BOSTON – Two of the most storied programs in America East Women’s Basketball will compete for the conference crown and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on Friday, March 15 at 5 p.m.
Friday’s championship will air on ESPNU and also be available on ESPN+. The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and find out their tournament fate during the selection show on Sunday, March 17 at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
Maine Statistics | Vermont Statistics | Championship Records
Championship History
Maine will be making its 23rd appearance in the championship game and has won a league-record nine America East Titles, while Vermont is second all-time with seven championships. The two programs have met seven times in the final, with Maine winning four and Vermont taking three. All seven championship matchups occurred between 1991-2000.
The Catamounts enter Friday’s game as the defending champions with ambitions of being the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Black Bears did it in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Dynamic Duos
Maine boasts the top scoring duo in the league, with Anne Simon and Adrianna Smith averaging a combined 35.3 points, 17.3 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game. They rank 1st and 2nd in the league in scoring and 1st and 2nd in rebounding as well. They make up 55% of the team’s offense and in the semifinals they took it to another level, combining for 51 of the team’s 64 points.
Emma Utterback and Anna Olson have been consistent for Vermont and are top two scorers. Utterback is 6th in the league in scoring (14.5), while Olson is 10th at 11.5 points per game. Olson is also 9th in the conference in rebounding (5.97) and Utterback is third in assists (3.9).
Secondary Scorers
Vermont’s secondary scorers have come into their own recently. AE Sixth Player of the Year Keira Hanson is averaging 10.6 points and Andjela Matic is putting up 9.3 points per game over the last month. The duo has also combined to go 27-for-60 from three, good for 3.9 per contest between the two of them, at 45% from downtown.
Maine’s Olivia Rockwood has come into her own recently as well, highlighted by ten points in the semifinals. She added nine in the quarterfinals and is 5-for-13 from deep in the #AEPlayoffs. Sarah Talon has found ways to contribute over the team’s last seven games, averaging 6.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals per contest.
Lock Down Defense
Vermont currently ranks second in the nation in scoring defense at 51.8 points per game, trailing just UAlbany who is first. They’re allowing teams to shoot only 27.7 percent from three and are 13th in the country committing just 13.1 fouls per game. They haven’t allowed 60 points in 16 games, since they fell 60-48 to Maine.
Maine is third in the league in scoring defense at 56.6 points per game, however, they are sixth in field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot 41.0 percent overall this year. They’ve allowed just one team in the last 18 games to score 60+ on them, losing that single contest.
Experience Matters
Friday’s game will feature two of the most experienced lineups in the league. Three of Maine’s five projected starters have appeared in over 100 games, in Anne Simon (128), Caroline Bornemann (104) and Olivia Rockwood (104). Adrianna Smith, meanwhile, is over 90 games played and has started 62 straight contests.
For Vermont, Emma Utterback and Delaney Richason have never missed a start over five seasons and each have started 131 consecutive games entering Friday. Anna Olson has appeared in 101 contests for her career, while Bella Vito has played in 85 with 63 starts.
Recent History
Maine is 2-0 against Vermont this season, beating the Catamounts 60-48 on Jan. 6 behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from Anne Simon. UVM shot 31.6 percent overall and was 11-for-34 from three. Maine shot 41.2 percent but just 16.7 percent from deep.
In the second matchup, the Black Bears trailed 32-24 at the half but outscored the Catamount 22-11 in the third. In the fourth it was back-and-forth with Maine eventually escaping with a 57-55 win.
Last season Vermont swept the season series against Maine, winning 61-52 and then 68-60. The Black Bears had won ten straight prior to the sweep.
ABOUT AMERICA EAST
Founded in 1979, the America East Conference is an elite NCAA Division I athletic conference that fosters an environment for student-athletes to become champions. Comprised of academically renowned, like-minded member institutions located in the Northeast region of the United States, America East is committed to broad-based excellence and progressive in its approach to supporting its more than 3,500 student-athletes across 18 sponsored sports. For more information, visit www.AmericaEast.com and follow the America East Conference its social media channels, @AmericaEast.
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