ORONO, Maine -- The No. 4 seeded University of Maine women's basketball team opens postseason play when it hosts No. 5 NJIT on Thursday, March 6 at 6 p.m. in Jersey Mike's America East quarterfinal action at Skip Chappelle Court.
Tickets: Limited tickets remain for Thursday evening's quarterfinal action. To purchase your tickets, visit GoBlackBears.com/tickets, in-person at the UMaine Athletics box office, or by phone at 207-581-2327. UMaine students are eligible to receive a free ticket to the game with a valid MaineCard.
Broadcast Details: Thursday's game will be live streamed on ESPN+. The game can also be heard on 92.9 FM in the Bangor marketing, 100.5 FM in the Portland market, and on the Black Bears Sports Network at GoBlackBears.com.
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For the 12th consecutive season, the No. 4 seeded Black Bears have earned a top-4 seed in the America East playoffs. Maine, coming off a championship in 2024 and appearances in the championship game in eight of the last nine conference tournaments, looks to repeat as it enters play 19-7 all-time in quarterfinal action with nine-straight wins in the quarterfinal round.
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LAST TIME OUT:
SMITHFIELD, R.I. --
Asta Blauenfeldt guided all scorers with a game-high 20 points as the University of Maine women's basketball team dropped a 68-57 decision in its regular season finale at Bryant on Saturday afternoon. The loss drops Maine to 14-15 overall and 9-7 in America East play.
Maine must await the conclusion of the NJIT at UAlbany game, tipping off on Saturday evening at 7 p.m., to find out its postseason seeding and opponent.
Blauenfeldt shot 7-of-14 on the day, with four triples, to finish with 20 points to go along with four rebounds and three assists.
Caroline Bornemann and
Caroline Dotsey each added 10 points for the Black Bears who finished the afternoon 22-of-62 from the floor, 10-of-31 from three-point range.
Bryant, led by Nia Scott's 18 points and eight rebounds, posted a 59.5-percent mark (25-of-42) from the field while hitting 16-of-20 from the free throw line in the victory.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine, winners of three-straight postseason conference games, carries its 9-4 home record, 7-1 in league play, into Thursday evening's America East quarterfinal showdown.
Caroline Bornemann, an America East All-Conference First Team selection, leads the Black Bears with double-figure scoring in 17 games this season including each of her last three. Bornemann ranks fifth among conference leaders in scoring (12.2) and second in rebounding at 7.9 per game. Bornemann, the league leader in minutes played (33.4), boasts the sixth-best field goal mark (44.2) in the league and ranks 12th in assists (2.4). She has posted seven double-doubles this season and currently ranks 19th on Maine's all-time scoring list and 11th on the all-time rebounds list.
Caroline Dotsey, voted the league's sixth player of the year, ranks 10th in the league in scoring at 10.1 points per game. Dotsey has posted 14 double-figure scoring performances this season.
Paula Gallego, an America East Third Team All-Conference selection, sets the table for Maine, ranking second in America East in assists (3.6) and assist/turnover ratio (1.6).
Olivia Rockwood, who ranks fifth in three-pointers made all-time at Maine, is third in the league with 1.7 triples per game this season.
Asta Blauenfeldt ranks among the top-20 in four categories including scoring (20th-9.2), 3-point field goals made (9th-1.3), assists (10th-2.6), and steals per game (6th-1.6). The Black Bears continue to set the pace from downtown where they've hit 10 or more triples in each of their last three outings and rank first in the league and 32nd in the country at 8.2 triples made per game. In conference play, Maine ranks fourth best in scoring (57.9) and third in scoring defense (56.0).
A LOOK AT NJIT:
The Highlanders, 4-11 on the road this season, enter postseason play 1-3 in their last four as they ended the season with losses at Vermont and at UAlbany. NJIT ranks second in the conference in scoring at 64.1 points per game and last in scoring defense, allowing 65.0 per outing. The quarterfinal match-up pits the top-two three-point threats (Maine/NJIT) against each other as the Highlanders rank second in the league with 7.3 triples per game. Alejandra Zuniga ranks third in the conference in scoring at 16.1 points per game with a 44.3 percent shooting clip from the floor. Trinity Williams, who is averaging 10.0 points per game, leads the Highlanders in both rebounding (5.3) with a league-best 32 blocks. Enya Maguire, who is averaging 7.2 points per game, leads the league in three-point percentage (35.3) and triples made per game (2.03).
SERIES WITH NJIT:
Maine and NJIT meet for the 14th time in history after the Highlanders joined the America East in the 2020-21 season. Maine owns the all-time series, 8-5, and have won three of the last four. Maine defeated NJIT earlier this season in Orono, 71-58, before falling in the most recent meeting at NJIT, 61-56. In this year's home win over NJIT,
Caroline Bornemann posted a monster game with a career-high 34 points, including the 1,000th of her career, to go along with 13 rebounds and six assists. Bornemann is averaging 28.0 points per game against the Highlanders this season. The Black Bears have won six of the last eight meetings. Maine is 5-3 all-time on the road against the Highlanders. Prior to NJIT joining the league, the two teams met in 2009, a contest won by NJIT in Newark by a score of 63-50. The first-ever meeting came in 2008 where the Black Bears were defeated on their home court, 68-60.
POSTSEASON WITH NJIT:
Maine is 1-0 all-time in the postseason against NJIT. The No. 1 seeded Black Bears defeated No. 4 NJIT, 72-48, in the 2022 America East semifinals in a game held in Orono.
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