WBB heads to Orono to face Maine

Women's basketball heads to Orono to face Black Bears

GAME NOTES | TWITTER

THE VOYAGE NORTH

Looking to rebound from a 13-point loss earlier this week, the Bryant University women's basketball team will make the long voyage up north to do battle against the University of Maine on Saturday afternoon at Alfond Arena.

The victor of this contest will move above .500, as both squads enter with 1-1 records on the year.  Opening tip is set for 1 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

Bryant and Maine have faced off just once before, with that last matchup falling exactly a year ago within the friendly confines of the Chace Athletic Center. In that contest, Bryant held a nine-point lead after the first half, but the Black Bears came storming back, outscoring the Bulldogs, 43-26, in the second frame to earn a 74-66 victory.

BULLDOGS SUFFER SETBACK VS. IONA

In the team's last outing, the Bulldogs welcomed Iona College to town on Nov. 15 for a Tuesday night tilt, but in a game defined by turnovers, it was the Gaels who came away with a 13-point victory over Bryant, winning by a final score of 66-53.  Both teams combined for a whopping 55 turnovers, but Iona was the more opportunistic team off giveaways, garnering 23 points off turnovers compared to 10 for the Bulldogs.

The Bulldogs' 27.4 percent clip from the field didn't help either, as the home team went just 17-for-62 in field-goal shooting.  Coming off the bench, junior Katie Whittington (Twinsburg, Ohio) enjoyed a fine performance, tying Iona's Suzi Fregosi with a game-high 16 points. The Ohio native was perfect from the charity stripe (6-for-6) and shot .400 from long range (2-for-5).

SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS

One year removed from a 4-25 record, Maine turns to new head coach Richard Barron to right the ship in Orono after a two-year stint at North Carolina State where he served as an assistant coach under Kellie Harper. In Barron's first year with the Wolfpack, the Tennessee native helped guide the team to the NCAA Tournament with a 20-14 record.  Other stops in Barron's career include stints with Baylor, Princeton and the University of the South.

Maine returns its leading scorer and America East All-Rookie team selection in guard Ashleigh Roberts to this season's squad. Roberts led Maine with 10.7 points per game to go along with 4.4 rebounds per contest.

Amber Smith also returns as a scoring threat as she also ended the season scoring in double-figures at 10.0 points per game and 4.2 rebounds per. Smith ended the regular season fourth in the conference at 82.4 percent from the free throw line. As a unit, the Black Bears ranked third in America East in blocks per game at 3.7.

The Black Bears also ended the 2010-11 campaign the third best rebounding team in the conference, pulling down 38.0 boards per contest. Maine also debuts an enitrely new coaching staff as Richard Barron (Kenyon College '91) takes over the head coaching duties with Maine. He is assisted by Jill Poe, former Black Bear Amy Vachon, and Jhasmin Player.

LAST SEASON IN SMITHFIELD

Trailing by nine points heading into the locker room, Maine went on a 12-2 run early in the second frame to tie the contest at 50 points apiece, and from there on out, the Black Bears outscored the Bulldogs by a 24-16 margin to come away with a 74-66 victory at the Chace Athletic Center.

Bryant senior Siamone Bennett led all Bulldogs with 22 points, and accounted for both of Bryant's two blocks on the evening, but the Bulldogs committed 25 turnovers and allowed the Black Bears to shoot from the charity stripe on 22 occasions by virtue of 21 personal fouls.

The back-and-forth action continued in the final five minutes when the Bulldogs once again captured the lead on a Meredith Soper trey and a driving lay-in by Danielle Douglas.  The Bulldog lead did not last long, however, as Brittany Williams was able to fight her way through the lane for back-to-back trips to the foul line. With a minute left to play, Katelyn Vanderhoff knocked down a two-pointer to ice the game as the Black Bears converted the necessary free throws for the win.

DON'T LET ME GO

In Tuesday night's loss to Iona, both clubs combined for an astounding 55 turnovers.  It was the most amount of turnovers in a game for Bryant since Bryant and St. Francis (NY) combined for the same amount of giveaways last January in a 59-48 Bryant victory. 

OFF THE BENCH LIKE A BOSS

Junior Katie Whittington has come off the bench in both of Bryant's starts so far, and the Ohio native has not disappointed.  She led the team with 16 points against Iona on Nov. 15 and was a major contributor in Bryant's season-opening win over Colgate on Nov. 11, totaling 12 points while leading the team in three-pointers with a 4-of-8 mark from downtown.  On the year, her 14.0 ppg is tops on the team while averaging 31.0 minutes per contest.

LEAGUE LEADERS

Bryant ranks first in the conference in steals per game (15.0) and offensive rebounds (20.0), while ranking in the top three in scoring offense (64.5), rebounding defense (35.5) and rebounding margin (+7.5)

UP NEXT

Next week, Bryant will face off against fellow Ocean State rival Brown University, hosting the Bears on a pre-Thanksgiving, Tuesday night battle at the Chace Athletic Center.  Following the holiday, the Bulldogs go right back at it when they make the quick trip up to Chestnut Hill, Mass., where they will do battle against ACC foe Boston College on Sunday, Nov. 27.