Academics, travel test Bears Basketball becomes primary focus during Christmas break

ORONO – There was a collective sense of relief surrounding the University of Maine women’s basketball team Friday afternoon.

Even though they were headed to practice in preparation for Sunday’s 1 p.m. game against Rider at Alfond Arena, the Black Bears did so knowing the first academic semester and a grueling travel schedule are behind them.

“I don’t even know what day it is today,” said affable UMaine senior captain Heather Ernest of Temple. “I just show up when they tell me to.”

Coach Sharon Versyp’s 4-3 UMaine squad has logged some 15,000 miles through the air on trips to Hawaii, Wisconsin, Iowa and Indiana. That, coupled with school and tough competition on the court, has made for a challenging first month of the season.

“It’s definitely a relief,” senior Julie Veilleux of Augusta said of the semester recess. “We’ve been going hard for a real long time with the travel and everything, and it’s been demanding, the teams that we’ve been playing.”

Ernest said the extensive travel means missed class time and, sometimes, a bit of scrambling late in the semester.

“Coming back from all the traveling, all the school we missed, was kind of stressful, especially with finals this week,” Ernest said. “Everybody was kind of freaking out, making sure that we did everything that we were supposed to do for each of our classes.”

Junior Kim Corbitt, a chemical engineering major, was the last Bear to finish up her finals Friday afternoon. She was expected to attend practice as soon as she was finished.

“It’s very good for us to be done with finals, because that’s one less stress we have to think about,” Ernest said.

But the Bears can’t sit back and relax just yet with Sunday’s game looming.

“Now we just have to concentrate on basketball and the things that we need to do to get better,” Ernest added.

UMaine has played well thus far. The Bears are ranked 53rd or 55th, depending upon which of the latest Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) calculations you happen to check.

Veilleux said it’s important for UMaine to get a victory in Sunday’s nonconference game.

“The last game we played [a 67-58 loss at Indiana] wasn’t so hot, but hopefully we can kind of redeem ourselves and leave [for Christmas] on a high note and then come back ready to go for more,” she said.