MAINE vs. VERMONT

Time, site: Friday, 7:30 p.m.; Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 4-7 (1-2 America East); Vermont 6-6 (2-1)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 39-16; UVM won 77-50 on 3/11/00

Key players: Maine – 6-1 F Heather Ernest (11.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg), 6-1 G/F Julie Veilleux (10.0 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1.4 spg), 5-11 G/F Kizzy Lopez (9.5 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.3 spg), 6-1 F Anna James (4.9 ppg), 5-10 G Lacey Stone (6.0 ppg), 5-9 G Melissa Heon (4.4 ppg, 1.2 spg); Vermont – 6-1 G Morgan Hall (14.4 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg), 6-0 G Dawn Cressman (13.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.0 apg), 6-3 F Rachel Bryan (10.5 ppg), 5-9 G Libby Smith (6.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 2.8 apg), 6-1 F Aaron Yantzi (6.3 ppg, 4.0 rpg)

Outlook: The Bears look to open the 2001 portion of their schedule on a winning note, but must contend with the always dangerous Catamounts. UMaine is coming off a strong performance in the Virginia Tech tournament, but has been left a bit thin in the post after the departure of Christy Grover. Vermont, coming off a loss to Vanderbilt, is 2-4 on the road this season. The Cats are a guard-oriented team built around Hall, Cressman and MacAulay. They can be effective running the floor, can be potent from 3-point range, and do have a versatile post threat in Bryan. UMaine must rebound hard, keep the number of turnovers in check and avoid getting into a run-and-gun tempo against Vermont, which leads the league with a .757 free throw percentage. Note: This game cannot be heard on WZON radio’s Internet site because of problems with its Internet broadcast service provider.