How the highly hyped UMaine women’s basketball game against Indiana came together

Michael LoConte was looking forward to Thursday for a long time.

The second-year general manager of the Cross Insurance Arena in Portland couldn’t wait for the women’s basketball game between Gorham’s Mackenzie Holmes and her 17th-ranked Indiana University Hoosiers and the University of Maine.

Holmes, who won two Class AA state championships on the Cross Insurance Arena court with Gorham High School and was the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year, was a first team All-American for the Hoosiers a year ago and was a finalist for national player of the year in three different organizations.

“It has been very exciting setting this game up,” LoConte said on Thursday afternoon. “The first time we heard this could be a possibility, we began putting it together. Now the day is here, the game is sold out and the city of Portland is electric.”

Thursday’s game is the first of three UMaine sporting events to be held at the Cross Insurance Arena this year, including the men’s and women’s hockey teams on Saturday, Dec. 9. LoConte said there is a tremendous amount of interest in UMaine sports in the Portland area and he hopes to plan additional events in the future, such as a collegiate tournament.

“Whenever the Black Bears come to Portland, there’s a special feel. The city loves their Black Bears,” he said. “Every business in the area is talking about this game. There’s a different vibe.”

The games are a money-maker for both the Cross Insurance Arena and UMaine. The arena rents the facility to UMaine and earns money from the concessions. UMaine gets the money from the ticket sales.

LoConte said UMaine initiated the conversation that led to the women’s basketball game against Indiana.

“It took some planning. Every calendar had to coincide,” LoConte said. “You had travel plans. We obviously book concerts here as well. We had to marry them up and figure out which date works best for everyone. Then we tackled the logistics.”

The Cross Insurance Arena is home to the ECHL’s Maine Mariners hockey team so it had to put the basketball floor over the ice sheet and calibrate it to NCAA parameters.

The court is the same length for high school and college, according to LoConte, but the arena had to change the markings because the college 3-point line is further back than the high school 3-point line.

He said it was a smooth collaboration between the schools, the Cross Insurance Arena staff and others involved in the process.

UMaine will travel to Indiana next season and, like Indiana this season, UMaine will foot the bill for its travel, lodging and meals.

The UMaine hockey teams will play at the Portland Arena on Dec. 9, when the women’s team faces Dartmouth at 2 p.m. and the men take on Bentley at 7 p.m.

The UMaine-Bentley game is nearly sold out, according to LoCont

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