The newly crowned America East champion University of Maine women’s basketball team earned the 15 seed and will face Ohio State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
They’ll play second seed Ohio State at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio at noon on Friday.
Seventeenth-ranked Ohio State is the Big Ten regular season champion, posting a 16-2 regular season record, but the Buckeyes were upset by eighth seed Maryland in the conference quarterfinals, 82-61, on March 8.
The 24-9 Black Bears, winners of 12 of their last 13 games, beat defending champ Vermont 64-48 in Friday’s America East title game before an energized sell-out crowd at the Memorial Gym in Orono.
It was UMaine’s first conference tournament title since the Black Bears won back-to-back championships in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
UMaine had lost America East championship games at the Memorial Gym to Stony Brook in 2020-21 and Albany in 2021-22.
Albany ousted the Black Bears in the semifinals a year ago.
UMaine reached the league title game in 2019-20 but the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the season the week before UMaine was scheduled to play host Stony Brook in the final.
UMaine wound up as a 14th seed in the NCAA Tournament in the 2018-19 season and lost to third seed North Carolina State 63-51 in the first round in Raleigh, North Carolina.
North Carolina State was ranked 10th in the country at the time.
The previous season, UMaine was a 15th seed and lost to second seed Texas 83-54 in Austin, Texas in its first round game.
“I’m real excited to go there and just have fun,” said UMaine graduate student guard and America East Tournament Most Valuable Player and the league’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Anne Simon after the NCAA Tournament selection show party on Sunday night at the Memorial Gym.
She said she knows Ohio State’s defense is “real good. They’re a pressing team.”
Ohio State and Michigan allowed the fewest points per game among the 14 Big Ten teams, 63.8 per game.
“It’s a great opportunity to go and play some great competition and some great basketball. I’m looking forward to it,” said UMaine sophomore guard Sarah Talon from Windham.
Talon said it is something she has thought about for a long time.
“You watched [the NCAA women’s tournament] as a kid and you think of what could be if you were in that position. And for it to finally be here is a dream come true,” said Talon.
The two teams had one common opponent: Gorham All-American Mackenzie Holmes’ Indiana Hoosiers.
Ohio State beat Indiana 74-69 at home while UMaine lost to Indiana 67-59 at the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland.
“Our team can play with anyone. It’s all about confidence. Anything can happen. It’s the tournament,” said Talon. “It’s March. Crazy things happen.”
UMaine head coach Amy Vachon said they will put together a “good game plan, battle, enjoy it and do what we can.”
Ohio State has the Big Ten’s two leaders in steals per game in Celeste Taylor (2.3) and Jacy Sheldon (2.1).
Sheldon, a graduate student guard, is third in the Big Ten in scoring (18 points per game) and 11th in assists (3.7). Graduate student guard Taylor is 12th in assists (3.4). Sophomore forward Cotie McMahon is 13th in rebounding (6.5) and 16th in scoring (14.1).
The teams have met twice, both in Columbus, with OSU triumphing 83-70 in 2017 and 93-64 in 1995.