WHAT: NCAA Division I women’s basketball first-round game
WHO: University of Maine (25-7) at North Carolina State (26-5)
WHERE: Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, N.C.
WHEN: 1 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN2
SERIES HISTORY: N.C. State leads, 4-0
TOP PLAYERS
Maine: Blanca Millan, Jr. G (17.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 2 assists); Tanesha Sutton, Sr. F (14.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists); Parise Rossignol, Sr. G (11.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 41.2 3-point percentage); Dor Saar, So. PG (9.2 points, 5.0 assists, 85 FT percentage), Fanny Wadling, Jr. F (6.5 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists).
NC State: Kiara Leslie, Sr. G (15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3 assists); Elissa Cunane, Fr. C (13.6 points, 5.7 rebounds); Aislinn Konig, Jr. G (11 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists); DD Rogers, Sr. F (6.5 points, 7.8 rebounds, 25 blocked shots); Kai Crutchfield, So. G (5.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 28 steals).
OF NOTE: This is Maine’s ninth trip to the NCAA tournament, the 25th for N.C. State. … Maine is the 14th seed in the Greensboro region; the Wolfpack are seeded third … N.C. State is ranked 10th in the latest AP Top 25 poll. The Wolfpack defeated Maine earlier this season 84-46 on Dec. 14 in Raleigh. … The Black Bears have won 14 consecutive games, including the America East championship game for the second consecutive year. … The Wolfpack is coming off a 78-68 loss to Louisville in the ACC semifinals. N.C. State has lost five of its last 10 games after opening the season with 21 consecutive wins. … Millan was the America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, as well as MVP of the conference tournament. … Sutton has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games. … Wadling missed 10 games this year, including the loss at N.C. State. She has five double-doubles this season, including one in the America East championship game. Leslie had 10 double-doubles this year for the Wolfpack. … Maine has just one victory in its eight previous NCAA tournament appearances, a 60-58 first-round win over Stanford in 1999. Last year, the Black Bears lost at Texas 83-54 in the first round of the NCAAs. … These teams met in the NCAA first round in 1998, with N.C. State winning 89-64 in Cindy Blodgett’s final game with the Black Bears.
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