Sophomore point guard Dor Saar, who suffered a sprained ankle and played only 15 minutes for the University of Maine in Saturday’s 58-45 victory over the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will be in the starting lineup Wednesday night.
The Black Bears are likely to need all of their regulars when they entertain Hartford in a battle for first place in America East at 7 p.m. The Hawks (16-8, 9-1 AE) beat UMaine 49-46 on Jan. 16 in Hartford in their previous meeting.
UMaine (17-7, 10-1 AE) defeated Hartford 74-65 in last year’s AE final at the Cross Insurance Center.
Saar will play a pivotal role because the pressing Hawks have forced almost 25 turnovers per game, which ranks third in Division I. The Black Bears rank seventh while committing only 11.6 turnovers per game.
“I’ll be ready to go. I’ve been getting a lot of treatments and doing a lot of rehab, so it should be almost 100 percent for the game,” Saar said.
Saar has committed 47 turnovers in 24 games while dishing out 126 assists. The 2018 America East Rookie of the Year said breaking the press isn’t the sole responsibility of the point guard.
“It’s even more important that the guards and the other players move [into position] to catch the ball,” Saar said. “[The Hawks] try to create a lot of turnovers and get a lot of layups off them. We’re prepared for that.”
Hartford has forced an average of 28.7 turnovers in its 10 conference games and has scored 27.7 points per game as the result of opponents’ turnovers.
In the first meeting, Hartford forced 19 turnovers, its lowest total in a league game, and converted them into 22 points.
The bigger issue was UMaine’s 33.3 percent shooting, including a 19 percent showing from the 3-point arc.
“We got a lot of good shots, but we didn’t knock them down,” UMaine senior guard Parise Rossignol said.
The Black Bears have a lot of respect for coach Kim McNeill’s Hawks and are excited to be involved in such an important game.
Under the new league playoff format, the regular-season champion earns the home-court advantage as long as it stays alive in the tournament.
“Our kids have grown to love the challenge of playing in big games. They get up for them. Hopefully, we can do that [Wednesday],” UMaine coach Amy Vachon said.
“This is why you play the game, for these big moments,” Rossignol said. “We’re excited for the challenge. The community is excited.”
Senior guard Maddy McVicar said the Black Bears are more excited than anxious for this key game and that other players will be ready to step up should Saar experience any setbacks with her ankle.
“We’re going to have to outwork them and be more aggressive,” Saar said.