UMaine girls’s basketball faces a difficult non-conference schedule
The College of Maine’s girls’s basketball workforce might be taking part in one of many program’s most difficult non-conference schedules ever this coming season.
Three NCAA Match groups and 9 WNIT members are amongst their potential 15 non-conference opponents. All 15 groups gained a minimum of 17 video games and had successful information in 2022-23.
The sport towards nationwide powerhouse Indiana College on the Cross Insurance coverage Enviornment in Portland on Nov. 30 highlights the schedule as Gorham native and first workforce All-American ahead Mackenzie Holmes brings her Hoosiers to Maine coming off a 28-4 season.
Indiana was the highest seed in its NCAA Match regional and beat No. 16 Tennessee Tech 77-47 within the first spherical earlier than being upset by No. 9 Miami of Florida 70-68 within the second spherical.
UMaine will play within the Drake Match in Des Moines, Iowa, on Nov. 24-26 and Drake gained the Missouri Valley Convention tourney earlier than dropping to fifth seed Louisville 83-81 within the first spherical of the NCAA Match. Drake, which was the twelfth seed within the NCAA regional, completed up 22-10.
The Drake Match may even embrace WNIT groups Richmond (21-11) and Louisiana Tech (19-13).
UMaine will host James Madison on Dec. 17, and JMU is coming off a season wherein it gained the Solar Belt Convention tourney and misplaced to 3rd seed Ohio State 80-66 within the first spherical of the NCAA Match. JMU, the 14th seed, wound up 26-8.
James Madison is among the Black Bears’ 5 non-conference opponents they confronted final season. UMaine beat JMU 60-58 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.
The opposite 4 groups they’ll play once more had been all within the WNIT and all 4 gained a minimum of one sport within the tourney.
UMaine misplaced to all 4 a yr in the past.
UMaine will host UMass on Nov. 12 and the College of Rhode Island two days later. It’s going to journey to Fordham on Dec. 2 and entertain Harvard on Dec. 6.
UMass, 27-7 a yr in the past, and Fordham, 19-13, every gained one WNIT sport; 26-7 Rhode Island gained a pair of video games and 20-12 Harvard notched three victories earlier than being eradicated within the Nice Eight by Columbia.
Harvard ousted UMass and URI.
UMass topped UMaine 67-54 in 2022-23, URI handed the Black Bears a 63-43 setback, Fordham triumphed 57-51 and Harvard gained handily, 84-56.
The Black Bears will conclude the non-conference portion of their schedule on the Tulane Match in New Orleans on Dec. 20-21 and on the College of Pennsylvania on Dec. 30.
Two of the three groups within the Tulane Match certified for the WNIT: Tulane (18-14) and Arkansas-Little Rock (21-11). Duquesne, which is in Pittsburgh, didn’t qualify for the NCAA or the WNIT however gained 19 video games (19-12).
Pennsylvania was 17-12 final season and misplaced within the first spherical of the WNIT.
The UMaine girls went 16-14 total, 11-5 in America East, and misplaced to Albany within the league semifinals.
UMaine returns all 5 starters and high 9 scorers together with 2022-23 AE Participant of the 12 months Adrianna Smith and 2021-22 Participant of the 12 months and Defensive Participant of the 12 months Anne Simon, who was hampered by an ankle harm final season.
