Dead River Co. Classic

MAINE vs. BROWN

Time, site: Friday, 7 p.m., Alfond Arena, Orono

Records: Maine 2-1; Brown 1-3

Series, last meeting: Maine leads 4-3, Brown 55-46 on 1/7/06

Key players: Maine – 6-1 F Bracey Barker (17.3 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, .621 FG pct.), 6-2 F Katie Whittier (9.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg), 5-8 G Ashley Underwood (9.3 ppg, 2.3 apg), 5-7 G Kris Younan (7.7 ppg), 5-9 G Tiffany Colon (6.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg), 5-10 G Amanda Tewksbury (5.7 ppg); Brown – 5-10 G/F Ashley King-Bischof (14.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg), 5-8 G Megan McCahill (9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg), 5-9 G Lena McAfee (9.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg), 5-6 Annesley O’Neal (11.0 ppg, 4.0 apg), 5-8 G Courtney Lee (4.8 ppg, 2.5 apg)

Outlook: The Black Bears hope to earn a spot in the tourney title game by beating the Brown Bears. Clemson and St. John’s square off in today’s 4:30 p.m. opener. UMaine is coming off a 69-63 victory over Princeton last Sunday in Minnesota while Brown earned its first win of the season Tuesday night (70-63) over Sacred Heart. The hosts will try to take advantage of their productive senior class, headed up by Barker, and get the ball inside consistently when possible. Brown’s catalyst is swing player King-Bischof. The ballclub has utilized a lot of players thus far trying to find the most successful combinations. Brown has six first-year players on the roster. UMaine, which is shooting 44 percent from the field, must make sure it remains focused on defense while committing itself to rebounding against a scrappy Brown team.