Blodgett finalist as women’s coach 3 others also seeking UMaine post

Cindy Blodgett is the most recognizable name in University of Maine women’s basketball history.

Nine years after her departure, the former Black Bears All-American is a finalist for the head coaching position at her alma mater.

UMaine athletic director Blake James confirmed Friday evening that Clinton native Blodgett is among four remaining candidates for the UMaine position.

Joining Blodgett on that list are University of North Carolina Asheville head coach Betsy Blose, University of California assistant Lindsay Gottlieb, and former University of Illinois associate head coach Marsha Frese.

“We’ve already had three of them on campus and we have one more [to interview] and then we’ll look to move forward with making a recommendation for a new head coach,” said James, who is one of six people on the search committee.

James, who will make the final recommendation to UMaine President Robert Kennedy, is confident the position will be filled soon.

“I’m hoping to have this search completed within the next week,” James said. “It’s always hard to tell when officially we’ll be able to move forward, but I’m hoping to move as quick as we can.”

James said there were more than 30 applicants for the job left vacant when Ann McInerney resigned last month after two sub-.500 seasons with the Black Bears.

“We had a tremendous response, a very strong applicant pool, and I’m very confident that we’ll get a great coach for our program,” James said.

Blodgett’s playing credentials speak for themselves. She is UMaine’s career leader in points (3,005), steals (334), field goals (1,055), FG attempts (2,181), 3-pointers (219), 3-point attempts (620), 3-point percentage (.396), and free-throw percentage (.822). She ranks second all-time with 487 assists.

The former Lawrence High School star, who led UMaine to the program’s first four appearances in the NCAA Tournament, holds eight career records, five season standards, and five single-game marks.

Blodgett played in the WNBA from 1998-2002 and also played in Europe, getting her coaching start as a graduate assistant at Boston University in 1999-2000. After studying to become a massage therapist, she returned to coaching in 2005-06 as an assistant at Brown University, where she has spent the last two seasons.

Blose has directed the UNC Asheville program for five seasons. Last season she led the Bulldogs to the Big South Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament.

Blose’s Bulldog teams have compiled a 76-71 overall record, including four straight winning campaigns. UNC Asheville went from 3-25 in 2002-03 to 19-9 in 2003-04 under her direction.

Prior to her stint there, the James Madison University graduate coached Division II Shepherd University (W.Va.) to a 114-77 record in seven seasons. She began her coaching career at Altavista (Va.) High School, then spent eight seasons as an assistant at Div. I James Madison.

Gottlieb recently completed her second season as an assistant at Cal under Joanne Boyle. She has worked extensively with the Golden Bears’ post players.

Gottlieb previously spent three seasons as an assistant under Boyle at the University of Richmond, where she helped the Spiders win 20 games and advance to the postseason each year. That included Richmond’s NCAA berth in 2005.

The Scarsdale, N.Y., native arrived at Richmond after one season as an assistant at New Hampshire under Sue Johnson. Gottlieb also worked two years as an assistant at Syracuse, where she earned a master’s in philosophy of education.

Gottlieb graduated from Brown University in 1999 with a B.A. in political science after playing four years of basketball. She was a student assistant there in 1998-99.

Frese last winter completed her fourth season at Illinois, serving the last two as the associate head coach under Theresa Grentz, who recently stepped down.

Known for her recruiting prowess, Frese spearheaded two top-25 recruiting classes in her first two seasons at Illinois. Prior to joining the Fighting Illini, she spent four seasons as an assistant under her sister, Brenda Frese.

She started her college career at Ball State (Ind.) from 1999-2001, then did one-year stints at the University of Minnesota and the University of Maryland. Frese is a former Miss Iowa Basketball who had a successful playing career as a prolific 3-point shooter at Rice University in Houston.

She graduated in 1995 with a B.S. in communication and spent three years as a sportscaster in Alexandria, La., before getting into coaching.