Bears to host Dead River tourney
11/27/09 | 19 comments
women's basketball

Bears to host Dead River tourney


Penn State highlights competitive field
By Pete Warner
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY MICHAEL YORK
Senior guard Amanda Tewksbury has emerged as one of the leader of the University of Maine basketball team, which opens the Dead River Co. Classic today with a 6 p.m. game against Holy Cross. Buy Photo

The University of Maine women’s basketball program can’t be accused over the years of stacking its annual Thanksgiving tournament in its favor by inviting teams upon which to prey.

Sure, the Black Bears benefit from playing the Dead River Co. Classic on their home court inside chilly Alfond Arena, which often gets visiting teams’ attention.

Beyond that, UMaine has traditionally been willing to invite high-caliber competition to Orono in the hope of providing all involved with a quality basketball experience.

This marks the 17th season for UMaine’s holiday extravaganza, which begins today with a pair of first-round contests.

Penn State and Buffalo meet at 4 p.m., while UMaine takes on Holy Cross in the 6 p.m. game.

There should be plenty of good seats available with adult tickets ranging from $10 for reserved seats to $8 for general admission. However, youngsters ages 16 and under get into the games for only $2. That deal is in effect all season.

Saturday’s action will include a consolation game at noon, with the title contest to follow at approximately 2 p.m.

Coach Cindy Blodgett’s Bears will try to become only the fourth UMaine team to win its own tournament. UMaine is 17-15 all-time, including 12 championship-game appearances.

This year’s field may not be quite as impressive, on paper, as many in past years. Even so, the winner will have to play two strong games to take home the championship plaque.

The headliner is Penn State of the Big Ten Conference, which is coming off an 11-18 season during which it lost in the first round of the conference tournament. However, the Lady Lions (3-1 this season) have been perennially strong.

Penn State is a combined 25-1 all-time against teams from conferences involved in the Dead River Co. Classic. That includes 15-0 against the Patriot League, 5-0 against the Mid-American Conference and 5-1 taking on America East squads.

Holy Cross, UMaine’s first-round opponent, has been a perennial power in the Patriot League. However, the Crusaders went 13-17 a year ago and bowed out of the league tournament in the quarterfinals.

Buffalo was 8-24 last season, but did reach the MAC semifinals.

The Black Bears, meanwhile, have been trying to rebuild since their last postseason appearance (WNIT) in 2005. If UMaine can put it all together, a victory in its own tournament could provide tremendous confidence and a boost of momentum for the squad.

The Dead River Co. Classic will be a homecoming of sorts for former UMaine women’s coach Ann McInerney, who directed the Bears from 2005-07. She is in her second season at Holy Cross under 25th-year Crusaders boss Bill Gibbons and this year is serving as the associate head coach.

McInerney’s UMaine teams compiled a 23-34 record.

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Comments
19 comments on this item
On 11/27/09 at 3:50 AM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Welcome back Ann "Martin"!.........lol.

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On 11/27/09 at 6:06 AM, fredrogers wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I want to thank Dead River Co.for keeping this going through thick and thin. And true long time community player in Bangor since I can remember! Tip of the hat !

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On 11/27/09 at 11:09 AM, Seward wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

MaineJeff, I see that you were banned from The CAAZONE message board. Can you explain that?

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On 11/27/09 at 11:27 AM, Seward wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

mainejeff, I see that you were banned from the caazone website. Can you explain that?

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On 11/27/09 at 11:40 AM, Gorilla wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

MaineJeff, Ann 'Martin' will be getting the last laugh if her D3 Crusaders kick D1 Maine's butts.....which given the recent history of the Bears, is quite possible. I think her behavior while in Orono had more to do with the reality of being 200 miles from 'no where' with a team going 'no where' and with administrative support 'no where' to be found, than any personal shortcomings. Unlike D1 programs, Holy Cross (and Merremach before) hires coaches who beleive education comes first, atheltics second.

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On 11/27/09 at 1:06 PM, fredrogers wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Well am I to understand that the former UMaine coach didn't have an alcohol problem whcih was at the heart of thier ppoor performance and decision making skills?

Si it was just a geographic problem that brought on lying, boozing, and making decisions that made themselves look irresponsible and if the folks at UM had shown her adequate support, that whole incident wouldn't have never taken place?

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On 11/27/09 at 3:01 PM, ralphmcdevitts wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

mainejeff is just an angry person. my guess, he never got to wear a jock strap growing up. not sure is was talent related either

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On 11/27/09 at 3:29 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

On 11/27/09 at 11:09 AM, Seward wrote:

MaineJeff, I see that you were banned from The CAAZONE message board. Can you explain that?

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That's news to me. I just posted there a few minutes ago.

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On 11/27/09 at 3:32 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

On 11/27/09 at 11:40 AM, Gorilla wrote: Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

MaineJeff, Ann 'Martin' will be getting the last laugh if her D3 Crusaders kick D1 Maine's butts.....which given the recent history of the Bears, is quite possible. I think her behavior while in Orono had more to do with the reality of being 200 miles from 'no where' with a team going 'no where' and with administrative support 'no where' to be found, than any personal shortcomings. Unlike D1 programs, Holy Cross (and Merremach before) hires coaches who beleive education comes first, atheltics second.

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Holy Cross is D-3??? I thought that they were D-1?

Unlike Ann "Martin", most collegiate coaches believe in setting positive examples to their players........not getting drunk at the mall with their assistant coaches and lying to cops.

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On 11/27/09 at 3:34 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

On 11/27/09 at 3:01 PM, ralphmcdevitts wrote:

mainejeff is just an angry person. my guess, he never got to wear a jock strap growing up. not sure is was talent related either

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I'm very hung. I've always had to wear a jock.

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On 11/27/09 at 3:48 PM, Seward wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Hey,mainejeff is out there! Thought she might be busy with her glamor magazine. I see Caa Zone let her back in.

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On 11/27/09 at 3:53 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

McInerney in a glamor magazine??? Yikes! Now that IS scary!!!

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On 11/27/09 at 4:15 PM, tommie wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Holy Cross is D1, has been for a number of years. Patriot Div I believe....by they way they will beat Maine, no contest!

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On 11/27/09 at 4:21 PM, tommie wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Maine never stacks the deck, but they never play the top seed in the 1st game even when they are the '4th' best of the group.....not that there is anything wrong with that?.

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On 11/27/09 at 4:49 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

If only the men's team garnered this much interest..............

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On 11/27/09 at 6:58 PM, tommie wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

The men's team.......HA,HA,HA....Maine will have a legitimate D1 team the same time we see one from WY, SD and ND....get a life!

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On 11/27/09 at 7:56 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You get one first!

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On 11/27/09 at 8:30 PM, tommie wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

well, they lost lost...no surprise but still a loss! Why do we continue to think we can play against any college that exists outside of Maine or is Division 1? Waste of taxpayer money....TEACH THE CHILDREN! as so profoundly spoken by Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young back in he days that it mattered!

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On 11/27/09 at 8:32 PM, mainejeff wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Teach the children what???........how to s*ck the welfare system dry?

Nice foul shooting by Maine.......NOT!

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