Preview of America East Women’s Basketball: New Hampshire at Maine VEAZIE, Maine (Interstat) — The Maine women’s basketball team looks to solidify its position in the America East standings when it hosts rival New Hampshire on Saturday at Cross Insurance Center. The Black Bears (14-12, 8-3 America East) enter the contest having won four of their last five conference games, despite a 63-42 road loss at NJIT in their most recent outing on Feb. 14. Maine currently sits in third place in the league. New Hampshire (8-18, 4-7) seeks to end a four-game skid and avenge a 73-51 home loss to Maine from Jan. 17. The Wildcats are coming off a narrow 57-54 defeat to Massachusetts-Lowell on Thursday. A key matchup will feature two of the conference’s top performers. Maine is led by forward Adrianna Smith, who is averaging a double-double. She scored 24 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the loss to NJIT and had a 29-point, 11-rebound performance in a win over Bryant on Feb. 7. New Hampshire will rely on guard Eva DeChent, who is coming off a season-high 29-point effort in 40 minutes against UMass Lowell. Over her last seven games, DeChent is averaging 16.4 points. Maine has dominated the recent series, winning the last five meetings. The Black Bears’ defense, which allows an average of 57.2 points in conference play, will be tested by DeChent’s scoring ability. New Hampshire has struggled offensively during its losing streak, failing to reach 55 points in any of the four games. The game is scheduled for a 1 p.m. tip-off. Maine will look to protect its home court, where it is 8-3 this season, while New Hampshire aims to improve its 3-10 road record. Following this matchup, Maine will host Albany on Feb. 26, while New Hampshire returns home to face Binghamton on the same date.