University of Maine’s Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) and Stony Brook’s Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) were selected as America East Co-Players of the Week for week one, while University at Albany’s Britney McGee (Bakersfield, Calif./West) collects America East Rookie of the Week accolades for week one.
Barker helped the Black Bears to a 66-46 win over CAA foe William & Mary on Saturday night as she led all scorers with 16 points, marking the 43rd double-figure scoring game of her career. Dating back to the final game of last season. Barker has led Maine in scoring in each of the last two games and posted double figures in the last five games.
Smith posted the league’s best individual performance to date. She scored a team-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, pulled down 12 rebounds, six offensive, six defensive. In addition, she handed out five assists with three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
McGee made an immediate impact on the court for the Great Danes, starting her first collegiate contest and recording 16 points, a team-high five assists and a steal. McGee, who scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half, shot 4-of-7 from the floor, all from behind the three-point arc, and also went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe.
America East Notebook
Hartford Preseason WNIT Success
Hartford won its first-round game of the preseason WNIT 62-45 against defending Ivy League champion Dartmouth on Friday night. The Hawks became just the second America East school to advance to the second round in this tournament. The Hawks were later defeated by BIG-10 foe Purdue.
An Old Face Returns
On Sunday, Hartford squared off against Purdue, who is coached by former Maine head coach Sharon Versyp. She coached the Black Bears from 2000-05 and won the America East Championship in 2003 and 2004. The two-time America East Coach of the Year also led Maine to the postseason in 2005 as they appeared in the WNIT.
Maine’s Home-Court Advantage
Maine’s convincing 66-46 win over William & Mary is the Black Bears seventh-straight win in its home opener. In 2005-06, Maine earned an 88-56 victory over Kennesaw State on the opening day of the Dead River Company Classic.
Playing the Field (NCAA STYLE)
America East schools are slated to play 23 of the 64 teams in last year’s NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship. Among these teams are Connecticut, Purdue, Duke, Temple, Arizona State and Boston College. Several other teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship.
Getting Off On the Right Foot
Maine head coach Ann McInerney became just the fourth head coach in program history to win her initial two season openers on the Black Bear bench.
A Little Bit of Everything
Stony Brook’s Jessica Smith did a little bit of everything in the Seawolves opener at Marist. She scored a team-high 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting, pulled down 12 rebounds, six offensive, six defensive. In addition, she handed out five assists with three steals and a pair of blocked shots.
Fresh Start for Freshmen
America East’s newest players have made a splash in the early going. Albany’s Britney McGee made an immediate impact scoring 16 points on 4-of-7 shooting from the floor, all from behind the three-point arc, and also went 4-of-4 from the charity stripe. In addition, Vermont’s Courtnay Pilypaitis netted a team-high 11 points and seven rebounds while also handing out four assists in 23 minutes of action versus UMass. Another pair of rookies had solid outings for UVM as May Kotsopoulos chipped in 10 points off the bench and forward Alissa Sheftic grabbed six rebounds Sheftic’s brother Matt was a member of the men’s team at Vermont and was the Reggie Lewis Award winner in 2003, an award given to the America East Championship’s Most Outstanding Player.
Hartford Selected to Three-Peat
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 received all eight possible first-place votes, tallying 64 points (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team).
The two-time defending champion Hawks, (27-4, 15-1 America East in 2005-06), became just the second team in America East women’s basketball history to win an NCAA tournament game as they shocked sixth-seeded Temple in the first round a season ago.
Stony Brook earned 56 points and garnered the only other first-place vote to finish second in the poll. Boston University finished third with 49 points. Binghamton University was fourth with 37 points, University of New Hampshire was just one point behind Binghamton garnering 36 points for a fifth-place preseason billing, while UMBC was sixth with 33 points.
University of Maine, University of Vermont and University at Albany rounded out the nine-team poll with 23, 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Preseason All-Conference Squad
University of Hartford’s Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and Stony Brook University’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Trenton/Cheshire Academy) were unanimous selections to the 2006-07 America East Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. Both players received eight votes from the coaches around the league (coaches were not permitted to vote for their own players) and were all-conference selections from a year ago.
Joining Hood and Ford on the preseason squad is junior center Laine Kurpniece (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) of Binghamton, 2006 Rookie of the Year Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) of Hartford, and senior forward Jessica Smith (Butler, N.J./Butler) of Stony Brook. All three were second-team all-conference selections last season.
Lights, Camera, Action
America East announced its most comprehensive television schedule in history with more than 50 men’s and women’s basketball games slated for broadcast in 2006-07 (see following page for complete schedule). Included in the package is the America East Men’s Basketball Championship, which will air live on ESPN2 on March 10 at 12 noon. It marks the 19th-consecutive year that the championship game will appear on ESPN or ESPN2.
America East and ESPN Regional Television will team up to produce and distribute games throughout the America East geographic footprint, which includes several of the nation’s top 25 media markets including New York (No. 1), Boston (No. 5), Washington, D.C. (No. 8), Baltimore and Hartford. In addition, no fewer than 12 games will be included in the ESPN Full Court package, the subscription service provided by ESPN. The games will also be available on-line via video streaming at AmericaEast.com, through the conference’s multi-media partner, XOS Technologies.
Basketball Standards Set
In an effort to further the development of the league as a whole, the America East Conference has established a set of men’s and women’s basketball standards that will enhance the league’s premier sport by implementing competitive scheduling policies, radio and television requirements and a marketing fund aimed at boosting basketball awareness conference-wide. The standards are a product of the league’s annual Athletic Director’s meeting in June and were later approved by the conference’s nine member-institution Presidents.
With an emphasis on an opponents’ two-year average RPI (Ratings Percentage Index), the league’s new scheduling policy calls for member institutions to effectively schedule games versus tougher non-conference foes. Effective for the 2007-08 season, minimum requirements have been established to stress the importance of strength-of-schedule around the league, which should help bolster the conference’s overall RPI.
With more than 50 televised basketball games planned for the 2006-07 season, the increase in television coverage is the most significant and visible standard established. The comprehensive television schedule is more than double any previous season total in conference history. Likewise, every basketball game will now be available online via a streamed radio broadcast, with men’s games required as over-the-air broadcasts as well.
A number of new marketing initiatives have been set up for the 2006-07 season with none more beneficial than the marketing fund. Established for basketball marketing and promotions efforts, institutions shall apply to the conference office for use of this fund.
Among the conference’s other marketing initiatives are the promotion of America East Opening Night, a full-color, 24-page America East Basketball Fan Guide, a nightly fan handout, the recognition of America East Players of the Game following each men’s and women’s basketball contest and a re-designed website through a partnership with XOS Technologies.
Championship Binghamton Bound
The America East Women’s Basketball Championship moves to Binghamton for the first time in 2007 as Binghamton University hosts the nine-team tournament on March 8-11 at Events Center. The first round game will take place on Thursday, March 8, followed by the quarterfinals on Friday, March 9, the semifinals on Saturday, March 10 and the title game on Sunday, March 11.
Tournament ticket packages are $25 for youth/students and $40 for adults. To purchase tickets call 607-777-SLAM or online at www.AmericaEast.com. To request media credentials for the conference’s premier event, email Tom Wilkins (wilkins@americaeast.com).
New Website Debuts
America East and XOS Technologies have partnered to launch a new and improved www.AmericaEast.com. For this partnership, XOS will provide an online platform that includes website design, technology development and integration and E-commerce solutions. The newly launched site, which is aimed toward an interactive audience, will offer FREE online streaming of the America East television package, live championship statistics, an upgraded webstore and online auctions.
Albany Great Danes
UAlbany (0-1, 0-0 America East) opened the 2006-07 season with a 77-63 loss to non-conference opponent La Salle... America East Player of the Game Amanda Ward (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) scored a team-high 18 points and recorded a career-high four steals in the game... Ward, who played 34 minutes versus the Explorers, shot 3-of-7 from behind the three-point line while also recording two assists and a rebound... America East Rookie of the Week, freshman guard Britney McGee (Bakersfield, Calif./West) made an immediate impact on the court for the Great Danes, starting her first collegiate contest and recording 16 points, a team-high five assists and a steal... McGee, who scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half, shot 4-of-7 from the floor, all from behind the three-point arc, and also went 4-of-4 from the free throw line... Junior guard/forward Gia Sanders (Bowie, Md./The Bullis School) added nine points, three rebounds and two blocks... Junior guard Sherri Mikus (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) also recorded nine points to go along with two rebounds and an assist... The Great Danes will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 15 as they take on crosstown-rival Siena before heading to Central Florida for the Golden Knights Tournament on Nov. 17 and 18... UAlbany will face Bowling Green on Friday and will take on either Central Florida or Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton’s (0-0, 0-0 America East) Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia/Riga Secondary School 47), a second-team all-conference selection, led the Bearcats in scoring, averaging 12.2 ppg (11th AE) and pulled down a team-high 7.0 rpg (7th AE)... Laura Franceski (Moscow, Pa./North Pocano)played 28-of-29 games and averaged 0.93 blocks per game (7th AE)... Binghamton led the America East and ranked 38th nationally in three-point percentage (35.8) and rebounding margin (+4.9)... The Bearcats were 8-5 in non-conference play last season, including wins over Canisius, LaSalle, Marshall, and Syracuse... Binghamton will play host to the 2007 America East Championship March 8-11 at Events Center in Vestal, N.Y.
Boston University Terriers
Boston U.’s (0-0, 0-0 America East) Cheri Raffo (Asbury, N.J./North Hunterdon) (10.9 ppg, 2.6 apg) is the Terriers top returning scorer. She is one of two players to start all 30 games and averaged closed to 36 minutes per game... All-rookie selections Christine Kinneary (Plainedge, N.Y./Holy Trinity) and Jesyka Burks-Wiley (Kansas City, Mo./Lincoln College Prep) will power the youth movement of one of the America East’s youngest teams. Boston U. has just two seniors on this season’s squad... Erica Kovach ranked in the top 20 in scoring (10.5 - 8th), blocked shots (0.54 - 15th) and three-point field goals made (1.25 - 12th)... Kasey Devine was fourth in America East in rebounding (7.7 pg) and second in blocks (1.83 bpg)... The Terriers have advanced to the America East finals in each of the past four seasons, including capturing the title in 2003.
Hartford Hawks
The Hartford women’s basketball team (1-1, 0-0 America East) opened the week with a win at home and a road loss in the Preseason WNIT. The Hawks opened up with a 17-point win over Dartmouth at home in the first round of the invitational tournament. The Hawks were led by their sophomore class who combined for 34 of the teams 62 points. Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cahtedral) and MaryLynne Schaefer (Centreville, Va./Westfield) each added 12 points, while Katie Kelley (Syracuse, N.Y./Corcoran) added 10. The three combined to shoot .555 (15-of-27). The Hawks then dropped an 83-51 decision to Purdue in the second round. Hartford allowed the Boilermakers to use a 25-2 run spanning nine minutes over both halves to break open the game. Junior Jamie McCabe (Aptos, Calif./Aptos) came off the bench to lead the Hawks with a perfect 5-of-5 effort from the floor including four three pointers. Her 14 point effort was a career high for McCabe. The Hawks will travel to Pennsylvania and Baltimore for a two-game road trip beginning with Saint Joseph’s on Friday and ending with Loyola-MD on Sunday.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (1-0, 0-0 America East) opened the 2006-07 season with a convincing 66-46 victory over William & Mary on Saturday night at Alfond Arena in Orono... It marked the second-straight season Maine opened its new campaign with a victory... Ann McInerney became just the fourth head coach in program history to win her initial two season openers on the Black Bear bench... America East Co-Player of the Week, Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) led all scorers with 16 points, marking the 43rd double-figure scoring game of her career... Dating back to the final game of last season, Barker has led Maine in scoring in each of the last two games... The Black Bears held reigning CAA Player of the Year Kyra Kaylor to just nine points, while forcing her to commit five turnovers... Katie Whittier (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) was Maine’s other double-figure scorer with 13 points... Maine returns to action this weekend competing in the Minnesota Tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.... The Black Bears will face Middle Tennessee on Saturday at 2 p.m., and then take on either Minnesota or Princeton on Sunday at 2/4 p.m.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (1-0, 0-0 America East) opened its season with a 72-58 loss at nationally ranked George Washington on Nov. 10... Three players scored in double figures for the Retrievers... Down by six, UMBC rattled off seven straight points to take a 17-16 lead with 9:26 remaining in the first half on a pair of free throws by senior point guard Brittnie Hughes (Roanoke, Va./Northside), but the Colonials scored 14 straight points over the next six minutes and outscored the Retrievers, 21-5, over the last nine and a half minutes of the first half... Hughes played all 40 minutes and led UMBC with 13 points, six assists and five steals, a new career high... Hughes was 3-for-5 from beyond the arc, tying a career best for three-point field goals... Senior forward Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and junior guard Kristin Drabyn (Avon, Ind./Avon) each had 12 points apiece, while Rohde added a game-high nine rebounds and three blocks... Eleven of Rohde’s 12 points came in the second half... Drabyn tied her career mark with five field goals and 10 shots... Sophomore center Mackenzie Butler (Reno, Nev./Reno) played a career-high 37 minutes and tied a career best with four assists... UMBC sunk 10 three-pointers in the game, including seven of 11 in the second half, and shot 58.8 percent from long distance... The Retrievers take on two local rivals this week, hosting Coppin State on Nov. 14 and Loyola on Nov. 17.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (0-0, 0-0 America East) opens its season November 14 on the road at the University of Massachusetts... Head coach Sue Johnson returns for her 10th season at the helm of the Wildcats... New Hampshire returns with its leading scorer from last season with senior Danielle Clark (Corinna, Maine/Nokomis Regional)... Clark averaged 15.1 points and 6.1 rebounds a game for the Wildcats... Also contributing to the UNH offense is senior forward Ray Williams (Mississauga, Ontario/The Woodlands School)... Williams was second in scoring with 11.5 points a game and averaged 6.3 boards per game last season... New Hampshire returns with six newcomers along with the return of sophomore Kelley Haines (Newtown, Conn./Newtown), who redshirted last season... The Wildcats played Bishop’s University to a 64-36 win at Lundholm Gymnasium on November 3... Clark and Danielle Flowers (Chalfont, Pa.) each scored 16 points for the Wildcats.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (0-1, 0-0 America East) in its only action last week the Stony Brook women’s basketball team fell to the defending MAAC Champions, Marist, 82-72. America East Co-Player of the Week Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler HS) dropped 23 points and grabbed 12 boards for the double-double... The Seawolves will return to action this weekend when they travel to Chicago, Illinois to compete in the DePaul Invitational. Stony Brook will take on Missouri Valley Conference foe Illinois State in the opening round on Friday at 5:30 p.m.... Illinois State dropped its opener to Northern Illinois, 97-69.
Vermont Catamounts
Freshman guard Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter) became the first freshmen to start for head coach Sharon Dawley in her four-year tenure... Pilypaitis is also the first freshman to crack the starting lineup for the Catamounts (0-1, 0-0 America East) since the 1999-2000 season (Dawn Cressman, Morgan Hall)... In her debut, Pilypaitis netted a team-high 11 points and seven rebounds while also handing out four assists in 23 minutes of action versus Massachusetts... Another pair of rookies had solid outings for UVM as May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) chipped in 10 points off the bench and forward Alissa Sheftic (Essex Junction, Vt./Essex) grabbed six rebounds... The season opener versus UMass was the earliest season opener in the 28-year history of the program... Vermont snapped a 10-game win streak in season openers with the loss to Massachusetts... The Catamounts entered the game having won 16 straight home openers and UVM was 3-0 in season openers under Dawley... Vermont hosts the TD Banknorth Classic on Friday (Nov. 17) and Saturday (Nov. 18) for the 13th straight year... Teams in the field include Holy Cross, East Carolina and Harvard..