakers outscored Maine 23-18 in the final quarter to escape with the victory.
Smith posted her ninth double-double of the season, the 25th of her career, as she finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and added eight assists, narrowly missing a triple-double. Bornemann also added a double-double, her first of the season, with 18 points on four triples to go along with 10 boards. Bornemann added the 100th triple of her career, making her the 21st player in school history to eclipse 100 three pointers in a career.
Anne Simon posted her eighth-straight game in double-figures with 17 points while
Sarah Talon added a season-high 14 points.
Maine finished the contest 23-51 (45.1%) from the floor, including a 6-for-22 mark from downtown to go along with a season-high 17 made free throws.
The Black Bears were edged in the rebounding battle, 34-33.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine concludes a four-game road stretch with its trip to UMass Lowell. Maine is averaging 72.3 points per game over its last four outings including a season-high 80 point output in a neutral site win over Duquesne. The Black Bears offense is led by
Anne Simon who currently leads the America East in scoring at 19.8 points per game. Simon, who is riding an eight-game double-digit scoring streak, ranks 11th in the country with 277 points scored this season. Simon, who ranks ninth on Maine's all-time scoring list just 37 points away from moving into eighth all-time, checks in second among America East leaders in rebounding (7.5), second in steals (2.3), and leads the league with 35.4 minutes per game.
Adrianna Smith ranks third in the country with nine double-doubles this season, including one in two of her last three outings, leads the America East in both rebounding (10.6) and assists (4.9) while checking in seventh in scoring at 14.0 points per game. Smith's 148 rebounds are fifth most in the country.
Caroline Bornemann has double-figure scoring totals in three of her last six outings and is coming off her first double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds at Penn. As a unit, Maine ranks fourth in the league in scoring (63.9) and sixth in scoring defense (63.8). Maine is second best in the conference in rebounding (36.6). The Black Bears rely on the three as they rank 14th in the country in three-point attempts per game (26.9) and second in AE with 7.8 triples made per game.
A LOOK AT UMASS LOWELL:
The River Hawks roll into conference play stuck in a 13-game losing skid dating back to a year ago. UMass Lowell, who has lost all 12 of its games so far, is 0-4 at home this season. The River Hawks rank last in the America East in scoring (49.4) and scoring defense (66.7) with a -17.2 scoring margin on the season. Graduate student Mili Carrera leads the River Hawks in scoring at 9.9 points per game while Abbey Lindsey is chipping in 9.1 points. Sydney Watkins leads UMass Lowell in rebounding (6.3) and ranks first in the America East at 3.2 steals per game.
SERIES WITH UMASS LOWELL:
Maine and UMass Lowell are meeting for the 22nd time. Maine swept the series a year ago, winning 70-63 in overtime before a most recent 61-50 victory at Lowell. Maine, 19-2 all-time against the River Hawks, won the first 12 games of the head-to-head series. Maine, 4-1 in its last five outings with UMass Lowell. Since the River Hawks joined the America East in 2013, Maine is 8-1 on the road 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.
Anne Simon has recorded double-digit scoring efforts in seven of her eight outings against the River Hawks and enters play averaging 14.9 points and 5.6 rebounds against the River Hawks.
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