UK toughest foe `ever’ for Bears

Trish Roberts sums it up bluntly when she speaks of the University of Kentucky women’s basketball team:

“They will be tougher than anything we’ve ever faced,” the University of Maine’s second-year head coach said. “Kentucky is a national power. They play in the top conference in the country. Game in and game out, they have played the best teams in the nation.”

In other words, the Black Bears’ trek into the world of big-time women’s college basketball will be blocked by one of the biggest – the UK Wildcats, Maine’s first-round opponent in the National Invitational Tournament.

The Bears will play the Wildcats at 9 p.m. Thursday night in Amarillo, Texas.

The Wildcats finished the season with a 20-8 mark, but their 3-6 record in the ever-tough Southeastern Conference left them in eighth place and out of the NCAA tournament picture. But to harp on how tough the SEC is, the NCAA did take six teams into its field of 48.

Leading the Wildcat charge is senior forward Vanessa Foster-Sutton, a 6-footer averaging 12.1 points per game (on 123-for-209, 58.9 percent) shooting. She also grabs 7.1 rebounds per game. At point, the Wildcats feature 5-4 senior guard Malinka Salhi, a member of Belgium’s national team, who averages 6.0 ppg and 4.9 assists per game.

But Maine’s biggest problem size-wise will be 6-6 center Lisa Ellis.

Ellis, the older sister of Syracuse University frontcourt player Leron Ellis, at times is a force inside averaging 11.4 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Her high rebounding game was 17 against Ohio State.

“Kentucky likes to run, but when they set up in their frontcourt game, we’ll have to make adjustments inside,” Maine’s Roberts said. “They’ve got 6-6 and 6-2 inside.”

What does Maine’s 6-1 center Rachel Bouchard think of facing an opponent that stands 6-6.

“I’m still thinking that one through,” Bouchard cracked. “Actually, it makes you want to get up. When you’re a 6-1 center, a lot of teams will say, `Hey, 6-6 will eat you alive.’ I just hope (Kentucky) goes in with that attitude.”

Either way, the Black Bears have a big task at hand – stopping a real big-time college basketball team.