Skowhegan’s Jaycie Christopher certainly had a memorable first game for the University of Maine’s women’s basketball team in its season-opening 60-58 road win over James Madison in Virginia on Monday night.
The 2021-22 Miss Maine Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year became the first freshman from Maine to start for the Black Bears since Alfred’s Rebecca Knight and Greene’s Courtney Anderson during the 2011-12 season.
Anderson, who is now Courtney England, is the Black Bears’ associate head coach.
Even though Christopher didn’t score, the point guard committed just one turnover in 33 minutes and her inbound pass to Caroline Bornemann with four-tenths of a second left produced Bornemann’s game-winning basket.
She finished with four rebounds and two assists.
“She did a lot of good things. Just one turnover in 33 minutes is huge,” said UMaine head coach and former Black Bear point guard Amy Vachon. “And she’s just going to keep improving.
“She can handle the ball. She knows where the ball needs to go. She’s a very smart player who learns very quickly,” Vachon added. “She is able to translate what we tell her to the court pretty quickly. The ceiling is very high for her in a lot of areas.”
Christopher had mixed emotions about her performance.
“There’s always more work to be done. I’m never satisfied,” she said. “We got the win. The most important thing is to do what I can to help the team win, and that changes on a night-to-night basis.
“One thing I have been working on a lot is communicating, especially within our offense. Calling plays and stuff. I’m happier with how I communicated during the game, but I definitely still have a lot of work to do,” Christopher added.
She said she had a slight case of the nerves before the game, “but I don’t get super nervous before games. It’s more excitement than anything else. I want to be able to compete and play with everyone.”
The game-winning assist meant a lot to her.
“I knew what we were running, and I knew where to look and what to look for,” Christopher said. “It was just a matter of being competitive and wanting to win. The only thing in my head was, ‘What can I do in this moment so we can get the win?’”
She received tons of support from her community, and said it is an honor playing for UMaine.
“So many people back home watched the game. They had wished me luck and sent me congratulations after we won. It is really special to represent the state of Maine and play for a program as special as this,” Christopher said.
Teammate Anne Simon, the reigning America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, praised Christopher.
“To be a starter and play the role she as the point guard is tough,” said Simon. “But she has been doing great.
“She’s very versatile. She can shoot, she can drive to the basket, she can defend. She has what we need offensively and defensively. And she has done a much better job talking, which is something we helped her with.”
“She is also very calm, which we need from a point guard. You don’t want to see a point guard being stressed about the other team’s press. She did that very well.”
The 5-foot-10 Christopher said the biggest adjustment from high school basketball to Division I college basketball has been “the speed and the physicality of the game.
“Kids in high school aren’t as strong or fast. But being up here throughout the summer helped a lot. It made the transition go smoothly,” Christopher said.
She said getting her first win felt “amazing,” and she thoroughly enjoys her teammates.
“Everybody is a great person and a great student and we all care about each other. We play for each other. We’re all in it together,” said Christopher, who will travel to play the University of Massachusetts in Amherst on Monday night at 7.