Maine women's basketball falls to Texas 83-54

by **Tom Nolette** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 2:43 am

UMaine draws Texas in NCAA first round

... Maine has won six straight and 14 of 15.

“We’re not done yet. We’re hoping to pull an upset,” Rossignol said. “That’s what’s cool about having the tough nonconference schedule. We played teams like Mississippi State and Duke … Playing against Texas, we’re going to be ready.”

Texas played a monstrous schedule. Five of its losses came to nationally ranked teams — UConn, No. 2 Baylor (three times) and No. 12 Tennessee.

The Longhorns have four players averaging double figures, and a frontcourt featuring 6-foot-4 Jatarie White and 6-3 Joyner Holmes.

- http://www.sunjournal.com/womens-basket ... rst-round/
- http://bangordailynews.com/2018/03/12/s ... in-austin/

by **Tom Nolette** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 4:13 am

Maine Women's Basketball
@BlackBearsWBB
No. 15 Maine to meet No. 2 Texas in NCAA First Round

Details: http://bit.ly/2FOzeHK
Bracket: http://on.ncaa.com/2p5NYbJ

by **turkeyman** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 7:12 am

Seems to me that MJ got it right. The losses to Tulane and Toledo looked at the time like good losses. But after beating Maine, Toledo went 14-14, finished 17-14. Tulane lost its last five, eight of its last nine, and finished 14-17. Even though those were the first and fifth games of the season, they are still losses to teams that turned out not to be very good.

Also believe the two DIII games hurt Maine in seeding. I understand why they are scheduled. Without MMA and UMFK on the schedule, Maine would have had two more guarantee games and a 21-11 record, most likely. You want to play at home every month of the season, and December home games are always hard to come by. Most schools have finals during the second or third week of December and don't want to travel then.

Still, Maine has home-and-home relationships established with several New England teams, such as BC, Bryant, Harvard and Dartmouth. There are several others within a six-hour bus ride that could join that list, such as Sacred Heart, Yale, UMass, Brown, URI. Some Patriot League teams seem possibilities, too, such as BU and the Cross, maybe even Army or Lehigh, though they are farther than six hours. If Maine could get two or three more from those lists to add to BC, Bryant, Harvard and Dartmouth, it would at least have a DI schedule, which might not hurt at seeding time. I'm sure Coach Vachon has gone through all of this this a million times. Just wish Maine could get a few more mid-majors into the Cross Center. I have been told that coaches at places such as Marist and Siena say no way when asked about scheduling home and homes with Maine. Travel, etc.

This should be a great experience for the players and coaches, and an opportunity to spread the news about this Maine team. I'm sure the kids will give a fine account of themselves. And, it's the last couple of days of the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, too, so it's tempting to head out to Texas right now and take in a few shows before the roundballing starts on Saturday. I've got an idea I know SxSW does to hotel prices in Austin, though.

Bob Neal
New Sharon

by **Muchups** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:27 pm

Maine will never get respect when it comes to seeding.

I remember one of the Cindy Blodgett years Maine had defeated one or two ranked teams, obviously dominated the conference, and made the NCAAs with the worst overall seed. They played #1 ranked and undefeated Connecticut in the first round and lost big (by something like 25-30 points). The funny thing is though that that victory over Maine was UCONNs closest game of the entire tournament, including the championship.

You would think, if Maine was seeded where they deserved that year (basically if they played anyone but Connecticut) they could have won 2-3 NCAA tournament games.

Anyway, I hope this years team can pull an upset.

by **fafan** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 12:54 pm

I think back to the Tulane and especially the Toledo game that we lead most of the way before losing in OT. The difference in the guard play especially Dora Saar is so much improved there is no way we lose those games now. If this team could get a little more help on the boards next year they will be scary good. No way they won't be the favorite to win the AE next year. Some of the #3-#14 matchups are much more winnable but like the players have said they will not be intimidated as they have played a tougher team than Texas.

by **mainejeff** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 1:12 pm

Had they had todays team back when they played Tulane....coulda been a much different story. A win over Tulane would have meant that Maine would have played Dayton (which is an at-large 8/9 seed) instead of Harvard. Wins over Dayton, Tulane & Toledo would have bumped them up to a 12/13 seed.

by **MaineBBFan99** » Tue Mar 13, 2018 5:22 pm

Maine will never get respect when it comes to seeding.

Then how do you explain the two at-large bids Maine received in 1999 (as a 10-seed) and in 2000 (as a 12-seed)? The 15-seed Maine received this year is perfectly in line with the fact that 1) it lost 3 games in a conference that is ranked 20th out of 32 conferences in Division I and 2) it was 0-3 against the RPI top 50 and 2-6 against the RPI top 100 (the two wins being Albany and Harvard). I commend Maine for putting together such a tough non-conference schedule and putting forth valiant efforts in most of the RPI top 100 match-ups (Miami, Ohio State, Toledo, and the two wins). And let's keep things in perspective, winning the regular season and conference championships was an outstanding accomplishment for the Black Bears. However, as others have noted above, an additional win or two against the RPI top 100 was likely needed in order to warrant a higher seed.

The funny thing is though that that victory over Maine was UCONNs closest game of the entire tournament, including the championship.

Not true. UConn beat Maine by a score of 105-75 in the first round. UConn won the regional final, national semifinal, and national final by margins of 4, 27, and 6, respectively.

You would think, if Maine was seeded where they deserved that year (basically if they played anyone but Connecticut) they could have won 2-3 NCAA tournament games.

Now, I agree that the 1994-95 Maine team was great. But let's come back to planet Earth. Suggesting that they could have won 3 NCAA tournament games implies they were potentially an Elite Eight-caliber team.

by **Tom Nolette** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 1:57 am

With Focus on Texas, UMaine Women's Basketball Starts Preparing for the NCAA Tournament
- http://www.wabi.tv/content/sports/With- ... 34933.html

by **Tom Nolette** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:06 am

Lifelong fan shares special day with Maine women's basketball
https://www.foxbangor.com/sports/item/2 ... basketball

by **Tom Nolette** » Wed Mar 14, 2018 2:25 am

Millan stayed with UMaine while others moved on
Many teammates transferred after last season, but Blanca Millan remained and leads the NCAA-bound Black Bears.

...Any offense Millan provided was a bonus. She was tall – 5-foot-11 last year and sprouted to 6-1 this season – and quick, with an instinct for the ball. She led the team with 61 steals last year, contributing 8.6 points, 2.9 rebounds and an average of 27 minutes per game.

This year, Millan leads Maine with 17.8 points a game, and 97 steals. She’s also grabbing 5.2 rebounds and playing 35 minutes a game.

Millan cannot account for her growth spurt – “I really don’t know. I didn’t notice until I came back (to school).” – But her scoring came from a conscious effort.

“I knew because we lost Sigi, I was going to step up,” she said. “Sigi was scoring almost 20 points a game. I knew I had to take my team with me. I started working early in the year.”

https://www.pressherald.com/2018/03/13/ ... -moved-on/