Tracey Frenette stood inside an almost-empty cavernous Bangor Auditorium during a recent practice and pondered her team’s next opponent.

“It’s scary thinking about Vanderbilt,” she said.

Vanderbilt University brings a 1-1 record and No. 21 national ranking into the Bangor Auditorium for a 7:30 p.m., Wednesday college basketball game against the University of Maine Black Bears.

And it is not a wonder that the Black Bears are looking a little nervously at Coach Phil Lee’s Lady Commodores.

Maine Coach Trish Roberts explains:

“Vanderbilt is a very good team,” said Roberts. “I know they have a very expereienced team that lost only two starters from last year. I know they play in the toughest (women’s basketball) conference in the nation (the Southeast Conference). That’s an indiciation right there how tough they’re going to be.”

Vanderbilt finished fourth in the SEC last year and survived the first two rounds of the NCAA playoffs before losing to Auburn, the NCAA runnerup, in the Sweet 16 round.

Keying the team is All-American candidate Wendy Scholtens, a mobile, 6-foot-3 center who should break the 2,000-point career scoring barrier against Maine. She has 1,994 entering the game.

“Wendy is one of these players who is good on the perimeter as well as the inside,” said Roberts, who said Frenette may see most of the action guarding Scholtens. “Usually, when we go up against teams that have player that goes in and out, we put Tracey Frenette on her. Tracey seems to be a bit more mobile in going outside.”

The Commodores are not looking past Maine.

“There is no possible, possible way we could ever look past Maine,” said Lee. “We knew coming into this season that they would be a fine ballclub to play here. But after losing to Butler on our floor, there is no way these young ladies can be affording to be looking ahead at anyone.”

While Vandy is coming off a 91-88 loss to Butler, in which the Bulldogs hit 20 of 22 shots in the second half, Maine is coming off a 69-53 loss to Richmond in last Saturday’s championship game of the Downeast Classic, a game in which the Black Bears did not play well.

How well Maine bounces back from that loss could set the stage for the rest of the season, Roberts said.

“This game on Wednesday night is going to tell the coaching staff and everybody else what kind of team we really have,” the UM coach said. “If they come out and play hard, really rebound from that loss on Saturday, it will show a lot of character.”

But, can the Bears beat the Lady Commodores?

“I don’t think any team is unbeatable,” Roberts said. “But I think Vanderbilt is going to come in here and give us the toughest competition we’ve ever played against.”

Scary. Just like Frenette said.