Women’s Basketball
NCAA tournament
First Round
MAINE vs. No. 8 TEXAS
Time, site: Saturday, 6 p.m., Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas
Records: No 15 seed UMaine 23-9, No. 2 seed Texas 26-6
Series, last meeting: Texas leads 1-0, Texas 72-34 on 12/29/92
Key players: Maine — 6-1 G Blanca Millan (17.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3 steals, 1.6 assists per game), 5-10 G Tanesha Sutton (12 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.9 apg, 1.9 spg), 5-8 G Julie Brosseau (11.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.2 apg), 6-1 F Fanny Wadling (6.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 1.9 apg), 5-6 G Dor Saar (5.8 ppg, 3 apg), 5-8 G Parise Rossignol (5.4 ppg, 2.2 apg); Texas — 5-11 G Ariel Atkins (14.8 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 2.7 spg), 5-4 G Brooke McCarty (13.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.5 spg), 5-9 G Lashann Higgs (12.8 ppg, 2.7 apg, 1.4 spg), 6-4 F-C Jatarie White (10.5 ppg, 6 rpg), 5-8 G Alecia Sutton (6.7 ppg, 2.3 apg), 6-3 G-F Joyner Holmes (6.5 ppg, 6 rpg)
Game notes: The Black Bears will have to box out tenaciously against the taller Longhorns as Texas has the nation’s fourth-best rebounding margin, averaging 10.4 more rebounds per game than its opponents. Texas’s 43 rebounds per game rank 12th. UMaine also must limit its turnovers and hustle back on defense to prevent the Longhorns from getting easy transition baskets. McCarty is a third-team All-American and led the Big 12 in assist-to-turnover margin at 2.71. Texas has exceptional balance and is averaging 80.7 points per game, 16th best in the country. UMaine is allowing only 55.8 ppg, which ranks 18th. Millan is 12th in the country in steals (97) and 14th in steals per game (3.03). The Black Bears will need to get off to a good start and build confidence. Falling behind by a substantial margin early could make for a long evening for the Black Bears.