The Cumberland County Civic Center won’t be like the friendly confines of Alfond Arena, but it’s the next best thing.

The University of Maine women’s basketball team ends a string of five consecutive road games played in four states over a span of 30 days today when it takes on Holy Cross (4-7) in Portland.

Tipoff for the nonconference game is scheduled for 2 p.m.

“At least we’re in the state,” said coach Ann McInerney, whose Black Bears (3-6) haven’t played a home game since a Nov. 30 loss to Rhode Island.

“Having the game in Portland allows some of the people from southern Maine and some of the people from the Worcester (Mass.) area, like my family, to come up and see what should prove to be a great game.”

UMaine, which last Thursday snapped a six-game losing streak with a win over North Carolina A&T in the consolation game of the University of Miami’s Hurricane Holiday Classic in Coral Gables, Fla., is collectively looking forward to making a new start in 2006.

Playing in Portland will be especially nice for New Gloucester’s Katie Whittier, whose family and friends won’t have far to travel to watch today’s game.

“It’s going to be fun. I have a bunch of people coming and I think my dad got like 50 tickets,” said Whittier, who has emerged as one of the Bears’ leaders during her fourth season with the program.

“We’re excited to get back and play in front of our fans,” she added. “We’re confident and we’re coming out of a win [against N.C. A&T].”

Even as the Bears were stuck in a losing streak, McInerney and her staff continued to stress achieving steady improvement while building toward the start of the America East season.

“With the challenging schedule that we’ve had, we’ve tried to focus on staying positive,” she said. “We have to be patient and have them working to get better.”

UMaine plays host to Binghamton in Wednesday’s 7:30 p.m. league opener at Alfond Arena in Orono.

The emergence of Whittier continues to be a key piece of the Bears’ developing chemistry. The 6-foot-2 junior forward is coming off a career-best 22-point performance last Thursday during which she shot 11-for-12 from the field.

She is shooting a sparkling 71 percent (44-for-62) from the floor this season.

“We’re trying to get Katie as confident as we possibly can,” McInerney said. “As I said to her leaving the locker room [Thursday] night, she needs to be a primary scorer for us.

“I can’t speak highly enough about how coachable she’s been and how hard she’s worked.”

Whittier hit three long jump shots in the 17- to 18-foot range against the Aggies in addition to her efficient play underneath. Her success is important because of the defensive pressure being faced by senior center Abby Schrader.

“Abby’s obviously getting double-teamed and they’re really banging her around,” McInerney said. “The more Katie can do that, the more it’s going to open things up for Abby.”