ORONO, Maine -- The University of Maine women's basketball team returns home to host UMass Lowell on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 1 p.m. on Alumnae Day and Fan Appreciation Day at Skip Chappelle Court. Limited tickets remain available and can be purchased at GoBlackBears.com/Tickets.

Saturday's game can be seen nationally on ESPN+. Additionally, Saturday's game can be heard nationwide on the Black Bears Sports Network at GoBlackBears.com.

PROMOTIONS:
Alumnae Day: In the annual Alumnae Day, the Black Bears are proud to welcome back their former players and will recognize all alumnae in attendance during a special halftime ceremony. A special recognition will be held to honor the 1990-91 North Atlantic Conference championship team

Fan Appreciation Day: Throughout the game, several prizes will be awarded to select fans in attendance as our way to say 'thank you!' to Black Bear Nation for all of their support.

Game 22 | Maine (10-11, 5-3 AE) vs. UMass Lowell (6-15, 0-8)
Saturday, Jan. 31, 2025 | 1:00 P.M. | ESPN+
Skip Chappelle Court | Orono, ME

LAST TIME OUT:
VESTAL, N.Y. -- In a seesaw showdown, the University of Maine women's basketball team jumped out to an early 10-point lead, fell behind by 14, and clawed its way back to within two but were unable to complete the comeback, falling by a final of 62-57.

Adrianna Smith, who moved into sixth on Maine's all-time rebounding list with 908 career boards, led all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-16 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and three steals. Sarah Talon added 10 points and a team-high three assists.

The Black Bears finished 22-of-49 (44.9) from the floor.

A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
In conference only action, the Black Bears rank second among league leaders in scoring (67.3) and feature a league-high +5.5 turnover margin as they have won the turnover battle in seven of their first eight conference games. Adrianna Smith, the reigning America East Player of the Week, recently collected her 11th career player of hte week honor and leads the conference in scoring (21.6), rebounding (9.4) and assists (4.6). Smith is riding a 16-game double-digit scoring streak and has posted nine performances of 25+ points this season. Smith is averaging 26.8 points per game in league play and 28.7 over her last three outings. Sarah Talon has posted a strong start to conference play, with double-figures in six of her last seven outings. Talon, averaging 8.3 points, ranks 16th in the league in rebounding (4.9) and 16th in steals (1.4). Asta Blauenfeldt is adding 11.5 points and checks in third in the conference with 2.0 steals per game. Her 34.2 percent mark from the floor and 1.8 triples per game each rank seventh in the conference. 

A LOOK AT UMASS LOWELL:
The River Hawks are still searching for their first win in league play after dropping their first eight conference contests of the season including a most recent 62-58 overtime loss against New Hampshire on Thursday. The River Hawks rank eighth in the league in scoring (58.5) and last in scoring defense, allowing 66.0 points per game. UMass Lowell leads the America East in both three-point attempts per game (24.2) and three-pointers made per game (7.1) but rank last among league leaders in turnovers per game (17.1). Jaini Edmonds leads the River Hawks in scoring at 13.5 points per game, the lone River Hawk averaging double-figures. Maddie Rice is adding 8.9 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds while Sabrina Larsson is averaging 8.8 points with a team-high 40.9-percent clip from three-point range.

SERIES WITH UMASS LOWELL: 
Maine and UMass Lowell are meeting for the 28th time in history. Earlier this season, Maine earned a 73-65 comeback victory at UMass Lowell after trailing by as many as 11. In the win, the Black Bears were led by Adrianna Smith's career-high 37 point night with 21 of her 37 coming in the second half. Smith, who shot 16-of-23 in the game, was aided in the scoring column by Lala Woods' career-high 17 points with three triples while Asta Blauenfeldt chipped in 13 points. Maine shot 52.8 percent from the floor and forced 20 turnovers. Maine, 25-2 all-time against the River Hawks, won the first 13 games of the head-to-head series. Maine has won nine-straight in the head-to-head series, four in a row at home. Maine's last, and only, loss at home in the series came in 2022. Since the River Hawks joined the America East in 2013, Maine is 14-1 at home 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. 

-UMaine-