ORONO, Maine — For the tenth time in school history, the University of Maine's women's basketball team is preparing for an NCAA Tournament game.
After winning the America East Championship, the Black Bears will play Ohio State, the No. 2 seed in the region, next weekend. Maine enters the tournament as the No. 15 seed. The team held a watch party from The Pit as they learned their fate on Selection Sunday.
The game will be played Friday at noon on Ohio State's campus in Columbus, Ohio.
Maine is looking for its second NCAA Tournament win. Its first came against Stanford in 1999. Current Black Bears head coach Amy Vachon was a member of that team 25 years ago.
Meanwhile, Ohio State won the Big Ten regular season title before losing to Maryland in the conference tournament. Maine is 0-2 all-time in games against Ohio State, losing 83-70 in 2017 and losing 93-64 in 1995, according to UMaine athletics.
The game will be the second time the Black Bears face off against a Big Ten opponent this season. Maine lost to Indiana University earlier this season in a homecoming game for Hoosiers star Mackenzie Holmes.
Holmes, a Gorham native, and the Hoosiers are a four seed in the tournament and will play Fairfield in the opening round Saturday afternoon at 1:30.
You can find the full women's bracket here.