UMaine seeking 16th straight win tonight Defense has sparked streak

ORONO – The winning streak has reached 15 games for the University of Maine women’s basketball team.

It is the longest for the Black Bears since the 1995-96 squad won 19 consecutive games on its way to the conference regular-season and tournament championships and a trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Coach Sharon Versyp’s UMaine squad, 19-4 overall and 12-0 in America East play, will try to extend the streak tonight at 7:30 when it takes on Albany (9-15, 3-10 AE) at Alfond Arena.

In spite of UMaine’s tremendous run, it appears to be handling its achievement with the realization success can be fleeting.

“We want to continue our streak. We want to continue playing the way we are,” said junior Heather Ernest of Temple. “It’s easy for us to stay intense. Nobody’s ever satisfied on our team.”

The always intense Versyp admitted loosening up a bit after last Saturday’s win over Stony Brook to make sure the players aren’t losing their perspective.

“I said, ‘Gang, it’s been a long stretch, enjoy this,'” Versyp explained. “‘Let’s smile and start having a little bit of fun and enjoying it.'”

UMaine, which has already clinched an America East postseason berth and can’t finish lower than third in the standings, holds a three-game lead over second-place Vermont. With four regular-season games remaining, there isn’t any reason for the Bears to get all nerved up.

“There’s no pressure, we’re just going out and having fun like we have nothing to lose,” said junior Julie Veilleux of Augusta. “If we start to play like we can’t lose, then there’s going to be problems.”

One thing that might benefit and motivate the Bears is the fact their opponents are determined to knock off the league frontrunner. UMaine is a target.

“If I were playing against us, I’d want to kick our butts,” said Ernest, adding, “It’s pretty easy to be fired up and ready to go to play every day.”

Continuing the winning streak has obvious benefits. It brings some national attention the way of the Bears and continues to improve their standing in the Rating Percentage Index, the system that determined NCAA Tournament pairings – if they get that far.

While that is among UMaine’s highest goals for the season, the Bears will continue to use the same philosophy that has made the 15-game streak possible.

“It is a long season,” Versyp said. “I don’t focus on the winning streak, I focus on them getting better every day.”

And the players realize the regular-season streak won’t matter if they don’t achieve their postseason goals.

“The big picture here… tournament time. That’s what it really boils down to,” Veilleux said. “You can win all these games and then lose in the tournament and it doesn’t matter.”