MAINE vs. NORTHEASTERN

Time, site: Thursday, 7 p.m.; Cabot Gym, Brookline, Mass.

Records: Maine 15-4 (11-0 America East); Northeastern 12-6 (6-4)

Series/last meeting: Maine leads 24-14; UM won 71-55 on 11/20/98

Key players: Maine – 6-4 C Jamie Cassidy (23.6 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 2.4 bpg), 6-4 F Martina Tinklova (10.2 ppg, 4.9 rpg), 5-7 G Amy Vachon (7.8 ppg, 8.2 apg, 2.9 spg), 5-10 G Kristen McCormick (11.4 ppg), 5-11 G/F Kelly Bowman (7.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg); Northeastern – 5-6 G Tesha Tinsley (19.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 4.1 apg, 2.5 spg), 6-1 F Betsy Palecek (16.1 ppg, 5.2 rpg), 6-3 C Lani Lawrence (9.5 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.8 bpg), 5-10 F Wanda Almengot (9.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg), 6-0 F Beth Hanewald (3.4 ppg)

Outlook: The Bears seek their 11th straight victory having held opponents under 60 points 10 games in a row. Against Northeastern, the Bears need to keep the talented Tinsley from penetrating and not afford her open 3-point shots. The Huskies lead America East in scoring defense (59.1 ppg) and are No. 2 while limiting opponents to 38 percent shooting. Maine, which appears to have an edge in depth, must rebound effectively to fuel its fast-break attack and look to take advantage of its inside-outside balance on offense. Maine has won 12 straight against NU, which last beat the Bears on Jan. 29, 1994.