Earlier this month, the University of Maine women’s basketball team came within one possession of winning the America East Conference championship.
Although the Black Bears came up short against Albany, and stumbled in their Women’s National Invitation Tournament game at Quinnipiac, this year’s team capped an impressive turnaround under coach Richard Barron.
Spearheaded by a group of eight seniors and junior standout Sigi Koizar, UMaine was a title contender for the second straight year. The Black Bears finished with a 26-9 record, the second most victories in program history.
They went undefeated at home this season (13-0) while extending their overall winning streak at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor to 18 games. UMaine won 14 straight before losing to Albany in the championship game.
Those kinds of accomplishments may have seemed unrealistic four years earlier, when a team that included a nine-member freshman class led by America East Co-Rookie of the Year Liz Wood went 4-24. UMaine did not play in the conference tournament after a harrowing bus crash that left players, coaches and staff shaken but more unified moving forward.
The Black Bears reached the AE quarterfinals in 2014, made the semis in 2015 and reached the final this season. During that span, the seniors were instrumental in helping UMaine register a 66-33 record (.667).
This season’s notable achievements included wins over Clemson of the Atlantic Coast Conference and Louisiana State of the Southeastern Conference.
The Black Bears won largely because of their defense, most often a combination of 2-3 matchup zone and player-to-player, which through Monday ranked sixth in the country, allowing 51.1 points per game. Only four times did UMaine surrender more than 60 points in a game.
The offensive catalyst was point guard Koizar, an America East first-team pick. Her 3-point shooting (43 percent) and fearlessness attacking the basket yielded a team-high 17.7 points and 3.7 assists per game along with 4.1 rebounds and 1.5 steals per contest.
She became the eighth UMaine player to eclipse 1,000 career points in three seasons and ranks 11th all time with 1,235 points. Her .487 shooting percentage also topped the squad as did her 35.1 minutes-per-game played.
UMaine’s versatile group of seniors made up the rest of the rotation.
Wood was a presence at both ends, leading the team in rebounding (7.4 rpg) while averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 assists and a team-high 2.5 steals. She was an All-AE Second Team and All-Defensive choice.
She finished her career among the best players ever at UMaine, ranking first in games played (127), sixth in rebounding (902), seventh in scoring (1,462) and eighth in assists (363). She is believed to be in the top five with 282 steals.
Wood posted 23 career double-doubles and the first known triple-double in program history.
Mikaela Gustafsson continued her development as a post player, averaging 8.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and two assists, and athletic transfer Bella Swan registered 7.9 points on 47 percent shooting and averaged 5.3 rebounds.
Combination guard Sophie Weckstrom (5.6 ppg, 2.2 apg), 3-point specialist Lauren Bodine (4.5 ppg) and wing Chantel Charles (3.7 ppg, 1.6 apg) also were part of the regular rotation. Fellow seniors Anna Heise (1.6 ppg) and Milica Mitrovic (1.1 ppg) chipped in coming off the bench.
UMaine was only occasionally dynamic with its offensive play, save for some occasional runs sparked by transition play and 3-point shooting. With Koizar as the only player able to consistently attack off the dribble, the team relied instead on perimeter passing to get the ball inside and chose instead to wear down opposing defenses.
Moving forward, the Black Bears are going to be significantly lacking in quality game experience. Koizar is the only proven commodity, despite the fact UMaine will return two other seniors in post players Sheraton Jones and Kirsten Johnson, along with junior guards Christiana Gerostergiou and Parise Rossignol of Van Buren.
Redshirt sophomore guard Tanesha Sutton, a 5-foot-10 transfer from Duquesne, is expected to step into a prominent role. Also returning is Maddy McVicar of Calais, a walk-on who will be a redshirt freshman next season.
Barron is likely to call upon some of his six incoming freshmen to make immediate contributions. That group includes 6-3 forward Anita Kelava from Croatia and 5-8 guard Julie Brosseau of Repentigny, Quebec, along with 6-2 Croatian forward Tihana Stojsavljevic, 6-1 Swedish guard Fanny Wadling and Bar Harbor’s Sierra Tapley, a 5-8 guard.
Tapley, who played at Mount Desert Island, suffered a season-ending knee injury in January.
There appears to be a lot of potential for next season’s ballclub, but Barron and his staff will need to find roles for the lesser-used returning players as they try to fast-forward another large freshman class to the Division I game.
It seems unrealistic to expect that UMaine would be able to replace such a veteran nucleus quickly enough to remain a title contender in America East. Even so, the returnees who have had a hand in rebuilding the winning culture and now have an opportunity to exert their influence on the court.