Preview: Maine Looks to Regroup Against New Hampshire in America East Clash

LEE, N.H. (Interstat) — The Maine women’s basketball team aims to bounce back from a tough loss when it visits New Hampshire for an America East Conference matchup Saturday at Lundholm Gym.

The Black Bears (8-10, 3-2 America East) are coming off a 64-53 home loss to Vermont on Thursday, which snapped a two-game winning streak. Maine will lean on star forward Adrianna Smith, who has been on a remarkable scoring run. Over her last seven games, Smith is averaging 24.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.0 assists per contest. She scored 37 points in a win at UMass Lowell on Jan. 1 and followed with a 30-point performance against NJIT on Jan. 10. In the loss to Vermont, Smith and Sarah Talon each scored 15 points.

The Wildcats (6-11, 1-4) have lost four straight, most recently a 58-47 defeat to UMBC on Jan. 10. New Hampshire has struggled offensively during its skid, failing to reach 50 points in three of those losses. Forward Elizabeth Lavoie, a key player for the Wildcats, was held to nine points against UMBC. She had a strong performance with 10 rebounds in a win over Dartmouth on Dec. 20 but will need to find consistent offense to help halt the losing streak.

Maine has shown a potent offense when in rhythm, scoring 86 points in its win over NJIT. However, consistency has been an issue. New Hampshire’s defense, allowing an average of 60.2 points per game, will be tested by Smith and the Black Bears’ attack.

This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the interstate rivals. They will meet again in Orono, Maine, on Feb. 21.

In the conference standings, Maine sits in the middle of the pack, while New Hampshire looks to climb out of the bottom. The Wildcats will hope their home court provides an advantage as they seek their first conference win since late December.

Following this game, Maine travels to play Albany on Jan. 22. New Hampshire’s next contest is at Binghamton on Jan. 22.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. EST Saturday.