The University of Maine women’s basketball team will face Boston College in the first round of the WNIT at 7 p.m. Thursday night.

The Black Bears earned a bid in the tournament by winning the America East regular season title. Maine (20-11) won 14 straight games before losing to Albany 56-47 in the America East tournament championship game on Friday.

Boston College, which will host the game on Thursday at Conte Forum, is 19-11 and lost to No. 9 Florida State in the second round of the ACC tournament.

The two programs have played each other 11 times, but not since Dec. 28, 2017, when Maine won 61-40 in Boston.

Maine has played in the WNIT five times, the last in 2016. The Black Bears are 1-6 all-time in the tournament.

COLLEGE SOFTBALL
CMCC DROPS TWINBILL: Central Maine Community College opened its spring schedule by dropping both ends of a doubleheader to Penn State Brandywine on Monday in Aston, Pennsylvania.

In the first game, Nittany Lions pitcher Crystal Cassario held the Mustangs (6-6-1) to one hit and one run over five innings in a 15-1 victory. Gianna Terpolilli led Brandywine’s offense with three hits, and Cassario and Meghan Ferry added two apiece. Maria Dostie of Lewiston scored CMCC’s lone run.

The Mustangs took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning of the second game, but the Nittany Lions scored three in the frame to take the lead and win 4-3.

CMCC plated three runs in the top of the fifth to grab the 3-1 advantage. Abby Ferland of Monmouth Academy had two hits for the Mustangs, as did Olivia Scott, who hit a double and scored a run and drove in a run, and Avery Herrick. Olivia Gallan, an Oxford Hills graduate, and Haley Fernald tallied a hit and a run for CMCC.

COLLEGE LACROSSE
BEGIN, WAGG HONORED: Former Lewiston High School goalies Emma Begin and Bryan Wagg were named North Atlantic Conference defensive players of the week for their performances with the Husson women’s and men’s lacrosse teams.

Wagg, a senior, was named the men’s Defensive Player of the Week after collecting three wins during a six-games-in-six-days stretch, during which he played 360 minutes. Wagg made 82 saves and had a save percentage of 56.6 percent.

Begin, a freshman, is the NAC women’s Defensive Player of the Week after stopping eight of the 10 shots she faced during her 15 minutes in goal in a 15-3 loss to Southern Maine. In that game, another former Lewiston goalie, Cece Racine, started for USM and made one save while earning her third win of the season.

MEN’S LACROSSE
BOWDOIN 15, HAMILTON 14: Donal Mullane had five goals, Will Byrne added four and Jason Lach finished with threee as the Polar Bears (3-0, 2-0 NESCAC) held off the Continentals (1-1, 0-1) in Clinton, New York.

The Polar Bears led 13-7 early in the third quarter before Hamilton rallied for four straight goals. Byrne scored with 7:13 remaining in the game followed by Liam Ford at 3:18 for a 15-11 lead. Hamilton rallied again with three goals in the final 74 seconds.

COLLEGE BASEBALL
STETSON 9, MAINE 3: Jakob Bullard had two hits with three RBI and two runs scored as the Hatters (11-5) downed the Black Bears (3-10) in Deland, Florida.

Bullard hit a two-run triple and scored on a fielder’s choice during a three-run second inning. He also hit an RBI single, and stole second and home during a five-run fifth.

Maine’s Jeremiah Jenkins hit a two-run triple and scored on a single by Quinn McDainiel in the third to tie it at 3. Jenkins, McDaniel and Jeff Mejia each finished with two hits.