Maine Maritime Academy in Castine continues to break new ground for the North Atlantic Conference and Division III women’s basketball in eastern and northern Maine.

The Mariners, who last Wednesday shocked then top-ranked Bowdoin College 51-49 in Brunswick, have been recognized for their efforts.

By virtue of their 15-0 record and the upset of the Polar Bears, coach Craig Dagan’s MMA women are ranked 19th nationally in the d3hoops.com weekly poll released Monday.

“It’s tremendous for Maine Maritime and the program. It’s beyond my wildest dreams,” the Mariners’ sixth-year coach said Monday night.

MMA, which began play 11 years ago, becomes the first NAC team to earn a national ranking in women’s basketball and may be the first to do so in any sport.

“It’s great for our conference to get this kind of recognition and that there’s talk not only about Maine Maritime and the NAC, but Maine girls high school basketball,” Dagan said. “It should benefit everybody in the long run.”

While MMA’s players were understandably excited when they heard the news, Dagan has been impressed with how they are dealing with the situation.

“They were pretty laid-back about it,” Dagan said. “Their No. 1 concern is [playing UMaine]-Farmington on Wednesday night. They realize the bull’s-eye on our back gets a little bigger with this occurring.”

MMA is gearing up for a tough stretch of NAC games.

“We have a lot of respect for all the teams we play, so our kids are just keeping an even keel,” Dagan said.

The Mariners are no strangers to breaking new ground for themselves and the NAC. Last season, MMA earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

“We’re enjoying the experience for what it is,” Dagan said, “but we’re very proud.”

Morrow transfers to UMaine

The University of Maine women’s basketball team recently made a significant addition to the roster – for 2008.

Whitney Morrow of South Portland, a transfer from the University of Richmond, has joined the program. The 5-foot-8 shooting guard becomes eligible next January and will be a junior.

Morrow was a NEWS All-Maine first-team choice in 2005 as a senior at South Portland High, where she departed as the school’s all-time leading scorer. The Miss Maine Basketball finalist and Gatorade Maine Player of the Year averaged 16.1 points, three steals and three assists per game while shooting 81 percent from the foul line.

“I’m thrilled. I think it’s a great opportunity for her to get a fresh start,” said UMaine coach Ann McInerney.

During her freshman year at Richmond, Morrow appeared in 18 games and averaged 2.1 points and 1 rebound. This season, she saw limited action in five games for the Spiders before deciding to transfer.

Morrow becomes the fifth UMaine prospect for 2007-08 or 2008-09 who has come through the New England Crusaders AAU program in New Hampshire.

“She’s a very good jump shooter, an athletic two-guard,” McInerney said. “She’s a great, hardworking kid. She’s going to be a nice addition to our team.”

Morrow won’t be able to practice for at least two weeks after she suffered a nasty cut on the back of her ankle when struck by a closing door in a campus building. She received 18 stitches to repair the gash.

Bears prepare for noon contest

The UMaine women’s basketball team will participate in an America East initiative to attract new fans to the sport when it plays Wednesday at Maryland Baltimore County

The game is scheduled for a rare noon tipoff, which is appealing to McInerney.

“We fly out on Tuesday; we fly back on Wednesday night,” McInerney said of the Bears’ trip to Maryland, which will be shorter because of the tip time.

“It’s great, because otherwise we’d have to wait until the next day to fly out and we’d be flying home Thursday, so this is good,” she added.

UMaine also will host a midweek day game Feb. 7 when it plays a noon league contest against Albany.