The University of Maine women’s basketball team should be better than last year’s and is certainly capable of winning the America East regular season and tournament championships.
UMaine went 16-14 a year ago, 11-5 in the conference, and lost to Albany 72-64 in the AE semifinals.
Defending champ Vermont was the America East preseason favorite in the coaches poll and UMaine was chosen second. So far, UMaine is off to a 4-3 start, during which it has shown that it can be a very good team and also a team that can have its share of struggles.
UMaine is a team full of streak shooters and, so far, it hasn’t shot well. Once it does, it will be even better. It is in the bottom third in all three shooting categories among the nation’s 348 Division I teams.
The Black Bears’ field goal shooting percentage of 37.38 percent is 256th, their free throw percentage of 64.9 percent is 271st and their 3-point mark of 26.01 percent is 275th.
UMaine shot 41.8 percent, 72.6 percent and 33.3 percent a year ago, respectively.
The Black Bears have found ways to win thanks to their defense.
They surrendered an average of just 49.5 points in their four victories and limited teams to a 33.8 percent shooting performance from the floor. In the three losses, the opponents averaged 73 ppg and shot 51.2 percent.
While some opponents have been better than others, the bottom line is this team hasn’t yet reached a consistency level to be expected from a veteran team. But UMaine head coach Amy Vachon stressed that every team is sorting things out in November.
“Any team in the country in November is still working on what they’re going to be good at,” Vachon said. “If you’re where you want to be in November, you’re probably not going to be where you want to be in March.”
Five of the seven teams UMaine has played went to either the NCAA or WNIT Tournament last season and the other two, Quinnipiac and LaSalle, are strong teams that went 21-9 and 17-14 a year ago, respectively.
“If you had told me we would be 4-3 at this point, having played a very difficult schedule, I would have taken it,” said the seventh-year head coach, who has guided four of her six teams to America East regular season championships and two to tournament titles and NCAA berths.
The bottom line is that the Black Bears have arguably the best guard and the best forward in the conference.
Graduate student guard Anne Simon, the 2021-22 America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, is healthy after missing 16 games due to a sprained ankle last season. Arianna Smith was the Player of the Year last season, and it’s rare to have two conference Players of the Year on the same team.
Simon and Smith are the only Black Bears averaging in double digits this season, with Simon at 15.9 points per game and Smith at 12 ppg.
Smith hasn’t matched last year’s shooting touch yet, shooting 38.5 percent from the floor compared with 49.8 percent a year ago. But she has hit three of her seven 3-pointers — one more than she had in her entire career entering this season.
That will make her an even more difficult player to contain because it will force the opponents’ post player to come out to guard her and will give her a chance to use her quickness to drive the basket. And the relentless 6-foot Smith continues to be dominant on the boards despite going up against taller opponents on a regular basis.
The tireless Simon has grabbed 6.7 rebounds per game, compared with 4.1 last year, and has also averaged nearly an assist more per game. She is shooting an impressive 48.6 percent from 2-point range and 28.9 percent beyond the 3-point arc. She is ninth all-time on the UMaine scoring list with 1,468 career points.
The question is, can Vachon’s Black Bears receive consistent supplemental scoring from the supporting cast? That is crucial if either Simon or Smith get injured, get in foul trouble or are having an off night.
Can senior forward Caroline Bornemann, averaging 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds, and senior guard and 3-point specialist Olivia Rockwood (5.3 ppg) reach the 9-10 ppg plateau?
Sophomore guard Sarah Talon from Windham has taken a noticeable jump in all aspects of her game, including scoring (6.6 ppg compared with 3.8 ppg game a year ago).
Sera Hodgson is a quality defender who can hit the occasional 3-pointer and fellow junior guard Paula Gallego is part of UMaine’s point-guard-by-committee.
Skowhegan sophomore guard Jaycie Christopher had a solid freshman season but has struggled out of the gate (22.7 percent from the floor, 18.8 percent from beyond the 3-point arc). She will be a valuable contributor once she starts hitting her shots and regains her confidence.
Six-foot-two freshman post player Caroline Dotsey has shown promise and has averaged 2.2 rebounds in just 6.8 minutes of playing time per game.
Graduate student Anna Kahelin has played just nine games in three years due to knee surgeries but is working toward a return and would supply UMaine with a top-notch defender who can also hit the occasional three.
Juniors Idan Shlush and Anna Soler and freshmen Emmie Streams from Veazie and Aislinn Gibson provide depth at the guard slot, while 6-3 sophomore Milana Nenadic supplies depth in the post. Gibson has been sidelined by injury and hasn’t played yet.
UMaine will play No. 17 Indiana University and first team All-American Mackenzie Holmes from Gorham on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
