The University of Hartford is the unanimous choice to repeat as America East Women’s Basketball Champions according to a vote of the conference’s head coaches. The Hawks (22-9, 13-5 America East) received all eight possibile first-place votes, tallying 64 points (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team).
Complete Poll
Boston University (15-16, 7-11) and the University of Maine (20-10, 16-2) each tallied 45 points to tie for second-place in the poll. The University of New Hampshire (15-14, 10-8) was picked to finish fourth (42 points), while Binghamton University (10-18, 9-9) received one first-place vote and 36 points to tie Stony Brook University (8-20, 6-12) for fifth.
The University of Vermont (14-15, 9-9) came in seventh (30), as University at Albany (14-14, 9-9) and UMBC (8-20, 3-15) rounded out the nine-team poll with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
For the fifth straight season, Hartford will host the America East Championship at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion. The Hawks return four starters and 11 letterwinners from their 2005 championship squad, including 2005-06 Preseason All-Conference selections Erika Messam and Ikea Witt. Messam, a 2004 and 2005 second-team all-conference pick, returns for her senior season to help lead the Hawks with the help of the junior Witt, a 2005 third-team selection. Sophomore Danielle Hood, an all-rookie selection a season ago, is expected to give head coach Jen Rizzotti a trio of players that will be a force on the court.
Boston University head coach Kelly Greenberg will look to have her second season at the helm as successful as her first. The Terriers became the first team to ever play four games in the league championship and the first No. 8 seed to advance to the title game. Although they lost the title game to Hartford, 52-50, their tournament run gives the Terriers great hope for 2005-06. Returning to the lineup are Katie Meinhardt, a tournament standout, Rachael Vanderwal, a conference leader in assists, and Cheri Raffo, a key starter for the Terriers. Six new faces will join the team this season as well.
Maine has posted a 49-3 conference record over the past three campaigns, capturing three America East regular season titles along the way. The 2005 tournament run was disrupted after a quarterfinal upset loss to Boston U., but first-year head coach Ann McInerney looks to lead the Black Bears back to their dominance. Junior Bracey Barker (11.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg.) returns to lead the Black Bears after a strong sophomore season along with Ashley Underwood, the league leader in free throw percentage. The loss of Kim Corbitt, the 2005 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and backcourt mate Missy Traversi will impact the Black Bears.
New Hampshire’s Lindsay Adams will return for her final season as a Wildcat after starting all 29 games last year and being selected to the All-Conference Third Team. She will be joined by Whitney Edwards, one of the league’s toughest defenders, and Danielle Clark. Head coach Sue Johnson enters her ninth season and continues her reign as the longest tenure of any current head coach in America East.
Senior Rachel Laws, a first team all conference selection a season ago and a unanimous selection to the 2005-06 Preseason All-Conference Team, returns after leading the team in scoring (13.7 ppg.), rebounding (7.4 rpg.) and steals. Jen Blues, the Bearcats top three-point shooter, and Laura Sario, an America East All-Rookie pick, also return to the court. Heading into this season, Laws is only 20 points away from the 1,000-point mark.
Stony Brook head coach Maura McHugh will enter the season as head coach after serving as Interim coach during last season, leading the team to a 6-12 conference record. The Seawolves bring back juniors Mykeema Ford, a Preseason All-Conference selection, and Jessica Smith. The two are the top returning scorers in the league and were both named to the All-Conference Second Team in 2004-05. Dana Ferraro enters her sophomore season after being named to the all-rookie team in 2005 and emerging as a solid contributor.
Vermont enters the season ranked seventh, a drop from last year’s fourth place finish. Key returners are Ashleigh Cuncic and Chrissy Battram, both returning starters for the Catamounts. After their quarterfinal, record-breaking, victory over Binghamton, Vermont will look to continue shooting this season.
Albany head coach Trina Patterson will return senior Jen Schumacher, the conference leader for three-pointers, and Tanya James, the team leader in assists. Schumacher broke the America East record for three-pointers in a season with 77. In 2004-2005, Albany set the school record for Division I wins in a season with 14.
UMBC returns all five starters and eight of 12 letter winners from last season. Head coach Phil Stern also adds four freshmen and a junior college transfer to the roster. Matea Pender will play her final season as a Retriever after leading the team in scoring (13.3 ppg.) and ranking in the top-five in the nation for three-point field goal percentage.