No. 1 Maine, No. 2 Hartford Primed for #AEPlayoffs Title Game Showdown
Bangor, Maine – Under the new format of the America East Women’s Basketball Championship, the top-two seeds will play for the 2019 title and subsequent berth in the NCAA Tournament. It is this first time since 2016 and fifth time in the past ten years that the top two seeds will compete for the championship.
The championship game will feature a rematch of last year’s tilt between No. 1 Maine and No. 2 Hartford. The game tips off on Friday at 5 p.m. and will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU with Eric Frede and Christy Thomaskutty on the call. Postgame press conferences can be viewed live on the America East Twitter page.
Watch Live | Live Stats | Championship Game Notes | Bracket
No. 1 Maine Black Bears (24-7)
- Maine is making a fourth consecutive appearance in the title game and is hosting for the second-straight year.
- The Black Bears are seeking back-to-back championships for the first time since winning four straight in the late 1990s.
- Their eight titles are the most in league history.
- The Black Bears clinched their 16th regular season title, the most in conference history. It was their second consecutive and fourth in the past five years.
- Maine leads the league in scoring (67.2 ppg) and field goal percentage (42.1%).
- The Black Bears had a league-high four All-Conference selections, including Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Blanca Millan.
- Maine is 10-0 at home against conference opponents and has won 33 of the last 35 home games against America East teams.
No. 2 Hartford Hawks (23-9)
- Hartford is appearing in back-to-back championship games for the first time since 2010-11.
- The team has played in the semifinals in 13 of the last 15 seasons.
- The Hawks have the third-most titles in America East history, winning five.
- The team ranks second among Division I teams in steals this season.
- In their quarterfinal win over UMBC, the Hawks set a single-game tournament record with 23 steals.
- Senior Alexia Douglas is the second student-athlete in program history to be named Sixth Player of the Year.
- In her third season, Head Coach Kim McNeill became the fastest coach in school history to reach 50 wins.
- The Hawks have not lost back-to-back tournament games since 2002 and 2003 when they were eliminated in the quarterfinals in back-to-back years.
- Hartford has won nine of its last 11 road games.
The Matchup
- This is the 10th tournament meeting between Maine and Hartford.
- The Hawks lead the all-time series 5-4.
- The teams split the regular season series with the home team winning both games.
- This is the first time Maine and Hartford have met as the top two seeds in the playoffs.
- Before the Black Bears' win in the 2018 title game, the Hawks had won the previous three postseason meetings, the last of which was in the 2015, when No. 5 Harford defeated No. 1 Maine in the semifinals, 65-53.
- The home team has won the last seven championships.
- Hartford was the last team to win a title on the road (2011).
- Five of the past six regular season champions have gone on to win the tournament.
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