UMaine women’s basketball hopes to create havoc Friday and earn their trip to the dance
America East Final: Stony Brook at Maine Friday 5 PM
BANGOR, Maine (WABI) - UMaine women’s basketball has been so good, for so long, it seems normal they are playing for a trip to the big dance Friday night. Just their 6th straight trip to the America East title game. But it is a huge game. An important step for these Black Bears to reach their goals.
“It is on us. If we lose it is on us but we know we have to win it,” says UMaine senior guard Blanca Millan, “That is what we’ve been getting ready for the whole season.”
“I am trying not to think about it too much. So I won’t get emotional. That in my head we are going to win the game on Friday and we are going to go to the NCAA tournament,” says UMaine senior guard Dor Saar, “So, I hope it’s not going to be my last game.”
Stony Brook and Maine split this season. Both scoring defenses are among the best in the country.
“They love to run in transition,” says Millan, “So that’s the way they have to play defense in order to run in transition.”
Maine ranks 6th, and Stony Brook ranks 2nd, both allowing less than 53 points per game.
“Points are very important,” says UMaine head coach Amy Vachon, “For us, we really need to read how they are guarding us and make good decisions offensively.”
“For us to score we have to be able to run our offense to the end,” says Millan.
The Black Bears will try to crank up the pressure and see if it helps make the difference between the two stout defenses.
“I think our press really worked,” says Saar, “I hope we can carry over for Friday.”
“Sunday against Albany we pressed the whole game, 40 minutes,” says Vachon, “This team has done a really nice job with it. So that is something we look forward to doing. And hopefully it can cause some problems as well.”
Copyright 2021 WABI. All rights reserved.
