UMaine back in NCAAs> Tourney selection surprises Bears

ORONO – Barely 24 hours earlier, University of Maine women’s basketball coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie admitted she might have “overscheduled” this season, playing the likes of No. 3 Georgia and Top 25 schools in Boston College (twice), Western Kentucky and Southwest Missouri State.

Sunday evening, after Maine’s name popped up on the Dexter Lounge TV screen during ESPN’s NCAA Tournament pairings show, Palombo credited the Black Bears’ tough non-league schedule with helping them land the program’s sixth straight berth in the NCAAs.

Many UMaine players had given up hope for a spot in the tournament after Saturday’s devastating 77-50 loss to Vermont in the America East championship game. All erupted with shocked screams and genuine tears when learning they had earned a No. 12 seed in the West region, where they’ll face 20th-ranked North Carolina (18-12), the No. 5 seed, Saturday at 9:35 p.m. at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif.

“It’s a great feeling and it speaks volumes for the program and what we’ve done over the years,” said senior Jamie Cassidy. “I’m speechless, honestly, it’s so exciting. We got a second chance.”

Some 25 family members, friends and UMaine staffers turned out along with the team for the announcement and shared in the joy of the moment.

Even coming off its worst loss of the season, UMaine earned an at-large bid for the second year in a row. The Bears rank 48th in the Rating Percentage Index, the primary measuring stick used by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee to handicap the 64-team tournament field.

UMaine athletics director Suzanne Tyler is a member of the selection committee, but is required to leave the room whenever UMaine comes up for discussion.

Of UMaine’s 1999-2000 opponents, seven qualified for the NCAAs. Georgia (a No. 1 seed), Boston College (5), Western Kentucky (10), Vermont (11), Southwest Missouri State (10), Rice (13) and St. Francis, Pa. (14) posted a combined record of 167-49, a gaudy .773 winning percentage. Of those seven, Maine defeated St. Francis and Rice.

“I’m very excited that the selection committee validated our efforts in playing the incredible schedule that we played this year,” Palombo said. “I feel like we’ve been rewarded for a very difficult road. We put our necks out on the line. That’s what you have to do to get at-large bids.”

While it is not a national power like the Southeastern Conference, the Big 12 or the Atlantic Coast Conference, America East ranks 12th this season in the RPI among the nation’s 31 Division I leagues.

“I think that winning [against Stanford in the NCAAs] last year was huge,” Palombo said.

Palombo, who is due with her second child on April 7, anticipates a laborious road to California. In her advanced state of pregnancy, the UMaine coach likely will not be allowed to take a commercial airline flight.

That means finding a charter jet or another alternate method to reach the West Coast. Palombo won’t entertain the idea of having the baby prior to the trip.

“I will not induce a child for a basketball game,” said Palombo, who was born in Monterey, Calif. “I want this baby to come when it wants to come. I have no idea how I’m getting there. I’ve got to talk to my doctor.”

When the team first gathered Sunday in the Dexter Lounge, Palombo presented UMaine’s “case” in terms of selection potential to the players.

Prior to the announcement, senior Amy Vachon sat stoically while having her hair braided by Maddie McCallie, the coach’s 5-year-old daughter. Senior Katie Clark fidgeted in her chair, tapping her feet incessantly. Freshman Anna James said she prayed.

The players didn’t want to believe an at-large bid was possible.

“You almost get to the point you don’t want to get your hopes up and be disappointed,” Vachon said. “After [Saturday’s] game, to be honest with you, we really didn’t think that [the committee members] were going to look favorably on us. We kept a little bit of hope and it went a long way, I guess.”