Two of the top women’s basketball teams in the country in USCAA Division II, and also the two top teams from the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) will be competing in the USCAA National Tournament in Buffalo, New York beginning on Wednesday, March 12th. The University of Maine-Fort Kent also will be making a trip to take part in the USCAA Division I portion of the tourney and will play their first game at SUNY Erie Community College on Tuesday, March 11th against Berkeley College.
Central Maine Community (28-1), ranked #2 in the country in the latest poll, beat the University of Maine-Augusta in the YSCC Championship game back on Sunday, March 2nd by a score of 74-61 for their eighth straight conference title. The Mustangs got the automatic bid to the USCAA Division II Tournament, while the #3 nationally ranked Moose (26-3) received an at-large also join the field. UMA sent CMCC to their only loss of the regular season 87-81 in overtime on January 29th in Auburn. The Moose had won 22 games in a row before their defeat in the league title game.
The University of Maine-Augusta was given a #5 seed and will square off with #4 Johnson & Wales University, North Carolina (15-10) on Wednesday, March 12th at 3:45 p.m. All tournament games are held at Villa Maria College in Buffalo, NY. The Moose have been led in scoring by sophomore Sage Fortin (Cony High School- 17.9 points per game), freshman Bella Petrocci (14.8 ppg), and Alisyn Alley (Stearns- 14.8 ppg). Sophomore Lillian Cox (Madawaska) leads in rebounds at 11.1 per contest, and also field goal percentage at 59%. Alley is second in overall shooting at 48.4%, while Petrocci is first in three-point percentage at 42.3%. UMA is led by YSCC Coach of the Year Heath Cowan.
Central Maine Community College is the #2 seed and will take on the University of Cincinnati-Clermont (Ohio) (13-11) in their first round game on Wednesday, March 12th at 6 p.m. UCC defeated PSU-Dubois 56-40 on Tuesday, March 11th in a play-in contest. The Mustangs are led in scoring by sophomore Ella Lavigne (22.4 points per game), freshman Ava Smith (Lake Region High School- 13.0 ppg), and freshman Jenny Chaput (Edward Little- 10.2 ppg). Lavinge grabs a team-leading 9.1 rebounds per game, while Smith hauls in 8.6. The tandem are also the leaders in field goal percentage with Lavigne at 57.4% and Smith at 53.3%. Sophomore Rosa Prieto is first in three-point percentage based on attempts at 37.6%. CMCC is the only team from Maine to ever win a USCAA Division II Women’s Basketball National Championship. The Mustangs have won three of them (2016-17, 2018-19, 2021-22) under head coach Andrew Morang who is in his 13th season.
The University of Maine-Fort Kent women’s team (11-10) also got an invitation to the Division I Tournament, and will face Berkeley College (13-9) in a quarterfinal game at SUNY Erie Community College in Buffalo on Tuesday, March 11th at 2:30 p.m. It is a six team field. Cece Bell (19.9 points per game), Karolyn Baptiste (15.0 ppg), and Nysia Ortiz (12.5 ppg) have paced the Bengals attack for head coach Carly Flowers.
