ORONO – The players, fully aware of the magnitude of the approaching game, could only smile like kids in a candy store as the word was spoken.

Tennessee.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Julie Bradstreet, who never dreamed of playing against such a team while a schoolgirl player at Central Aroostook High School in Mars Hill. “We’ll see how we’re going to measure up against the best. It will show us where we are.”

The best and Tennessee. In women’s college basketball circles, the two fit hand in hand like dribble and bounce pass.

This year is no different. Tennessee is the prohibitive preseason favorite to defend its title, earning the No. 1 ranking by receiving 61 out of a possible 72 first-place votes in the Associated Press women’s Top 25 poll.

On Sunday, the University of Maine women’s basketball team opens its 1991-92 season against the Lady Volunteers at 2 p.m., at the Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tenn.

For the players, it will be a game to remember.

“It kind of puts me in awe,” said Seana Dionne, a freshman guard who, one short year ago, was playing for Stearns High School in Millinocket. “I remember watching Tennessee in the national championship game last year and when they played up here against Maine. I was just in awe watching them. I can’t imagine being down on the floor with them.”

What the Univerity of Notre Dame is to college football, the University of Tennessee is to women’s college basketball.

The program is filled with enough tradition, pride, fan support, and championships to fill the UMaine’s newly expanded Alfond Arena four times over. As a matter of fact, the Tennessee women once played a stand-alone game (without the Tennessee men) in front of 25,000 fans.

Maine Coach Trish Roberts will experience an emotional weekend as she returns to her alma mater on what is, coincidentally, alumni weekend.

“There’s going to be a lot of things surrounding the game that I’m going to be excited about,” Roberts said. “It being alumni weekend, I’ll get to see a lot of my former teammates and my family is coming up for it. It’ll be fun.” Ditto for the players.

“I’m pretty excited about it,” said Tracey Frenette, a senior forward and co-captain. “We’re just going into their big stadium and we’ll play. We won’t feel that much pressure because nobody expects us to win.”

Winning.

If the Maine teams wins on Sunday, it will undoubtedly rank among the all-time upsets in the women’s college basketball ranks.

While the Black Bears lost to the Lady Vols 77-64 a year ago at the Bangor Auditorium, both teams return virtually intact as each squad lost its top inside player (Maine lost Rachel Bouchard’s 25 ppg, 12 rpg while Tennessee lost Daedra Charles’ 17.3 ppg and 9.2 rpg).

But, as sophomore center Cyndi Buetow said, the Black Bears are headed south with the right attitude.

“We’ve got nothing to lose,” said Buetow. “We might as well go right at them. Playing them last year took some of the intimidation away. We’re pumped, we’re ready. We know it’s going to be a big challenge.”

“I’m glad we’re playing them early,” Roberts said. “It’s early for them, too, so I’m sure they’re going to be a little bit shaky. We’re just going to play and have fun. My philosophy is you can catch any team on any given day. Maybe this will be our day. You never know.”

One never does know. But, what the Black Bears do know is that while the task is monumental, the memory of the attempt will last forever.