Moments after the University of Maine-Farmington won its second straight Sunrise Conference women’s basketball championship last week, coach Jamie Beaudoin talked about how much more difficult it was for his team this season competing as the favorite.

That was a stark contrast to 2002, when the Beavers claimed the league title with a squad laden with underclassmen. That meant UMF was most often an underdog.

UM-Farmington returns to that role today when its takes on Holy Family College of Philadelphia in the first round of the NAIA Division II National Tournament in Sioux City, Iowa. The Beavers put their 24-4 record on the line in a 1 p.m. game against the 28-1 Lady Tigers.

Today’s game can be heard on WUMF (100.1 FM) in Farmington, on the station’s Web site, or free over the phone by calling Teamline at 1-800-846-4700. The team code is 8632.

There also is a link on the NAIA Web site at www.naia.org/basketball/wdii/championship/2003/bracket.html which provides a live feed during the game complete with statistics and a complete play-by-play.

UMF takes a nine-game winning streak into its second straight appearance at the NAIA Nationals. The Beavers suffered a 63-49 loss to Cardinal Strich in last year’s first round.

The Beavers are led by senior center Jocelyn Sawyer of Porter, the Sunrise Conference Player of the Year, who is averaging 12.5 points and 6.9 rebounds. Other key performers for UMF include senior guard Megan Woodcock of Farmington (10.6 ppg), freshman guard Hannah Socoby of Houlton (8.6 ppg, 3.3 apg) and sophomore forward Kate LaHaye of Belfast (8.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg).

The Beavers also look for contributions from Lydia Coverdale, Brandi Rideout, Cheryl Kempton, Desirae Haines, Sophia Stanley and Samantha Hunt.

Holy Family, the NAIA Northern Independent Playoff Tournament champ, is making its eighth consecutive trip to the nationals. The well-balanced Lady Tigers are led by Karyn Connors (12.4 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Lauren Tanel (12.0 ppg, 8.2 rpg) and Keisha Brown (10.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg).