Mariners seek upset tonight MMA to battle No. 4 Southern Maine

On the eve of his program’s first NCAA Division III Tournament game, Maine Maritime Academy women’s basketball coach Craig Dagan was remarkably low-key.

Three days after the Castine-based Mariners won the North Atlantic Conference title, Dagan spoke matter-of-factly about his team’s chances Wednesday against the fourth-ranked University of Southern Maine Huskies.

USM and MMA square off in a 7 p.m. NCAA first-round game at Hill Gymnasium in Gorham. It will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Dagan said the Mariners, who earned one of 39 automatic bids by winning the NAC, don’t expect to be intimidated by the Little East Conference champion Huskies. USM, which also received an automatic bid, is making its 11th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

“We’re under the impression that if we can play with [No. 2] Bowdoin, we can play with anybody,” Dagan said, referring to MMA’s 58-46 loss to the Polar Bears Feb. 16 at Brunswick.

“All the time I talk to our kids about opportunities. There’s none bigger than this one,” Dagan said.

“We’re not expected to win, but we’ll be prepared.”

Dagan believes MMA matches up fairly well with USM in terms of personnel. The Mariners are paced by NAC Player of the Year Alyssa Burns of Dixfield, a 6-foot sophomore swing player who is averaging 16.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.4 assists.

MMA’s other mainstays include sophomore guard Michelle Gott of Bernard (15.0 ppg, 5.2 rpg, .348 3-point pct.), an All-NAC second-team choice, and junior forward Julia Knights of Brookton (7.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg).

“Julia, as the season has progressed, got better and better,” Dagan said. “That gave us a third scoring threat, a third option, and took a lot of pressure off [Burns and Gott].”

The Mariners also look to Meghan Marshall of Madawaska (4.8 ppg), point guard Caitlyn Grant of South Thomaston (2.7 ppg, 2.5 apg), Ashley Hayden of Bangor (2.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Amy Freeman of Brewer (3.6 ppg).

MMA, which thrives on tenacious man-to-man defense and a deep, versatile roster, has several players with big-game experience that should benefit them against the Huskies.

“We’ve never been to the NCAA Tournament but Julia, Alyssa and Shelly [Gott] have won state championship after state championship and played in extremely important basketball games over the course of their careers,” Dagan said. “I think that has prepared them for this.”

Southern Maine, under longtime coach Gary Fifield, is a speedy, guard-oriented team that knows how to win. The Huskies, who have won 24 consecutive games, are 15-0 at home this season.

Ashley Marble of Topsfield, a former teammate of MMA’s Knights at Woodland High, leads a well-rounded USM lineup. The 5-9 junior forward, the LEC Player of the Year, is averaging 13.4 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

The Huskies also boast junior guard Tiffany Jones of Skowhegan (12.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg), LEC first-team forward Megan Myles of Turner (12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and junior guard Katie Frost of Calais (9.0 ppg, 3.6 apg), who played with MMA backup Katie Clapham at Calais High.

“They shoot the ball extremely well,” Dagan said.

USM is averaging 75.9 ppg this season, shooting 45 percent from the floor overall and 38 percent from long range, led by Frost’s 60 3-pointers.

“We match up as well with them as with anybody else,” Dagan said. “We respect them a great deal but certainly don’t fear them.”