Orono, Maine -- Maine hits the road for the first time this season when it meets Rhode Island on Wednesday evening at 6:35 p.m. at the Ryan Center. Maine, which finished 8-7 on the road a year ago, will meet Rhode Island for the 29th time in the history of the program. The all-time series between the two teams is deadlocked at 14-14.
Broadcast Details: Wednesday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on the Black Bears Sports Network and on 92.9 FM in the Bangor region.
Â
Â
LAST TIME OUT:
ORONO, Maine --
Caroline Bornemann posted her seventh career double-double with a game-high 19 points to go along with 11 rebounds in Maine's 56-52 loss to Penn on Sunday afternoon.
Paula Gallego's bucket with 2:41 left in regulation put the Black Bears on top by one but Penn would end the game on a 10-5 run to seal the victory.
Olivia Rockwood hit four triples in the game for 12 points while Gallego added 12 points on 5-of-9 from the field to go along with a career-high matching six assists.
Maine finished 21-of-53 (39.6) from the floor with eight triples in a game which featured nine lead change and a tie.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine split its opening home series of the year, defeating La Salle before dropping a 56-52 decision to Penn. The loss to Penn snapped Maine's 12 game home winning streak as the Black Bears have now won 12 of their last 13 inside Memorial Gymnasium.
Caroline Bornemann leads Maine as the graduate has posted double-doubles in each of her first two outings, including snatching a career-high 14 rebounds in the win over La Salle. Bornemann currently ranks eighth in the America East in scoring (15.5) and second in rebounding (12.5) with a 52.0 percent mark from the floor.
Paula Gallego opened the season with a double-double, the second of her career, as she dropped a career-best 21 points to go along with 10 rebounds before handing out a career-high six assists in Maine's contest with Penn. Gallego leads Maine in scoring (16.5), good for fifth in the America East, while leading the conference at 4.5 assists per game. The Black Bears have been stingy on defense through two games, allowing under 54 points in each of the two. Maine ranks third in the league at 53.5 points allowed per game while checking in second best at 17.5 helpers per outing.
A LOOK AT RHODE ISLAND:
The Rams enter the game 2-1 with their lone loss coming to America East member UAlbany (67-57). The Rams boast early season wins over Le Moyne (76-51) and Stonehill (68-45). The Rams were selected eighth out of 15 teams in the A-10 preseason Poll while Anaelle Dutat and Sophie Phillips each earned nods to the A-10 Preseason Third Team. Phillips, who set the URI record with 89 triples a year ago, is averaging 9.7 points this season. The Rams are led in scoring by Honey Kaur (13.0) and Dutat (10.0). A year ago, the Rams posted their third-consecutive 20+ win season (21-14) before falling in the A-10 title game to Richmond.
SERIES WITH RHODE ISLAND:
Maine and Rhode Island, playing for a fifth-straight season and the 29th time in history, will meet in Rhode Island for the first time since 2022. Prior to last season's showdown in Orono, the previous six meetings took place either at URI or in neutral sites (Augusta, Maine in 2021 and Portland, Maine in 2012). The all-time series is knotted at 1-14 after the Black Bears took last season's meeting in Orono by a final of 59-48. Maine is 10-8 all-time on the road in the series and has won in three of its last four trips to Kingston. Rhode Island won the last meeting between the two at the Ryan Center, 63-43, in 2022. In last season's meeting, Maine outscored URI 17-8 in the fourth quarter to put the game away and limited URI to just 28.6% from the floor in the contest. The Black Bears shot 42.4% from the floor, led by
Anne Simon's 25 points.
-UMaine-
