Small-college players, teams savor Division I challenges

Blanca Millan (left) of the University of Maine looks to drive past Maine Maritime Academy's Mikayla Charters during Tuesday night's basketball game at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor. UMaine's willingness to play Division III instate teams has significant benefits for the smaller programs. (Courtesy of UMaine Athletics)

BANGOR, Maine — Alayne Felix admitted to some internal anxiety before stepping onto the Cross Insurance Center court for the Maine Maritime Academy women’s basketball team Tuesday evening.

The 5-foot-10 junior forward from Mahopac, New York, normally has no reason for any self-doubt. She scored her 1,000th career point in just her 58th career game last Saturday and as a reigning All-Maine and All-North Atlantic Conference first-team honoree is acknowledged as one of the top NCAA Division III players in the state.

But this particular challenge was different, with Felix and the rest of the Mariners facing a roster full of Division I scholarship athletes from the University of Maine.

“I was trying my hardest not to think about that,” she said. “Sometimes I can be a very in-your-head player and I did not want to do that at all. All I wanted to do this entire game was just play as hard as I could and not even think about my individual game.

Felix needn’t have worried too much from an individual perspective, as she scored a team-high 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field.