MAINE vs. NORTHEASTERN

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

Records: Maine 19-5 (14-0 America East); Northeastern 11-12 (5-9)

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 30-19; Maine 72-55 on 1/28/04

Key players: Maine – 6-1 F Heather Ernest (17.0 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 1.8 spg), 5-9 G Melissa Heon (11.2 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 2.8 apg), 6-1 G/F Julie Veilleux (8.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, .429 3-pt. pct., .846 FT pct.), 6-0 F Monica Peterson (7.8 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .536 FG pct.), 5-7 G Missy Traversi (6.6 ppg), 5-7 G Kim Corbitt (5.8 ppg, 3.6 apg); Northeastern – 6-0 G Maralene Zwarich (14.2 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.1 spg), 5-10 G Melissa Kowalski (9.9 ppg), 6-1 F Francesca Vanin (9.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, .810 FT pct.), 5-9 G/F Joi Jefferson (9.8 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.0 apg), 5-6 G Jody Burrows (5.1 ppg, 3.6 apg)

Outlook: The Bears, fresh off their 14th straight victory, try to keep the streak alive. UMaine, which has won 30 consecutive regular-season league games, has already clinched the top seed for the AE tournament. The Bears will try to deny Kowalski and Zwarich on the perimeter and still bottle up Vanin inside. UMaine must rebound relentlessly to prevent second shots and initiate its fast-break attack. In league games, the Bears lead AE in scoring defense (50.9 ppg), FG pct. defense (.359), rebounding margin (plus-4.9), scoring margin (plus-14.1) and 3-pt. FG pct. (.404). NU’s opponents are shooting 45 percent from the field while the Huskies rank among the worst shooting teams.