The University of Maine women’s basketball team opens defense of its America East title on Thursday when the Black Bears visit the Costello Athletic Center at UMass Lowell for a 6 p.m. contest.
The Black Bears went 5-8 in their 13 non-conference games while the River Hawks went 2-10.
UMaine has won five regular season titles over the past seven seasons under head coach Amy Vachon and the Black Bears also won three tourney titles which earned them automatic berths to the NCAA Tournament.
UMaine won both a year ago before losing to Ohio State 80-57 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
UMaine holds a 22-2 edge in the all-time series with the River Hawks and has won the last six meetings including a hard-fought 49-43 victory in their America East quarterfinal last season.
UMaine wound up 24-10 a year ago while UMass Lowell finished at 4-25.
One of the interesting match-ups involves UMaine’s 3-point shooting vs. UMass Lowell’s 3-point shooting defense.
UMaine is 22nd among 353 Division I schools in 3-pointers made per game at 9.1 while the River Hawks are 88th best in defending the three, holding opponents to a 27.7 percent showing from long distance.
UMaine is shooting 33.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arc for 101st in the country. But the Black Bears are 40-for-96 (41.7 percent) from 3-point range over their last three games.
Graduate student forward-guard Caroline Bornemann leads the team in scoring and rebounding, averaging 10.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. She has also averaged 2.2 assists per contest.
Sophomore forward Caroline Dotsey, who averaged 3.9 minutes of playing time per game a year ago, is UMaine’s second-leading scorer at 10 points per game in just 16.5 minutes of playing time per game off the bench.
The 6-foot-2 Dotsey has hit 40 percent of her 3-pointers and is also averaging 2.8 rebounds. She has scored in double figures in six of her last seven games and is averaging 15.2 ppg during that span.
Junior point guard and Seattle University transfer Asta Blauenfeldt is averaging 8.8 points, 3.1 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 and is shooting 53.9 percent from the floor and 48.7 percent from long range, both team-highs.
Junior guard Sarah Talon (8.3 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 apg) is expected to return to the lineup in a limited capacity after missing the last two games with an ankle injury.
Graduate student guard Olivia Rockwood is averaging 6.7 ppg, 2.1 rpg and 1.4 apg and senior guard Paula Gallego is averaging 6.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and a team-best 3.6 assists.
UMass Lowell has been paced by sophomores Rayne Durant (10.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg), Abbey Lindsey (10.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg) and Maddie Rice (7.8 ppg, team-high 7.3 rpg), graduate student guard Sydney Watkins (7.6 ppg, 5.2 rpg, team-best 3.3 spg and 3.1 apg) and senior Alex Gitchenko (7.1 ppg, 3.4 rpg).
