It was a confidence-building weekend for the University of Maine women’s basketball team.
The Black Bears (2-3) went 1-1 during the Dead River Co. Classic, beating Buffalo 58-53 in Saturday’s consolation game.
That came on the heels of a stinging 61-59 loss to Holy Cross the previous night.
“I think it’s a credit to their resiliency and their competitiveness and them growing as a unit,” coach Cindy Blodgett said of her team’s come-from-behind effort against Buffalo.
Blodgett said the win should raise the Bears’ expectations of themselves as they prepare for Saturday’s game at West Virginia.
Senior Amanda Tewksbury senses UMaine is learning how to shake off disappointment and keep its collective focus while striving for improvement on a daily basis.
“These past couple years, we’ve had to really overcome a lot of adversity and we’ve really learned from that,” Tewksbury said. “You could tell [Saturday], there were things that didn’t go our way at the end there, there were mistakes we made, but we decided to stay together and get it back.”
Among the positive developments for UMaine is the emergence of freshman post player Corinne Wellington. She averaged 16 points and seven rebounds during the Dead River Co. Classic, making her first two career starts.
“It’s dangerous that she has a game like [Holy Cross], to a certain degree, because then there’s very high expectations,” Blodgett said of the 20-point, 10-rebound performance. “I think what’s very important to keep in mind is, she’s a work in progress. She works very hard.”
The 6-foot-2 Wellington is a left-handed battler underneath who should help the Bears establish a good post presence along with senior Katia Bratishko and sophomore Samantha Baranowski.
“When I got minutes in the [New Jersey Tech] game, I understood that I had to work hard if I wanted to get more playing time, so I worked harder in practice and it paid off,” Wellington said.
One veteran who appears to be playing with more confidence is sophomore Samantha Wheeler. The 6-foot forward averaged 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals in the tourney. She shot 67 percent (12-for-18) from the field.
Wheeler, who also excels defensively at the top of UMaine’s 1-2-2 matchup zone, demonstrated her versatility with a nice mixture of perimeter shooting and dribble-penetration baskets.
“It was really all the help from my teammates, because they helped me get open and they gave me extremely good passes,” Wheeler said.
Blodgett faces former coach
It was a reunion of sorts during the Dead River Co. Classic for Blodgett and Buffalo head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald.
Blodgett played for Hill-MacDonald with the Cleveland Rockers during her rookie season in the WNBA back in 1999.
Saturday afternoon, the two squared off as head coaches and the Black Bears emerged with a 58-53 victory.
The mentor came away impressed after watching Blodgett coach UMaine.
“She’s doing a great job here at Maine,” said Hill-MacDonald, who is in her fifth season at Buffalo. “I thought she coached two excellent games [Friday] and [Saturday]. She’s going to be one of the good ones down the road. I’m just really proud.”
Blodgett had a difficult first year in the WNBA, trying to adjust to the rigors of the pro game. She nonetheless has fond memories of Hill-MacDonald.
“I enjoyed playing for her, although I didn’t play much, as we all know,” Blodgett quipped. “I learned a lot. She’s a very good person, very genuine.
“Although the playing experience in Cleveland wasn’t what I had hoped for, having her as a coach was a pleasure and I thought she was always very good to the players. She was very demanding, but she was very good to us.”
Blodgett pointed out how she was connected in some way to all the coaches in the Dead River Co. Classic. She had played against a Bill Gibbons-coached Holy Cross team and competed against Penn State coach Coquese Washington and Lady Lions assistant Maren Walseth in the WNBA.
Hill-MacDonald enjoys seeing former players staying involved in basketball.
“It’s heartwarming to see young women going into the profession,” Hill-MacDonald said. “It’s certainly hard to coach against a former player but, at the same time, it’s very rewarding.”