AUGUSTA — At the end of practice at the Augusta Armory on Tuesday afternoon, Heath Cowan explained potential scenarios his University of Maine at Augusta women’s basketball team could face later in the season at the United States Collegiate Athletic Association national tournament.
Making the national tournament is no longer a lofty goal for the Moose; instead, it’s the expectation.
“When we recruit, we don’t talk about winning a couple of games and getting a pizza,” said Cowan, now in his second year as UMA head coach. “We want to have fun. When you see us in practice, we encourage the girls (to have fun), but we hold them accountable. The quality of the kids that we have in here makes it very easy to raise that bar. I don’t think we’re setting false expectations; I wouldn’t do that as a coach. If we didn’t think we could get to nationals, we wouldn’t talk about it.”
Last season, Cowan’s first as head coach, the Moose finished 19-9, including 12-2 in the Yankee Small College Conference. Not only did UMA reach the USCAA tournament, but the team also picked up victories over Penn State Fayette and Penn State Beaver. The Moose were ultimately knocked out of championship contention by their biggest rival, Central Maine Community College, which went on to win the national title.
This season, the Moose feature a young roster, with only three returners from last year’s team. UMA started off slow, losing four if its first seven games. But since Nov. 29, the Moose have won nine straight, inclduing victories over Division III opponents University of Maine at Farmington and Eastern Nazarene College. UMA also had a victory earlier in the season against Lasell University (Newton, Mass).
“We graduated a lot of kids (from last year) that could play,” Cowan said. “We struggled early. We struggled with cohesiveness, we struggled with people just not knowing each other. We had a good run at the end of the first semester, but when we came back for the second semester, you could just tell that we had become a team. People caring about each other. There’s hugs, they’re smiling… To go into (second semester) and get some of those quality wins, I think that makes it easier to get along.”
University of Maine at Augusta women’s basketball head coach Heath Cowan works on a drill with players during practice Tuesday at the Augusta Armory. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal
“It’s really exciting,” said senior forward and Monmouth Academy graduate Kaeti Butterfield, one of the top returners. “This is just a great team that has come together on and off the court. One thing that Coach Cowan has talked about is just sticking together. We’re really excited about (the possibility) of going to nationals and just excited for the next couple weeks of basketball. We’ve been on a good roll.”
The Moose feature a balanced offense. Nearly all of the starting five — Oak Hill graduate Desirae Dumais (13.7), Alisyn Alley (12.9), Skowhegan graduate Mariah Dunbar (11.8), Maine Central Institute grad Sydney Farrar (11.5) — average more than 10 points per game. Butterfield averages 9.9 points per game and leads the Moose with 7.3 rebounds per game.
“It’s the best feeling,” said Dunbar, a UMaine-Presque Isle transfer. “I think that’s built up our trust with one another. It’s awesome to see that we all have double-digits (in scoring), we move the ball pretty well. It just shows you how good of a team we are.”
“Everyone (on the team) is really skilled,” Butterfield added. “I think the biggest thing is just we’ve built a family, and so we just trust each other and try to have fun.”
The proverbial thorn in UMA’s side remains CMCC. The Mustangs (14-0, 6-0 YSCC) are off to another blazing start, too. Like UMA, CMCC has also picked up multiple Division III wins, over programs such as Norther Vermont-Lyndon, UMF and Plymouth State. The Mustangs beat UMA 66-53 on Nov. 9.
“We know they’ll be gunning for us, obviously,” Dunbar said. “I think, as a team, we just need to stick together, push each other to get better every day. Have each other’s backs through the ups and downs of those games we have with them. If we can encourage each other, on the bench or on the floor, I think we can be successful (against CMCC).”
“They’re obviously a great program over there; they’re competing for the (national) title every year,” Cowan added. “That’s where they want to be. It’s fun to have a conference rival that you can measure yourself against twice a year. We know what we have to do, it’s not a surprise. It’s not going to be some team from Pennsylvania, we know what we have to do to win a national championship, and that’s get ourselves at the same level as CM. We’re working hard to get there.”
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