Three seniors who have made vital contributions to the University of Maine women’s basketball program will be honored on Saturday when the Black Bears finish the regular season with a 1 p.m. game against Binghamton on the Skip Chappelle Court in the Memorial Gym in Orono.
The winner will earn the second seed for the upcoming America East quarterfinals and the loser will be the third seed.
UMaine is 11-4 in the conference and Binghamton is 10-5, but Binghamton won the earlier meeting and would win the tiebreaker in the head-to-head competition if it beats UMaine on Saturday. UMaine is 16-12 overall while Binghamton is 18-10.
Fifth-year forward Adrianna Smith will come into the contest as the school’s eighth-leading career scorer with 1,783 points. She is fourth in rebounds with 993 and tied for fifth in assists with 412. The two-time All-America East first teamer and 2022-23 league Player of the Year has appeared in 122 games and also has 141 steals and 75 blocked shots.
“I don’t even think there are any words to describe how much this has meant to me and everything this team and this program has meant to me,” Smith said about her time at UMaine. “The way I have been embraced here is indescribable.”
Smith, who is from Reston, Virginia, missed all of last season due to knee surgery.
Guard Sarah Talon from Windham has produced 719 points, 317 rebounds and 152 assists in 120 games. She has also made 86 steals and blocked 48 shots.
“It’s been fun. It’s crazy how fast it went by,” Talon said about being a member of the Black Bears program. “People always say don’t blink because it will be over. You don’t believe them until it happens.”
Guard Asta Blauenfeldt from Kongens Lyngby, Denmark spent the first two years of her college career at Seattle University before transferring to UMaine for the past two seasons.
In her four seasons between the two schools, Blauenfeldt has tallied 928 points, 240 rebounds, 222 assists, 143 steals and 14 blocks.
“Choosing this after two years at Seattle was a great choice,” Blauenfeldt said. “I love it here.”
All three players are having exceptional senior seasons with the highest scoring averages of their careers.
Smith leads America East in scoring (22.3 points per game), rebounding (10.1 rpg) and assists (4.7 apg) as well as double-doubles (16). She is ninth in the country in scoring among players from 359 Division I schools, tied for 12th in double-doubles and is 24th in rebounds.
Talon has averaged 8.3 points to go with 4.6 rebounds, 1.86 assists and 1.36 steals. She is also having her best season when it comes to rebounds, assists and steals and has tied her career-high with 14 blocked shots.
Blauenfeldt is averaging 11.8 points, 2 rebounds, 1.75 steals and 1.61 assists. She has set a single-season career high in blocks with seven and has tied her career-high in steals with 49.
UMaine head coach Amy Vachon called their contributions to the program “huge.”
The trio said their time at UMaine has been special.
“I’m trying not to think too much about it coming to an end. Just staying present in the moment every game that we have, every practice,” Smith said. “Because no matter what happens there are going to be only so many more practices, so many more games, so many more hours with this team. I’m just trying to live in the moment and create these last memories with this group of girls.”
They’re hoping to create more memories in the playoffs, too.
“It has been an amazing experience and I’m excited to see how we do in the postseason,” Talon added.
All three have been happy with their careers.
“I’m just blessed to be here and have coaches who believe in me so much and put so much faith in me,” Smith said.“Even after my freshman and sophomore years, having the faith that I could be a great player for this program and developing me.”
Talon said she has gotten to know people who make the University of Maine an amazing place to be.
“The people I find along the way are something I will always treasure and I’ll never take it for granted, for sure,” Talon said.
Blauenfeldt said what matters most isn’t the individual numbers on the stat sheet.
“It’s about wins and losses,” she said.
