Orono, Maine -- Coming off its 10th conference title and 10th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the University of Maine women's basketball team begins its 61st season of competition on Monday morning when it hosts La Salle at 11 a.m. in the 'Field Trip Game', presented by Chick-fil-A.
For more information on the 'Field Trip Game', please click here.
This is the first time the Black Bears have opened a season at home since 2018. Maine will be one of the first six schools in Division I to kickoff the season (Georgia Tech at 10:30 a.m., Florida State, Duke, Col. of Charleston, North Carolina at 11 a.m.).
Broadcast Details: Monday'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 (Bangor).
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Tickets:
Limited UMaine student tickets will be available at the door for Monday's season opener. Student tickets for all basketball games are free with a valid MaineCard while supplies last. For any questions regarding ticketing, please contact the Maine Athletics box office by email at um.tickets@maine.edu or by phone at 207-581-2327.
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Parking:
Season ticket holders attending Monday's game should use the Munson Road entrance to campus and park in either the Wells Lot or Dunn Lot. Please see the map below for more information on Monday's parking plan.
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LAST TIME OUT:
COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Anne Simon completed her University of Maine career-high by scoring a game-high 25 points in the No. 15 seeded Black Bears' 80-57 loss at No. 2 seed Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tourament on Friday afternoon.
Simon concluded the contest 11-of-21 from the floor for 25 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Olivia Rockwood hit three triples for 15 points while
Adrianna Smith added 11 points, six rebounds, and six points.
Maine, which shot above 60-percent in both the first (66.7) and third quarters (69.2), ended the contest 23-of-44 (52.3). The Black Bears hit 7-of-19 from downtown.
Ohio State forced Maine into 22 turnovers while posting a 24-10 advantage in points off turnovers.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine is coming off a season which saw it finish 24-10 overall, 14-2 in America East play, as the Black Bears captured the 2024 America East Championship with a 64-48 victory over Vermont. The win advanced Maine to the NCAA Tournament were it fell at Ohio State in the first round.
The Black Bears were set to return four of their five starters prior to Smith suffering a season-ending knee injury in the preseason. Despite the loss of Smith, the Black Bears will see six of its top eight scorers return from a year ago led by
Caroline Bornemann (7.3 ppg/5.5 rpg),
Sarah Talon (6.5 ppg/2.2 rpg), and
Olivia Rockwood (6.3 ppg/36.7% from 3-point range).
Last year, Maine finished the season as the conference leader in scoring offense (64.1 ppg) with the 18th best turnover per game (12.5) rate as the Black Bears were one of the best teams in the country in terms of ball protection. Maine checked in tops in America East in three-point attempts (24.1). Maine also posted the league's top rebound production at 37.1 boards per game a year ago, winning the rebounding battle in 24 of its 34 outings, with one tie. Maine is 33-7 when controlling the boards of its past two seasons. Head Coach
Amy Vachon enters her eighth season at the helm for Maine after earning her fifth America East coach of the year honor in 2024-25. Earlier this preseason, Vachon was named to the Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid Major Coach of the Year Preseason Watch List.
A LOOK AT LA SALLE:
La Salle, coming off an 8-22 campaign with a 3-11 mark in A-10 play, feature 13 new players on its roster this season under head coach Mountain MacGillivray who begins his sixth year at the helm. The Explorers return just one starter from a season ago in Jolene Armendariz who appeared in 29 games with 27 starts while averaging 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds. Aryss Macktoon also returns but played in just four games year ago before suffering an injury. Prior to going down, Macktoon averaged 10.8 points per game.
SERIES WITH LA SALLE:
Maine and La Salle will meet for the second consecutive season and for the season time in history. Maine is 1-0 against the Explorers after earning a 58-48 victory on Nov. 9, 2023.
Anne Simon and
Adrianna Smith each tallied double-doubles in the win a year ago while
Caroline Bornemann added 11 points and seven boards. Maine's defense, which limited La Salle to just six points in the third quarter, limited the Explorers to just 29.5 percent from the floor while forcing 17 turnovers. Maine went 3-2 a year ago against the A-10 with wins over La Salle, UMass, and Rhode Island.
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