Stony Brook’s Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) earns America East Player of the Week honors for week six, while Binghamton’s Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) wins her first-career America East Rookie of the Week accolade. The awards were announced Monday (December 18).
Smith collects her league-best second player of the week honor of the year. She averaged 19.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg last week in a 1-1 split in non-conference play. She netted 14 points and pulled down nine rebounds in 30 minutes against Dartmouth and followed that up with 25 points on 12-of-16 (.750) shooting and seven rebounds in a convincing 74-55 win over Central Connecticut State. Smith is leading the conference in scoring, averaging 15.8 ppg.
Carter led the Bearcats to a 79-54 win over Colgate. She scored a career-high 16 points fueled by a perfect 4-of-4 (1.000) shooting from three-point range.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Statement Week
Last week, the America East went 6-3 in non-conference action this week. The week included a pair of wins over the Northeast Conference and wins over the MAAC, Big East, Patriot and Ivy.
Vermont Continues to Roll
The Catamounts improve to 7-2 overall, the best start under head coach Sharon Dawley during her four-year tenure, and the best mark since the 2002-03 season. Vermont has won three straight and seven of the last eight games. In addition, they are 3-1 at Patrick Gym this season including three-straight.
RPI Update
On Monday, the Collegiate Basketball News (CBN) released its week two women’s college basketball ratings percentage index (RPI). Five teams improved its standings from week one.
| School |
12/11 |
12/18 |
Diff. |
| Maine |
147 |
130 |
+17 |
| Albany |
222 |
208 |
+14 |
| Binghamton |
286 |
278 |
+8 |
| Vermont |
103 |
99 |
+4 |
| New Hampshire |
233 |
232 |
+1 |
Marquee Victories of the Week
America East women’s basketball enjoyed some marquee wins this past week. Some marquee wins includes Vermont’s win over Manhattan, Boston U.’s 19-point win over St. John’s, Binghamton’s 25-point win over Colgate, Stony Brook’s 19-point win over Central Conn. St. and Boston U.’s win over Harvard.
Ford’s Double-Digit Scoring Streak
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) now owns the longest active double-digit scoring streak in America East. Dating back to the March 10, 2006 America East quarterfinal game against Vermont, She has scored in double figures in 11 straight. Ford, who ranks fourth in the league in scoring at 15.1 ppg, netted 10 points against Dartmouth and 15 points against Central Connecticut State last week.
Catamounts Taking What They Can
Vermont boasts a league-best +8.89 turnover margin. The Catamounts are averaging 13.33 steals per game and have recorded double-digits in steals in all nine games this season.
Defense: A League Trend
America East schools have been turning up the heat defensively this season. Seven of the nine schools are holding its opponents under 40 percent shooting from the floor. In addition, all nine schools are allowing under 70 points on average this season.
Not in Our House
America East schools are 20-14 in home games, this season. With just six non-conference home games left this season, the conference will finish at least .500 in home non-conference games. In 2005-06, the conference was 46-26 in non-conference home games.
Holiday Reporting Schedule
With the holiday season upon us, the weekly reporting schedule has been slightly altered. The next two weekly reports will be produced and distributed on Tuesday, December 26 and Tuesday, January 2.
Hartford’s Defense 14th Nationally
After the second week of NCAA statistics, released on Dec. 10, Hartford’s defense ranked 14th nationally allowing just 52.5 points per game. LSU leads the nation allowing just 42.9 ppg.
Class Acts: Scoring Leaders
The following is a breakdown of scoring leaders by class in America East.
Seniors:
Rank Name, School, PPG
1. Jessica Smith, Stony Brook, 15.8
2. Katie Meinhardt, Boston U., 15.7
3. Bracey Barker, Maine, 15.3
Juniors:
Rank Name, School, PPG
13. Laura Sario, Binghamton, 10.7
16. Danielle Hood, Hartford, 10.6
17. Kristin Drabyn, UMBC, 10.0
Sophomore:
Rank Name, School, PPG
24 Kristi Dini, Boston U., 8.8
26. Amy Rosenkrantz, Vermont, 8.7
31. Danielle Flowers, New Hampshire, 7.6
Freshmen:
Rank Name, School, PPG
6. Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 12.3
11. May Kotsopoulos, Vermont, 11.3
20. Britney McGee, Albany, 9.5
Seniors Leading the Way
While much can be said about the newcomers impact in America East, it’s the seniors that are leading the way for their respective teams. Nine of the top 10 scorers, including the top five, are all seniors. Vermont freshman Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter) is the only non-senior to crack the top 10.
Rank Name, School, PPG
1. Jessica Smith, Stony Brook, 15.8
2. Katie Meinhardt, Boston U., 15.7
3. Bracey Barker, Maine, 15.3
4. Mykeema Ford, Stony Brook, 15.1
5. Sharri Rohde, UMBC, 14.3
7. Danielle Clark, New Hampshire, 11.6
8. Brittnie Hughes, UMBC, 11.6
9. Ashley Underwood, Maine, 11.6
10. Ikea Witt, Hartford, 11.5
Lighten the Load
With most of the conference’s nine institutions preparing for finals and the holiday, the slate of non-conference action is considerably less this week. There are just six games between Monday and the Christmas holiday.
Non-Conference Success
America East teams have combined for a 42-45 (.480) record to start the 2006-07 season. As a whole, conference teams are 2-0 versus the ACC, 8-1 against the Ivy League and have tallied six wins over the Patriot League and five over the Atlantic 10 and MAAC.
Tournament Frenzy
America East schools have/will participate in 16 in-season tournaments during non-conference play this season. Earlier this season, Vermont won the URI Invitational and TD Banknorth Classic, while Maine captured the Dead River Classic title.
Playing the Field (NCAA STYLE)
America East schools are slated to play 24 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.
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.
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).
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTEBOOKS
Albany Great Danes
Albany (3-7, 0-0 America East) defeated defending Northeast Conference champion Sacred Heart, 60-55, in the Great Danes’ only game of the week... Senior forward Kristin Higy (Akron, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) led UAlbany with 15 points and completed her second double-double of the season with a career-high 13 rebounds... Higy also added five assists, three steals and a block in 35 minutes played... Senior guard Amanda Ward (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) added 13 points, eight rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block... Ward, who hit two free throws to seal the win late in the game, was 4-of-5 from the charity stripe... Freshman Britney McGee (Bakersfield, Calif./West) was the third Great Dane in double figures, netting 11 points against the Pioneers... McGee shot 4-of-8 from the floor and 3-of-7 from beyond the three-point arc, hitting two of her treys back-to-back midway through the second half to help seal the win for UAlbany... McGee, who is second on the team in minutes played, averaging 29.4, also grabbed four rebounds and recorded three assists... Freshman guard Charity Iromuanya (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast), who made her first start for the Great Danes, added nine points, four boards, one assist, one steal and one block... The Great Danes will not be in action again until after the holidays, as they travel to Texas to take on Sam Houston State on Dec. 28 and Lamar on Dec. 30.
Binghamton Bearcats
In Binghamton’s (3-7, 0-0 America East) 79-54 win at Colgate on Saturday, the Bearcats connected on 28-of-46 shots from the field for a .609 field goal percentage... That marks the second-best field goal percentage in program history... Saturday’s game against Colgate also marked the first time that five Binghamton players reached double-figures in scoring for the first time since its January 11, 2004 game against Boston U... Freshman guard Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) drained a game-high and career-high 16 points against the Red Raiders...She sank all four of her three-point field goal attempts... Since moving into the starting lineup three games ago, Carter has averaged 8.3 ppg, 2.0 rpg and 1.3 apg... Freshman guard Muffy Sadler (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/ Cedar Rapids Kennedy) added a spark to the Bearcat offense, finishing with career-highs of five points, three steals and a game-high eight assists... Those eight assists are the most by any Binghamton player since Kate Townley recorded 10 against Boston U. on January 11, 2004.
Boston University Terriers
Sparked by sophomore Kristi Dini’s (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) 6-of-8 shooting from the 3-point arc, Boston University (7-4, 0-0 America East) coasted to an 83-64 victory over Big East foe St. John’s (3-7) at Case Gym on Sunday... Dini tallied a career-high 24 points and the Terriers shot 50.8 percent from the field as they defeated the Red Storm... On Tuesday, Boston University was led by a team-high 18 points from senior tri-captain Katie Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) and defeated cross-town foe Harvard University, 77-63, at Case Gym... The Terriers shot 53 percent from beyond the three-point arc, led by senior Erica Kovach (Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown) and Dini, who were a combined 6-for-10.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (7-4, 0-0 America East) was not in action last week, but finished its final week before the exam break with a 2-1 record with wins over St. John’s and UMass and a loss on the road at #20/18 Michigan State... The Hawks were led during the week by Ikea Witt (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart) who began the week with a 22 point effort on the road at St. John’s... The 22 points was a season best for the senior guard... She finished that game 9-of-15 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line... She also had four rebounds, four assists and five steals... Witt finished the week a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line and was 16-of-30 (.533) over the three games... Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) also averaged double digits for Hartford over the week with 12.7 ppg... She finished with double digits in all three games with 10 at the Red Storm, 16 at home against UMass and 12 on the road against the Spartans... She also shot well during the week with a 63 percent shooting effort (17-of-27)... Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) was almost unstoppable from the field this week with a 6-of-7 effort overall for 85.7 percent shooting... She led the teams rebounding efforts for the week with 19 rebounds, while recording five blocks... For the season, Witt and Hood lead the team in scoring, where they are averaging 11.5 and 10.6 ppg, respectively... Delva leads the team in rebounding with a 5.1 rpg average with Witt and Hood just behind her with 4.6 and 4.4 rpg respectively.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (5-4, 0-0 America East) dropped its third-straight game this past Sunday as it fell by a count of 63-34 to ACC-foe Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Mass... It marked the first of two-straight games for the Black Bears against ACC opponents... Senior forward Katie Whittier (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) led Maine in scoring for the second-straight game with 12 points... It marked the first time in her career that she led the Black Bears in scoring in back-to-back games... It was the third-consecutive double-figure scoring game of her career... Maine used a 6-0 run to open the second half and knot the game at 21-21... However, BC went on a 42-13 run the rest of the game to pull out the win... Ashley Underwood (Augusta, Maine/Cony) added six points for Maine as she played in 99th-career game... Maine is off for the holiday and will return to action Dec. 28-29 in the Cavalier Classic in Charlottesville, Va... The Black Bears will take on host-school Virginia on the 28th, and then face either UAB or Northwestern State on the 29th.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (4-6, 0-0 America East) dropped its only game of the week, 61-48, at in-state rival Mount St. Mary’s on Dec. 17... The Retrievers have not won back-to-back games yet this season and have alternated wins and losses since the second game of the year... Senior forward Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) scored 20 points and posted nine rebounds against the Mount, her second 20-point performance of the season... She has scored in double figures in eight of UMBC’s 10 games this season... Rohde was 8-for-8 from the free throw line and has hit 13 of her last 14 foul shots... The Retrievers shot a season-low 18.8 percent (3-for-16) from beyond the arc... UMBC has been out-rebounded by an average of 16.0 rpg in the last three games, including 48-25 at Mount St. Mary’s... The Retrievers have forced an average of 9.0 more turnovers per game than they have committed in the last three contests, including 25-14 against the Mount... Rohde has started every game of her career, extending her start streak to 94 consecutive starts... The Retrievers recorded a season-high five blocked shots in the game, three by Rohde and two by junior forward Amanda Robinson (Lusby, Md./Patuxent)... UMBC continues its five-game road trip this week, taking on Rider on Dec. 19 in Lawrenceville, N.J.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (3-5, 0-0 America East) was off this past week during final exams, but recorded a 1-1 record the previous week... After a tough 50-31 loss to Boston College, the Wildcats rebounded with a 52-44 victory over Colgate on Saturday... Sophomore forward Danielle Flowers (Chalfont, Pa./Central South Bucks) tallied a team-high 13 points to go along with six rebounds, two steals and two blocks... Senior co-captain Danielle Clark (Corinna, Maine/Nokomis Regional) delivered 10 points and three rebounds, while teammate Whitney Edwards (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) made a game-high five steals and posted four points in the win... The Wildcats return to action on Tuesday (Dec. 19) when they play host to Northeastern at 7 p.m. in Lundholm Gymnasium.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (3-6, 0-0 America East) went 1-1 last week. On Dec. 13, the Seawolves fell to Dartmouth College, 71-59. America East Player of the Week Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) had 14 points and nine rebounds. On Dec. 15, Stony Brook topped Central Connecticut State, 74-55. Once again, Smith led the Seawolves with a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds. Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) scored 15 points, dished out a game-high nine assists and grabbing nine rebounds. Dana Ferraro (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) had her first double-double of the season, with 10 points and 13 rebounds. The Seawolves owned a 46-24 advantage in rebounding. Stony Brook returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 23rd when they host Quinnipiac at 1 p.m.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (7-2, 0-0 America East) captured a 74-65 victory over Manhattan in the lone game of the week... UVM is off to its best start since the 2002-03 season and the best start under head coach Sharon Dawley... Sophomore guard Amy Rosenkrantz (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) led the Catamounts with her first career double-double, pouring in a game-high 19 points and grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds... Freshman Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter) added 17 points and four assists in the game... Vermont has had five different players lead the team in scoring through the first nine games of the season... The Catamounts improve to 3-1 at home this season and are 51-10 when they score 70 point or more dating back to the 2001-02 season... UVM has reached the 70-point plateau four times this year (4-0)... Vermont collected 15 steals in the game and has recorded double-digits in steals in all nine games... Vermont hosts Kent State on Tuesday (Dec. 19) at 7 p.m. in the final game before the holiday break.