University of Maine sophomore point guard Alba Orois — who led America East in assists with 5.8 per game in her first season as a starter — has left the program to pursue a professional career in Europe.
The 5-foot-7 native of Mollet Del Valles, Spain, was eighth in the country among 348 Division I schools in minutes played per game at 37.89 and her 5.8 assists were 14th-best in the nation.
She was a third team All-America East selection.
The Black Bears have landed another Spanish point guard in transfer Anna Soler, who played at Eastern Wyoming College as a freshman this past season, UMaine head coach Amy Vachon announced.
The speedy Orois led the Black Bears in shooting percentage from the floor at 46.1 percent and she scored in double figures 15 times in 32 games while averaging 9.9 points per game.
She had six or more assists in 18 games, including 14 in a win over New Hampshire that tied the school record.
She also averaged 2.8 rebounds per game and had registered 40 steals. She was a 27 percent shooter beyond the 3-point arc.
Orois had a total of 185 assists and 116 turnovers.
In a press release, Vachon said “we are very thankful for all Alba did at UMaine during her time here. She was part of two America East regular season championships and the team that earned the top grade point average in the entire country in 2021. We support her decision to pursue a professional career in Spain and wish her well.”
Orois played a team-high 1,213 minutes this season after playing just 319 her freshman season while backing up Dor Saar.
Saar transferred to Middle Tennessee State and Orois inherited the point guard slot.
Orois averaged 16 minutes and 3.6 points per game her freshman season.
The 5-foot-8 Soler started all 30 games at Eastern Wyoming and averaged 9.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and a team-leading 2.7 assists. She scored in double figures 17 times and shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 37.9 percent beyond the 3-point arc.
Prior to going to Eastern Wyoming, Soler played 10 years for the club team at her school before moving on to Lima Horta, where she played at the highest level for her age group.
UMaine, which went 20-12 overall and 15-3 in America East in claiming its second straight regular season championship before losing to Albany in the tournament title game, currently has nine guards on its roster.
That includes incoming freshman Sarah Talon, a 5-10 Windham High School product who was a Bangor Daily News All-Maine Schoolgirl first team selection.
Israeli guard Idan Shlush, who is 5-7, has transferred in from St. John’s University of the Big East. She appeared in four games as a freshman for St. John’s last season.
Olivia Rockwood is a quick 5-5 guard who could be ready for a more prominent role.
She averaged 18.5 minutes as a sophomore this past season and played at least 20 minutes in nine of her last 14 games.
Rockwood averaged only 4.7 minutes per game her freshman season.
Anne Simon, who will be a senior, was the league’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year but is more of a shooting guard.
Paula Gallego was an All-Rookie team selection this past season and played 17.2 minutes per game; Anna Kahelin will return after missing the season due to knee surgery; Sera Hodgson saw 11.2 minutes of playing time while appearing in 25 games as a freshman; and Wilton’s Lexi Mittelstadt, who will be a junior, will also be in the mix.
Mittelstadt played in 19 games and averaged 3.5 minutes.