BALTIMORE - UMBC welcomes Maine for its return trip to Baltimore with an 11-11 record, sitting at 6-4 in America East play. The Retrievers most recently dropped a road contest at Binghamton, 73-59, despite the contest remaining tight for more than three quarters. Maine comes into the contest with a record of 13-11 and an 8-3 record in the America East. The Black Bears have won three straight, including victories at Vermont and home against Bryant. In the most recent victory over Bryant, Adrianna Smith contributed 29 points and 11 rebounds to the cause while Asta Blauenfeldt (12 pts, 5 reb), and Sarah Talon (10 points, 7 reb) also added to the winning cause for Maine.
Thursday will be the 45th all-time meeting between UMBC and Maine with the Black Bears holding a 28-16 advantage. The Black Bears won the most recent matchup and have won seven of the past 11 meetings. Maine won the first meeting of the season by a score of 58-43 back on January 8. Heidi Williams (16) and Jade Tillman (13) combined for 29 of the Retrievers 43 points on the night. Williams reached double figures for the seventh time during her freshman season, tying her career-high (at the time) set back in the season-opener against Stevenson. Tiara Bellamy finished with six points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals.
LAST TIME OUT
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After entering the halftime locker room tied at 32-32, a high-paced third quarter ended with the Retrievers down by just a point to Binghamton. However, the Bearcats used an impressive final 10 minutes, outscoring UMBC 21-8 to pull away with a 14-point win to remain atop the America East standings. Jade Tillman scored 19 points and pulled in eight rebounds for the Retrievers, while Carmen Yanez hit three threes to finish with 11 points.
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Bryant raced out to an eight-point lead after the opening quarter on Saturday, but a 16-8 second quarter tied things up for the Black Bears as Smith hit a three with 33 seconds left in the half to knot the game at 31 going into the break. Talon scored six of her 10 points in the third as the Black Bears took a five-point lead before closing things out in the fourth to win 64-56.
SCOUTING THE BLACK BEARS
- A known force in the America East, Adrianna Smith has been one of the top players in the conference this season. Smith is averaging 21.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest, ranking 11th in Division I in points scored and 12th in points per game. She also ranks in the top 40 in both rebounds per game and total rebounds. In 11 America East games, Smith is averaging 25.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game. Smith has 12 double-doubles and a triple-double this season. Smith has scored 20 or more points in eight games since January.
- Asta Blauenfeldt is second on the team in scoring at 12.4 points per game, ticking up to 13.5 points per game in conference play. Blauenfeldt scored a season-high 26 points in a win over UMass Lowell on January 31 and followed it up with 21 points, knocking down four threes in the win over Vermont.
- Sarah Talon, the third Black Bear to start every game this season, has also seen her numbers take a jump in league play, averaging 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. Talon has scored 10 or more in seven conference games, including a 19-point, seven-rebound, six-assist performance against NJIT on January 10.
- Maine is one of the most foul-averse teams in the country, ranking 22nd in Division I in fouls per game at 13.7 per game.
- The Black Bears also don't turn the ball over, ranking 15th nationally in Division I, giving it away just 12.6 times per contest.
- Maine ranks 56th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.07 and 58th in three-point percentage defense at 28.1 percent.
- Now in her 10th season at Maine, Amy Vachon holds a record of 182-105 with the Black Bears, reaching the NCAA Tournament three times and winning America East Coach of the Year five times. Vachon took the program to the top of the America East in 2018, 2019, and 2024. An alum and UMaine Sports Hall of Famer, Vachon holds the Maine and America East career records for assists with 759. Prior to joining the Maine staff in 2011, she coached Catherine McAuley High School to the Maine Class A State Championship.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- On offense, UMBC is led by junior Jade Tillman, who averages 15.1 points per game. Tillman has scored in double figures in 15 straight contests and is averaging nearly 18 points per game in America East play. Tillman has scored 15 or more points in 10 of the 15 games, including 20-plus four times. In January, Tillman had a stretch of three straight games with a double-double before narrowly missing with 19 points and nine rebounds against UMass Lowell. Tillman is also the team's leading rebounder at 6.9 per game and leads the team in steals with 44.
- Five-time America East Rookie of the Week, Heidi Williams continues to have a significant impact on the Retrievers' success. Averaging 10.1 points per game and 5.1 rebounds, Williams has upped those numbers to 11.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in America East play. Williams has scored in double figures 11 times this season.
- Carmen Yanez sits four assists shy of 250 for her career and two assists shy of 13th all-time in Retriever history. She surpassed Te'yJah Oliver for 14th in program history, now sitting with 237 assists. Yanez has eight games this season of five or more assists.
- UMBC ranks third in the America East and 17th nationally in three-point percentage defense. Opposing teams are knocking down just 26.3 percent of their tries from deep against UMBC. The Retrievers have held their opponent to three or fewer triples in 11 different games. Opponents have also shot 30 % or worse from deep in 11 different games this season.
- Continuing to pound the offensive glass, UMBC sits 34th in the country in offensive boards per game with 14.6. The Retrievers have 20 or more offensive boards in five games this season and 15 or more in 10 games this season.
ROOKIES RUNNING WILD
- On Monday, Heidi Williams became the second player in UMBC history and first since 2014 to receive five or more America East Rookie of the Week honors. Williams joins Sara Tarbert (2013-14) as the only two Retrievers with five or more Rookie of the Week honors.
- Williams has received the award in three straight weeks, giving UMBC seven Rookie of the Week honors this season.
NOTHING BUT NET
- As of Monday, Feb. 9, UMBC ranks 206th in the NCAA's NET rankings. In the NET era, UMBC had never reached higher than 269 in the rankings prior to the 2025-26 season. The Retrievers reached 187th earlier this season, the program's highest-ever ranking.
- UMBC is 1-1 in Quadrant 1 with a win over Virginia and a loss to Maryland.
- Maine ranks 135th in the current NET rankings
- UMBC in the Comprehensive WBB Rankings - NET - 206 | Massey - 265 | KPI - 197 | Her Hoops - 216
HISTORY MADE
- UMBC's victory on the road at Virginia was a historic one for the Retrievers. UMBC never trailed, allowing Virginia to tie the contest once in the fourth before fighting off the Cavalier rally for a 61-56 victory.
- The win on Thursday was the first Power 4 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) victory in UMBC program history, snapping a streak of 38 straight losses against such programs. UMBC was previously 0-4 all-time against Virginia and 0-15 against the ACC.
- The 64 percent UMBC shot from three in the win proved to be its best showing from distance since shooting 66.7 percent from deep at George Mason in December 2024.
- Candice Hill's program shocked the Cavaliers from the jump, building an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The lead grew to 14 midway through the second quarter as Yánez drilled a three to make it 33-19 Retrievers. UMBC took an eight-point lead into the break and led by 12 at the 7:40 mark of the third as Williams connected from deep, but UVA was able to trim the deficit to one with 37 ticks left on the third quarter clock. Kennedy Austin found Scott open for three with 11 seconds remaining in the third to put the Retrievers up by four entering the final quarter of play. Virginia tied the game at 54 with 3:13 to play, but the Cavaliers never took the lead as the Retrievers held on to win on the road. Tiara Bellamy went baseline, converting a reverse layup with 28 seconds left to put UMBC up by three. Virginia once again pulled within one, but Williams made four free throws in the final six seconds to ice the game.
GETTING TO KNOW THE DAWGS
- Hill's program features five returners and eight newcomers in 2025-26. Carmen Yánez is the lone returning starter for UMBC, while fellow captain Tiara Bellamy is expected to fill a larger role. Also back are junior Alaina Williams, and sophomores Lauren Thompson and Kenya Ramsey.
- UMBC's eight newcomers are split between four transfers and four freshmen.
- The 2025-26 Retrievers represent three countries and six states.
- Maryland (5) -> Austin, Scott, Tillman, H. Williams, Yarborough
- New Jersey (2) -> Bellamy, Slomack
- Connecticut (1) -> Thompson
- Florida (1) -> A. Williams
- Virginia (1) -> Ramsey
- West Virginia (1) -> Jones
- Spain (1) -> Yánez
- England (1) -> Crowley
- Yánez, Bellamy, and Yarborough will captain the program in 2025-26. Yánez started 28 games last season and handed out five or more assists in seven different games. Bellamy averaged just under four points per game off the bench in year one as a Retriever after transferring from Saint Peter's. Yarborough, the veteran transfer from NC A&T, posted five games with at least five rebounds and put forth her best performance of the season (9 pts, 6 reb) against her former school, Stony Brook.
2024-25 IN REWIND
- The 2024-25 Retrievers posted a record of 14-15 in year one under Candice Hill, matching the 2022-23 record for the most wins since 2016-17 for UMBC women's hoops.
- UMBC reached the America East Conference Tournament as the #7 seed before falling to #2 Vermont, 70-39. The Retrievers held a two-point lead after the opening 10 minutes before the Catamounts pulled away.
- The name of the game for the Retrievers in 2024-25 was defense as UMBC ranked in the top-65 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 59.1 points per game. The Retrievers defended the three-point line extremely well, finishing the season 37th in Division I and second in the America East as teams shot just 28.1 percent from deep.
- UMBC was also stellar at the charity stripe last season, knocking down its free throws at a 74.7 percent clip, ranking in the top-80 in Division I and recording the third-best mark in program history.
- Under Hill's guidance, the Retrievers improved offensively from behind the three-point line (29.5% -> 30.4 %) and the free-throw line (67.8% -> 74.7%). The Retrievers also handed out 10.4 assists per game compared to 9.9 the season prior and turned the ball over 1.3 fewer times per game in 2024-25.
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL
1. Vermont 63 (7)
2. Maine 55 (2)
3. Bryant 46
4. UAlbany 42
5. NJIT 37
6. Binghamton 26
7. New Hampshire 24
8. UMBC 23
9. UMass Lowell 8
WHAT'S NEXT
