Caroline Dotsey didn’t see much playing time as a freshman for the University of Maine’s women’s basketball team last season.
The 6-foot-2 forward from Haverford, Pennsylvania, was adjusting to college basketball and playing behind two-time All-America East first team selection and 2022-23 AE Player of the Year Adrianna Smith.
But when Smith suffered a season-ending knee injury right before the start of the season, Dotsey was pressed into service and has responded admirably.
After finishing last season with a total of 14 points and 15 rebounds, Dotsey has averaged 8.7 points and 2.8 rebounds while earning 15.9 minutes of playing time per game. She is the team’s third-leading scorer entering Thursday’s 6 p.m. America East game against the New Jersey Institute of Technology at the Memorial Gym in Orono.
UMaine is 7-10 overall and 2-2 in league play while NJIT is 6-10 and 3-0, respectively.
“Last year was definitely a big growth year for me,” Dotsey said. “Having the leadership from Anne [Simon] and Adi [Smith] was something really special to walk in to. I’ve been able to take that under my belt for this year.”
Simon exhausted her eligibility to play college basketball after being a two-time America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Dotsey has adapted better to playing at the college level and worked hard in the offseason on getting stronger, she said.
“That was a really big step that I took this year coming back from the summer and putting on a lot of muscle. That was really important for me,” Dotsey said.
She said filling in for Smith after she got hurt “definitely wasn’t an ideal situation.”
“But sometimes you have to step up in those moments and I have been able to do that,” Dotsey added.
“She has become more confident,” UMaine head coach Amy Vachon said. “It can be a transition for a lot of kids coming in. She is getting more comfortable with the offense and knowing what we want on the defensive end as well.”
Dotsey had a career-high 26 points in a win over Stonehill and had solid performances against Big Ten schools Indiana (17 points, 7 rebounds) and Purdue (13 points, 6 rebounds).
She has shot 41.5 percent from the floor and 35.3 percent beyond the 3-point arc.
“She is a great outside shooter, one of our best,” Vachon said.
Dotsey said she worked a lot on her 3-point shooting last year.
“That’s definitely been a big part of my game this year. I have to keep working on it so I can stay consistent,” Dotsey said.
UMaine senior guard Paula Gallego said Dotsey’s game has “developed everywhere.”
“She has gotten better defensively, she has a really nice shot,” Gallego said. “She is doing a really good job learning from everything and from everyone on the court. “
One of Dotsey’s goals is to become a more versatile player.
“I want to keep getting better in every aspect. I’m getting stronger underneath the basket and improving my ability to play outside on the perimeter. I’m working on it all,” said Dotsey, a former Gatorade Player of the Year finalist in Pennsylvania and an All-Central League, All-Delaware County and All-Main Line Player of the Year at Haverford High School.
Even though she has made dramatic strides, Dotsey said she is never content.
“It has been a good opportunity and I’m going to try to keep building off of it to keep getting that opportunity,” she added.
The Black Bears are coming off a pair of tough road losses at Binghamton (69-59) and Albany (60-55) in which they were outscored 10-0 and 10-4, respectively, over the final three and a half minutes of each game.
Despite the losses, Vachon said she was encouraged by her team’s performances.
“We were right there in both games but they made plays at the end and we didn’t,” Vachon said.
“We learned a lot,” said graduate student guard-forward Caroline Bornemann. “Over the last three and a half minutes, we didn’t come up with the buckets or the stops we needed but, overall, we played well and showed we could compete, which is really important.”
Bornemann is the Black Bears’ leading scorer and rebounder at 11.4 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. She also averages two assists.
Junior guard Asta Blauenfeldt has produced 9.7 points, 3.1 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game and is tops in steals with 23.
Dotsey is next in points followed by graduate student guard Olivia Rockwood (7.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg) and senior guard Gallego (7.2 ppg, team-leading 3.9 apg, 3.5 rpg).
NJIT has been paced by junior guard Alejandra Zuniga (17.8 ppg, team-high 3.8 apg, 2.8 rpg), freshman guard Olivia Kulyk (11.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg), senior forward Trinity Williams (11 ppg, team-leading 7.5 rpg), graduate student guard Enya Maguire (6.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.6 apg) and sophomore guard Marissa Gingrich (6.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg).
Zuniga poured in 29 points in NJIT’s last game, a 72-54 win over UMass Lowell, and Kulyk has been named the America East Rookie of the Week five times.
