By Anthony Panciocco
In a sport that oftentimes overstates the importance of a single athlete, pure team players can be hard to come by. But with the University of Maine women’s basketball team off to their best start since 1998, sophomore forward Liz Wood has brought that team mentality back to the hardwood.
“I mean, obviously we are doing really well. I think it’s the best start in a long time,” she said. “I’m excited about the future of our team and the potential that the team has shown in the beginning of the season.”
Wood has come into her own in her second year with the team, scoring a career-high 23 points in a blowout victory against the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. While she leads the team in rebounds per game with 7.5 and is second in points with 12.3, winning ballgames is the only thing that matters to her.
“I just want to do anything I can do to help this team get the win. It’s not always about scoring; sometimes it’s just making a great cut or pass,” she said. “I want to do what I can to win. To me it’s not about having a great stat line. At the end of the night, it’s about the win.”
While it is refreshing to find an athlete that is so team-centered, there is no denying Wood’s impact on her team. Much of the Black Bears success this season has been credited to Wood, though she refuses to accept the praise.
“The thing about our team is that any given night any different player can heave a great game,” Wood said. “One night it could be me, but it could be any one of us any given night, so it takes pressure away from me. It lets me play my game without worrying about scoring or doing everything by myself.”
Her transition to the University of Maine was challenging on and off the court. After playing basketball at Liberty High School in Bealeton, V.A., Wood chose to come all the way up to UMaine.
“The jump from high school to college was definitely tough. In high school you can get by with just talent or athleticism but in D-1 ball, everyone is talented and athletic,” Wood said. “You have to hone your skills and mentally it’s a challenge because it’s a lot quicker game pace. Decisions have to be made much faster and you have to be ready for it.”
She made a quick transition her freshman year, scoring 10.3 points per game and playing in all 28 games. Her 10.3 PPG were good enough for third on the team, just 0.1 points away from the top two scorers.
“When I was homesick last year, I could always go to my teammates for comfort,” she said. “A lot of them are far from home so we could make each other feel better.”
Growing up around basketball, Wood admired University of Connecticut star Maya Moore. Moore led UConn to two straight NCAA Championships, won a WNBA Championship in her rookie season, and has a gold medal from the 2012 London Olympics.
“I always looked up to Maya Moore as a player because she played for a really great program and was a big part of them being so great,” Wood said. “She could do it all. She worked hard and it clearly paid off.”
With the team looking to finish with their first winning season since the 2005-2006 campaign, head coach Richard Barron has seen it all. Barron has been a head coach for 11 years, with this being his third season with the Black Bears. Wood attributed much of the team’s success to the coaching staff, especially Barron.
“Coach Barron is a genius when it comes to the game,” Wood said. “His basketball IQ is above any of our head, so we’re always trying to keep up. It really makes him a great coach. Amy Vachon is really important to us because she played in Maine’s glory days and knows what it takes and how to get back there. Even in the hard times last year they never gave up on us and as a team that really meant a lot. Our other two coaches, Sean [Smith] and Todd [Steelman] are great support for us as well.”
When she is not leading the Black Bears on the court, Liz considers herself another normal college student.
“I’m just a normal college kid, I like to go to the movies and go shopping,” she said. “You’d be surprised at how normal our lives are outside of playing basketball.”
In the first semester of her sophomore year, Wood is not sure exactly what she wants to do after her time at UMaine. She would like to keep playing the game she loves, though in a much different place than Maine.
“I have some ideas what I want to do but I’m not quite 100 percent yet,” she said. “I’ve been thinking about maybe playing in Europe. I think it would be a really good experience. A lot of my teammates are from Europe, and it would be really great even if it was for just one year.”
The women’s basketball team is off to a 4-2 start and continues to improve every time they step on the hardwood. With the team-first mentality that Liz Wood brings to the court, they should have no problem winning many more games.