Maine women’s basketball opens season with dramatic win over Siena

ORONO, Maine — The University of Maine women’s basketball team opened its season this week against Siena University on Thursday, Nov. 5. The Black Bears ended last season in heartbreak with a loss to the University of Vermont in the conference championship. In the America East preseason poll, Maine was picked to finish fourth in the conference and predicted to miss the NCAA Tournament. One win away from the Big Dance last year, the team enters this season with a chip on its shoulder and a point to prove. That journey began with a home game to open the season against Siena, a team that had already scored a win against Brown University a week before. Maine entered this game with a new-look lineup after losing star forward Adrianna Smith to graduation after last season. The updated game plan would revolve around a new leader, fourth-year center Lizzy Gruber. Gruber started the game with Maine’s first points and officially got the season underway with a successful midrange jump shot.

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