Orono, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team appears in the America East semifinals for the 10th-straight season when it plays host to No. 5 Binghamton on Monday, March 11 at 6 p.m.
The Black Bears will look to return to the America East championship game for the 22nd time in history and the first since 2022. This will be Maine and Binghamton's fourth time meeting in the playoffs with the Black Bears 3-0 in postseason action against the Bearcats. Maine is 22-4 all-time in the semifinal round, 5-4 against the No. 5 seed, and 31-7 as the No. 1 overall seed.
Limited tickets remain online at GoBlackBears.com/tickets. Additional tickets will be made available at 4:30 p.m. on game day in the lobby of Memorial Gymnasium.
Broadcast Details:
Monday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on the Black Bears Sports Network and live on 92.9 FMÂ in the Bangor market.
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LAST TIME OUT:
ORONO, Maine --
Adrianna Smith set a new America East record with her 22nd double-double of the season to help lead the Black Bears to a 49-43 victory over No. 8 UMass Lowell in the quarterfinals of the America East playoffs on Friday evening.
Smith, who finished with 14 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, was joined in double-figures by
Anne Simon and
Caroline Bornemann who each registered 12 points in the win. Bornemann went 5-of-8 from the field while adding nine rebounds. For Simon, it was her 100th career game in double-digits.
Maine dominated on the glass, finishing with a 36-25 rebounding margin with 14 offensive boards while assisting on 13 of its 17 made field goals.
After turning it over seven times in the first half, the Black Bears limited themselves to just a pair of giveaways in the second to finish with nine total; their sixth time with single digits turnovers in a game.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
The Black Bears enter play 12-2 this season on their home court and have yet to lose against an America East opponent (8-0) at home this season. Maine, which gave the ball away just nine times last time out against UMass Lowell, has limited itself to single digit turnovers six times this season and enters play ranked 18th in the country at 12.5 turnovers per game. Defensively, Maine has held 12 opponents under 50 points this season and currently rank 26th nationally in scoring defense (56.5). Maine has outrebounded the opposition 23 times this season and enter play 18-5 when controlling the boards. The Black Bears are tops in the America East in rebounding at 37.7 per game. Maine also boasts the league's leading offense, averaging 64.3 points per game with a league-est 7.5 triples per outing. The Black Bears are led by the America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year,
Anne Simon, and first team all-conference selection,
Adrianna Smith. Simon (18.7) and Smith (16.3) rank first and second, respectively, among the league's scoring leaders. Smith checks in first in the conference and 10th nationally with 11.1 rebounds per game while Simon ranks third in the league at 7.3 boards per contest. Smith, who recently broke an America East single season record with her 22nd double-double on the year, ranks third in the country in double-doubles. Simon has posted double-digit scoring in 10-straight.
A LOOK AT BINGHAMTON:
The Bearcats went on the road to defeat Bryant, 56-51, in quarterfinal action, and enter play 6-7 on the road this season. Binghamton has won five of its last six, with the lone loss coming at Maine (2/29). The Bearcats rank second, behind Maine, in the league in scoring (62.1) and fifth in scoring defense (60.2) and have struggled on the glass where the rank seventh among league leaders (32.4) with an eighth-ranked rebounding margin of -3.7. Binghamton checks in second in the America East in three-point shooting (33.4) with 6.6 per game. Binghamton features four double-figure scoring averages, led by America East All-Conference second team selection Denai Bowman's 12.1 to go along with 4.2 rebounds. Genevieve Coleman, a third team honoree, is adding 10.4 while Jadyn Weltz, a second team selection, is averaging 10.3 points and a team-high 5.0 rebounds.
SERIES WITH BINGHAMTON:
Maine and Binghamton will meet for the 50th time, and fourth in postseason play, with the Black Bears holding a 34-15 advantage. Maine, which has won 23 of the last 26 meetings, will be looking for its 11th-straight win over Binghamton after sweeping this year's season series. Maine defeated Binghamton on the road, 59-56, before earning a 57-51 victory at home in a game which was moved to Bangor due to a power outage on campus.
Anne Simon is averaging 17.9 points per game in 11 all-time meetings with Binghamton with double-digit scoring totals in 10 of the 11 meetings. Maine and Binghamton first met in 2001, a 63-62 overtime victory by the Black Bears. Maine is 17-4 at home in the series.
Maine is 3-0 in the postseason against the Bearcats. All three meetings have come in the quarterfinal round. Maine defeated Binghamton in last year's postseason (64-54), in 2017 (57-40) and in 2015 (78-71). All three of those games were hosted by Maine.
-UMaine-
