Orono, Maine — The Black Bears hit the road to take part in the three-game Vibrant Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by Drake, beginning on Friday, Nov. 24. Maine will take on Richmond on day one at 5:30 p.m. ET before meeting Louisiana Tech on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. The Black Bears conclude the three-game stretch by meeting Drake on Sunday at 3 p.m.
Broadcast Details:
All three games will be live streamed on ESPN+ and can be heard locally on 92.9 The Ticket and nationwide at GoBlackBears.com.
LAST TIME OUT:
Orono, Maine — Anne Simon scored 21 of her game-high 25 points in the second half as the Black Bears took down the preseason favorite in the Atlantic-10, Rhode Island, by a final of 59-48. The win, Maine’s third in a row, moves the Black Bears to 3-1 on the season and 2-0 at home.
Rhode Island, who entered the evening averaging 84.5 points per game, were held to just 48 thanks to Maine’s stifling defense. For the third-straight game, Maine was able to hold an opponent under 50 points as the Rams shot just 28.6-percent (20-for-70) from the floor including a 1-for-22 showing from three-point range.
Simon, who tallied 20+ points for the third consecutive outing, added five rebounds and three assists to her impressive night. Adrianna Smith notched her second double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds while falling just two assists shy of a triple double.
The Black Bears finished 25-of-59 from the floor (42.4), 7-of-17 from three-point range, and shot 14-for-28 (50.0) in the second half. Maine has now won the rebounding battle in each of its first four games as it edged the Rams in the rebounding column, 44-43.
A LOOK AT THE BLACK BEARS:
Maine enters the Classic on a three-game winning streak after scoring a 59-48 victory against A-10 preseason favorite Rhode Island last time out back on Nov. 14. The game was the third of four in a row against A-10 competition. Anne Simon, the two-week reigning America East Player of the Week, leads the Black Bears as she enters play riding an eight-game double-digit scoring streak with 20+ in each of her last three outings. Simon leads the America East in scoring, 32nd nationally, at 20.8 points per game and checks in third in the conference with 2.0 steals to go along with the sixth-best rebounding average in the conference (7.5). Simon ranks 10th on Maine’s all-time scoring list (1,440) and just 22 points from moving into ninth all-time. Adrianna Smith, the 2023 America East Player of the Year, led the conference in double-doubles a year ago (16) and current has two double-doubles in her four outings this season. Smith leads the league in rebounding (11.3), checks in 13th among the scoring leaders (10.8), and ranks second with 4.5 assists. Smith has notched double-digit scoring in 24 of her last 25 outings. Caroline Bornemann has posted double-figure scoring efforts in two of her four games this season and enters play averaging 8.8 points. Sophomore Sarah Talon, who appeared in 29 games with no starts a year ago, has started all four for Maine this year and ranks 23rd in the conference at 8.5 points per game.
Maine, who is averaging 60.8 points per game entering the weekend, have held three of its four opponents to 50 points or less this season and check in third in the conference, 46th nationally, at 53.5 points per game allowed. The Black Bears have won the rebounding battle in each of their first four games, lead the America East at 43.3 rebounds per game with a conference-high +11.0 rebounding margin.
A LOOK AT RICHMOND:
After opening the season with a loss at Duke, Richmond has reeled off three-straight wins after most recently defeating American, 76-44. Richmond is coming off a 21-11 campaign which saw them earn a spot in the A-10 semifinals before hosting a WNIT contest. Richmond is led by sophomore forward Maggie Doogan who enters averaging 13.8 points and 5.0 rebounds. Doogan is one of four double-figure scorers on the squad which includes Siobhan Ryan (11.8), Rachel Ullstrom (10.8), and Grace Townsend (10.5). The Spiders lead the A-10 with a 47.8 percent mark from the floor and a league-high 17.5 assists per game. Richmond is third in the A-10 in scoring (78.5) and third in scoring defense (56.0).
SERIES WITH THE FIELD:
Maine enters play 0-1 all-time against Richmond. The lone meeting between the two programs came in 1991, a 69-53 victory by the Spiders in the championship of the Downeast Classic. Maine will meet Louisiana Tech for the first time in history. The Black Bears are 2-1 all-time against Drake with wins in 1990 (84-72 – Days Inn Phoenix Classic) and 2003 (63-62 overtime at Drake). Drake won the latest meeting in 2019, 94-62, on the second day of Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fl.
-UMaine-