Black Bears to battle UAlbany for league title, ticket to Big Dance

The University of Maine women’s basketball team will play University at Albany for the America East Championship at 4:30 p.m. Friday, March 11.

The game, to be played at top-seeded UAlbany, will be broadcast live on ESPNU. The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship.

The second-seeded Black Bears (26–7) advanced to the title game with a thrilling 51–48 victory over Stony Brook in Sunday’s semifinal.

UMaine will be playing in its 16th conference title game and its first since 2004. That year, the Black Bears bested Boston University and advanced to the NCAA Division I Mideast Region first round, losing to Texas Tech 60–50.

UAlbany, which crushed Binghamton 79–43 in the semifinal, is playing in its fifth-straight title game. The Great Danes are shooting to make conference history by winning the championship for the fifth consecutive season.

UMaine’s win over Stony Brook, its 14th in a row, is its 26th of the campaign. The 26 wins is the second most in school history and one shy of the all-time mark.

Sigi Koizar led the Black Bears against Stony Brook, knocking down a trio of treys and finishing with 15 points. Mikaela Gustafsson, Bella Swan and Liz Wood each finished with eight points; Swan and Wood also both pulled down seven boards.

With 3:30 left in the fourth quarter and the Black Bears trailing by two, Koizar drilled a deep three. Swan then hit a baseline jumper to give the Black Bears a three-point cushion with a minute to play.

Stony Brook had three game-tying attempts in its last possession.

Visit goblackbears.com for updates, follow the team on Twitter @BlackBearsWBB and like MaineWomensBasketball on Facebook.