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Women's Basketball Takes on New Hampshire Saturday
Feb. 17, 2006
Complete Release in PDF Format
The Opening Tip The University of Maine women's basketball team will look to shake off the effects of a tough loss to Vermont, when it plays host to rival New Hampshire on Saturday afternoon at 12 p.m., at Alfond Arena. The Black Bears enter the contest with a 7-15 overall record and a 3-8 mark in league play, good for eighth place in America East. The Wildcats come in with a 13-10 mark and 5-7 record in league play, good for sixth. Maine comes into Saturday's game following a tough 68-65 loss to Vermont on Wednesday night. The Black Bears held a 63-56 lead with 4:39 remaining in the game, but the Catamounts outscored Maine, 12-2, the rest of the way to pull out the win. New Hampshire comes into the contest after dropping a close 62-56 decision at Stony Brook on Wednesday. Maine leads the all-time series with UNH by a count of 41-20. Scouting New Hampshire New Hampshire enters Saturday's game with a 13-10 overall record and a 5-7 mark in league play. The Wildcats have dropped two straight with both losses coming to the top-two teams in America East -- Hartford and Stony Brook. The Wildcats handed Maine a 63-59 loss in Durham back on Jan. 18. UNH is led by Corinna, Maine native Danielle Clark, who is the team's only double-figure scorer at 14.9 points per game. She also leads the team in rebounding at 6.0 a night. Whitney Edwards is dishing out a team-high 3.3 assists a game, while she has also swiped a team-best 46 steals. Also on the defensive end, Ray Williams has blocked a team-best 27 shots. New Hampshire is 5-7 away from Durham this season, including a 1-5 mark in league road games. UNH's lone conference road win this season was an 83-71 victory at Boston University back on Feb. 1. Black Bears Playing Back-To-Back Conference Home Games Maine is playing back-to-back conference home games for the first time this season. The Black Bears will also close out the regular season with back-to-back home games against Boston University (March 1) and Stony Brook (March 4). It also marks the first time since late November that Maine has played consecutive home games. The Black Bears played host to Kennesaw State (Nov. 25), Dartmouth (Nov. 26) and Rhode Island (Nov. 30) for three-straight games. Maine Owns Home Winning Streak Versus UNH Maine has won seven-straight and 11 of the last 12 versus New Hampshire in Alfond Arena. UNH's last win in Orono came back on Feb. 1, 1998, when the Wildcats defeated Maine 75-65. The Turning Point Last Time Maine-UNH Played In the earlier meeting between the two teams this season, Maine took a 30-27 lead into the locker room at halftime. However, New Hampshire came out and opened the second half on a 14-1 run to take a 41-31 advantage. The Wildcats never trailed the rest of the way. Maine did cut into the deficit and got within three in the final minute, but could not complete the comeback. Opponents Shooting Well Against New Hampshire New Hampshire is one of four teams in America East who are allowing opponents to shoot 40 percent or better from the floor per game. The Wildcats rank eighth in the league and are allowing opponents to shoot an average of .408 from the floor a game. Schrader Will Attempt To Lead Maine In Assists Again Abby Schrader will attempt to lead Maine in assists for a third-straight game. She has combined to hand out eight over the last two contests. Barker Going For 20 Points Again
Bracey Barker will attempt to record her second-straight 20-plus point game and fourth in the last six contests. Her five 20-plus point games this season lead the team.
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