COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Maine's women's basketball team landed in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday ahead of the team's NCAA Tournament game against Ohio State Friday afternoon.
Maine clinched the school's tenth America East tournament championship over the University of Vermont on March, 15, punching the Black Bears' ticket to the "Big Dance." Meanwhile, the Buckeyes clinched the Big Ten regular season title before losing to Maryland in the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.
Ohio State (25-5) is the No. 2 seed in the "Regional 3" side of the bracket and Maine (24-9) is the No. 15 seed. Since 1985, No. 2 seeds are a perfect 116-0 against No. 15 seeds with 10 games being decided by single digits and the majority being decided by less than 30, according to ESPN.
So, the Black Bears will look to make history and pull off the upset Friday. Maine has been led by leading scorer and America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Anne Simon, who has averaged 18.8 points per game this season while added 7.3 rebounds per game and 3.2 assists per game.
“[Ohio State is] a great defensive team, I love watching them because I love playing defense, and they’re just amazing at pressing people," Simon said after practice in Orono on Tuesday.
Head coach Amy Vachon said the Buckeyes love to force turnovers and score easy baskets in transition, so breaking that defensive pressure has been a focus for Maine leading up to Friday's game.
Simon said the Black Bears will need to take it "one possession at a time" and stay patient on offense and in transition against a defensively sound opponent.
“There’s no pressure on us, no one is expecting anything from us. So we just have to make sure we believe in each other and we in the circle know that we can do it and we’ll see from there," she added.
This year's tournament also falls on the 25th anniversary of Maine's only NCAA Tournament win, when the No. 10 Black Bears upset No. 7 Sanford 60-58 in 1999. Vachon, who was recently named America East Coach of the Year, was a player on that team.
While the Black Bears prepare to take on one of the best teams in the country, Vachon is encouraging her players to enjoy the experience.
“This group has been through a lot and none of them have been to the NCAA Tournament, and so to see that just, pure joy was just amazing," she said. “Every year is different, every year is really special".
There are three Mainers on the Black Bears roster this year: freshman Emmie Streams from Veazie, sophomore Jaycie Christopher from Skowhegan, and sophomore Sarah Talon from Windham.
Talon has started all 33 games for Maine this season and said playing for her home school in March Madness is a "dream come true."
“It’s tournament time, it’s March, it’s where exciting things happen," she said. “It’s a great opportunity. It’s fun to go travel and, you know, play in a great environment like Ohio State, but we’re going to play our game regardless of where we go.”
The Buckeyes are led by top scorer Jacy Sheldon who averaged 18 points per game this season.
The University of Southern California is the top seed in Maine and Ohio State's region. UConn is the No. 3 seed and Virginia Tech is the No. 4 seed.
The top four seeds in each region, or the top 16 teams overall, host the first two rounds of their regional games on campus in the women's tournament.
Watch parties:
There are a few watch parties being held for the women's basketball game and men's hockey playoff game Friday.
At 12 p.m. at The Greatest Bar in Boston, near the TD Garden, UMaine is inviting all alumni and Black Bear fans to watch the basketball game. Then from 5-7 p.m. there will be a pregame meetup before the hockey team plays Boston University Friday night at 7:30 p.m.
The women's basketball team also shared Thursday that the Sea Dog location in Bangor will also host a watch party Friday.
Maine's March Madness connections:
This year's tournament is the "final dance" for Gorham's Mackenzie Holmes. The star center was named to the 2023-24 Associated Press All-America third team, the AP announced Wednesday after averaging 20 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game for Indiana. Earlier this season, Holmes became the all-time leading scorer in program history.
The Hoosiers, after losing their Big Ten quarterfinal game to Michigan two weeks ago, are a No. 4 seed in "Regional 1" and will face No. 13 Fairfield at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.
Holmes did suffer a knee injury late in the regular season and only played five minutes in the Hoosiers' loss to Michigan. During an Indiana team availability following the bracket reveal, Holmes said she's "feeling a lot better" and was able to get some much needed rest. She added she's been getting more and more confident on her knee and has been able to practice recently.
Indiana head coach Teri Moren said it was good for Holmes and other players to use their time off to rest and recover ahead of Saturday's game.
Cumberland's Anna DeWolfe and Notre Dame are the No. 2 seed in Indiania's region. Notre Dame will play No. 15 Kent State Saturday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. DeWolfe has started in all 32 games for the Irish, who won the ACC conference tournament this month.
DeWolfe, a graduate senior, transferred to Notre Dame before this season after spending four years at Fordham.
The top seed in Notre Dame's and Indiana's region is tournament-favorite South Carolina.
On the men's side, Scarborough's J.P. Estrella and No. 2 Tennessee play No. 15 Saint Peter's Thursday night at 9:20.
Brady Cummins of York will look to lead No. 14 to an upset win over No. 3 Baylor Friday afternoon at 12:40.
Nick Fiorillo of Scarborough and No. 13 Vermont will play No. 4 Duke Friday night at 7:10 p.m.
Scarborough's Dominic Campbell played for Howard, who lost to Wagner in the play-in round Tuesday night.
Husson basketball alum Xavier Joyner is an assistant coach at James Madison, who play Wisconsin at 9:40 p.m. Friday.