LGHL Visiting Locker Room: Portland Press Herald talks Maine Black Bears, OSU women’s NCAA first-round opponent

[ThomasCostello]

Visiting Locker Room: Portland Press Herald talks Maine Black Bears, OSU women’s NCAA first-round opponent
ThomasCostello via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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Staff photo by Brianna Soukup/Portland Press Herald via Getty Images

The America East champions feature stars capable of giving Ohio State problems

It’s March Madness. The time of the year when work is optional and basketball is required. For No. 2 Ohio State women’s basketball, it means a first-round game against the University of Maine Black Bears.

Friday at noon ET, the Black Bears and Buckeyes battle at the Schottenstein Center, with each team hoping it's the first of many wins in late March and early April. Although Maine comes in as a No. 15 seed, it’s a side that’s earned its fair share of accolades and comes to Columbus with experience against the Big Ten, nearly beating the Indiana Hoosiers this season.

To learn more about the players and that Indiana game, Land-Grant Holy Land reached out to Travis Lazarczyk of the Portland Press Herald. The sports writer shared about a two-time Player and Defensive Player of the Year, the teammate who put a halt to a three-peat, and what the Black Bears have to do to pull off an upset against the favored Buckeyes.

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Land-Grant Holy Land: When you talk about the Black Bears, it doesn’t take long for guard Anne Simon’s name to come up. Simon’s won everything there is to win in the AEC and enters her first NCAA Tournament with her second Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year award in three seasons. What does she do that makes her so effective and how has anyone managed to stop her?

Portland Press Herald: Anne is quick, and she reads the court well. Sag off her and she can drive past for a layup. Or she can create space to pull up or come off a screen for a quick shot from the perimeter.

Her defensive ability allows her to create transition scoring opportunities. Anne had arguably her best game of the season against Indiana, so she doesn’t shy away from the big moments.

LGHL: The only time Simon hasn’t won AEC Player of the Year in the last three seasons was last year. That’s when her teammate Adrianna Smith took the honor. Ohio State struggles against strong rebounding teams. At 5-foot-10, how does Smith average over 10 rebounds a game?

PPH: Smith stepped up and filed a needed role when Simon missed much of last season injured. Offensively, Smith has an array of post moves that help her create shots, and she has a jumper that’s good from around 15 feet, with the occasional 3-pointer mixed in. She’s smart about positioning, and that helps her play bigger than her 5-10.

LGHL: Maine has experience facing the Big Ten this year, welcoming the Indiana Hoosiers to celebrate Maine native Mackenzie Holmes. Folks not knowing the Black Bears expected a one-sided Indiana win but it was nowhere close to a blowout. What did Maine do so well against the former Big Ten champs to take a lead into halftime?

PPH: Against Indiana, they shot incredibly well for a long enough stretch to take the lead and then keep the game close. I just looked up the box score, and Maine shot 66.7% in the second quarter.

Indiana was cold at first and gradually shot better. Maine did a nice job protecting the basketball, for the most part. Indiana forward Mackenzie Holmes was admittedly nervous early, with so many friends and family at the game, in an arena she hadn’t played in since high school. She settled down and finished with 22 points and seven rebounds.

LGHL: Ohio State is known for its strong press, and this year adding a more stable half-court defense. How has Maine played against teams implementing the press?

PPH: That’s an interesting question. Maine hasn’t seen many teams that press a lot, certainly not at the level or skill of Ohio State. Maybe UMBC in conference play pressed more than anybody, but that doesn’t compare to what they can expect from the Buckeyes.

If nothing else, Maine has done well at staying composed. I think they showed that when down 10 to Binghamton in the America East semifinals, they didn’t panic, rallied, and won.

LGHL: How do the Black Bears come away with the upset win in Columbus? What do they have to do right and what do they have to make sure doesn’t hurt them?

PPH: To win in Columbus, Maine has to shoot the ball better than they have in recent games. They shot much better against Vermont in the America East final than they did in the quarters or semis. They’ve had different players step up as a third scoring option behind Simon and Smith all season.

Friday, they probably need a few of them to step up. In Amy Vachon, they do have a coach who was part of the biggest win in program history. Vachon was point guard in 1999 when Maine upset Stanford, 60-58, in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

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