UM gains berth> Bears in NCAAs

Joanne Palombo-McCallie wanted her University of Maine women’s basketball team to understand the magnitude of the experience it was about to miss out on.

The Black Bears, emotionally devastated after Saturday’s 57-55 loss to Northeastern in the America East championship game and physically drained from a nerve-wracking, eight-hour bus ride back to Orono through a blinding snowstorm, received a phone call from their coach Sunday morning.

Palombo asked team members to gather in Dexter Lounge at Alfond Arena in Orono Sunday evening, as the team had each of the last four years, to watch the NCAA Tournament selection show on ESPN-TV.

“I had to sleep six hours to figure out that we needed to be together,” Palombo explained. “We weren’t going to have any closure. The other thing was, I wanted our younger kids to realize we don’t want to be in this position and that we need to control our own destiny in the future.”

In a shocking reversal of fortune, the Black Bears learned their destiny was to play in the NCAA Tournament after all. Maine will make its fifth consecutive appearance in the 64-team field at 5:30 p.m. Friday when it plays Pacific-10 Conference power Stanford in an East Region first-round game on the campus of Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

In an unprecedented development for an America East team, the 23-6 Bears earned one of 34 at-large bids awarded by the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament selection committee. Maine received a No. 10 seed, the highest in school history.

Stanford, which goes in as the No. 7 seed at 18-11, also claimed an at-large bid as UCLA claimed the Pac-10’s automatic bid. The NCAA awards 30 automatic bids, mostly to conference champions.

UMaine athletic director Suzanne Tyler is a member of the tournament selection committee, but would have had to excuse herself from any discussions involving the Bears, according to Joe Roberts, UMaine’s assistant athletic director for media relations.

Junior captain Amy Vachon, who had been an emotional wreck in the wake of Saturday’s loss, said the mere thought of watching the selection show was painful – especially after the team didn’t arrive home until 3 a.m.

“When we got the call [Sunday] morning telling us that we were going to come over, I wasn’t really happy about it,” said Vachon, who changed her tune when Maine’s name appeared on the screen.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “Yesterday, Coach [Palumbo] was saying it wasn’t over and we could get a second chance. To hear it and to believe it were two different things.”

Junior captain Jamie Cassidy tried to explain the scene in Dexter Lounge, where only the players, coaches, and 10 or 12 others met.

“It was insane,” said Cassidy, who said that because of the pandemonium, nobody bothered to pay attention to which team the Bears would play. “I just fell back on the couch and people fell on top of me and were jumping around the room.”

“It’s been very emotionally draining,” Cassidy added. “We were extremely upset [Saturday] night and now I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited.”

Palombo confided she had hoped Maine would be selected for the 32-team National Women’s Invitation Tournament and wasn’t expecting an NCAA bid.

“It was a special moment,” Palombo said.

Sunday’s development seems to indicate Maine has earned a measure of respect on the national scene. The Bears’ 23 wins, their No. 42 standing in the Rating Percentage Index, and good showings against high-caliber, non-conference competition such as Mississippi and Tulane likely were key factors in their being selected.

“I think we deserve to be in the tournament,” Palombo said. “I think [the selection committee] looked at our entire season, the fact we were very consistent, had no bad losses, and that we were injury-laden during so much of it, too. Couple that with some great things we’ve done in the past, I think it speaks volumes about what we’re trying to accomplish.”

Among the teams that did not receive an at-large bid was Sun Belt Conference member Western Kentucky. The Lady Toppers, who beat Maine 78-57 on Dec. 4, went 20-7 and were 47th in the RPI.

America East Commissioner Chris Monasch was happy about UMaine’s at-large selection. The 10-team league ranks 13th among the 30 Division I conferences this season, putting it in the top 43 percent nationally.

“We’re thrilled,” Monasch said. “Obviously, Maine had a great year and it’s great to see the committee is sensitive to mid-majors and the type of teams we’re capable of having.