The University of Maine women’s basketball team, which is losing its top three scorers from last season, has added a forward from Egypt and a guard from Spain to its roster.
Zeina Haleem, a 6-foot-3-inch forward from Cairo, is believed to be the first player from Egypt to play for the women’s basketball team, and 5-foot-9 Aina Real from the Balearic Islands continues the strong tradition of Spanish players to play for the Black Bears.
Three departing players — two-time America East Player of the Year and three-time All-American East first team selection Adrianna Smith; All-American East third team guard Asta Blauenfeldt; and senior guard Sarah Talon from Windham — combined to score 69.2 percent of UMaine’s points this past season.
They also dished out 62 percent of the assists, made 57.8 percent of the steals, grabbed 53.1 percent of the rebounds and had 52.8 percent of the blocked shots.
Haleem attended the Brighton British School and competed for the Gezira Sporting Club in Egypt.
For the Egyptian National Team, Haleem averaged 8.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 1.2 assists per game. This past season, with the Gezira Sporting Club’s Under-18 team, she averaged 18.3 points, 15.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.
She earned the Under-20 City Championship Most Valuable Player Award and was selected the best power forward at the U18 National Championship. She was also chosen as the U16 AfroBasket’s best power forward for 2025.
She was the U16 Arab Championship MVP in 2025 and led her U20 team to the state championship in 2025-26. Her U18 teams were runners-up in the national championship tournament in 2025 and 2026.
UMaine associate head coach Courtney England called Haleem a “unique post presence.”
“With her size and diverse capabilities, she will be capable of carving out her own role in what we do on the court,” said England.
Real has been a multi-time MVP in league and regional championship tournaments during the past five seasons and earned call-ups to regional teams to compete in the Spanish championships during that span.
Her 5 versus 5 teams won regional titles, and her U17 3 versus 3 teams captured championships.
She has played for Spanish National 3 versus 3 teams in U15 and U17 events and helped her U17 3 versus 3 team to an international championship against Germany in 2025.
England said Real is a “multi-faceted guard that brings a motor and skill-set that will fit perfectly into our style of play.”
“Her ability to impact both ends of the floor will add to our guard depth next season,” she said.
Fellow Spaniard Olivia Alvarez evolved into the team’s starting point guard as a freshman last season and averaged 29.6 minutes of playing time per game.
UMaine finished at 19-13 overall, 12-4 in conference play, and reached the American East tournament championship game where it lost to Vermont 61-43.
