UMBC’s Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) earns America East Player of the Week honors for week four, while May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) earns her first-ever America East Rookie of the Week award.
Rohde, the three-time Player of the Week award-winner, led UMBC to a 1-1 record coming up just short of a perfect week in non-conference play. She posted back-to-back double-doubles as she scored 17 points and pulled down 10 rebounds in a 61-60 loss to American. She followed up with a career-high 23 points and 10 boards in a 78-72 win over Fairleigh Dickinson, coming just two assists shy of a triple double. The senior forward averaged 20 ppg and 10 rpg during the week.
For the third-straight week a Vermont player is collecting America East Rookie of the Week accolades, Kotsopoulos led the Catamounts to a 1-1 record during the week. She scored a career-high 21 points against Minnesota, connecting on 8-of-17 from the floor, including 3-of-7 from behind the arc. She followed that up with 18 points, including a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe, in a 73-64 win over Lafayette.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Hawks Down No. 23 Brigham Young
Hartford sophomore guard Lisa Etienne (Norfwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon/Penn State) scored 13 points as Hartford handed #23 Brigham Young its third loss in five games, 60-43 on Saturday. The win marks the second in as many weeks for an America East school over a ranked team. Last week, Vermont defeated #22 Boston College at the URI Invitational.
An Old Face Returns
On Wednesday, the Terriers will play host to Brown University. The Bears are coached by former America East standout Cindy Blodgett. Blodgett, the two-time America East Player of the Year and four-time America East Championship Most Outstanding Player, led the Black Bears to the title in 1995, 96, 97, and 98. Early this year, Blodgett was defeated by her alma mater 62-51 in the opening round of the Dead River Classic.
Clark, Witt Reach Centutry Mark
New Hampshire’s Danielle Clark (Corinna, Maine/Nokomis Regional) and Hartford’s Ikea Witt (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart) both reached the 1,000-point plateau this week. Clark, the senior forward, scored her 1,000th point early in the second half in a loss to Providence, while Witt score her 1,000th point to help lead the Hawks to an upset win over #23 Brigham Young. Both players were named America East Player of the Game for their respective efforts.
Seniors Leading the Way
While much can be said about the newcomers impact in America East, its the seniors that are leading the way for their respective teams. Seven of the top 10 scorers, including the top six, are all seniors.
Rank Name, School Points Per Game
1. Bracey Barker, Maine 17.8
2. Mykeema Ford, Stony Brook 16.6
3. Jessica Smith, Stony Brook 15.4
4. Sharri Rohde, UMBC 14.9
5. Danielle Clark, New Hampshire 13.8
6. Katie Meinhardt, Boston U. 13.7
8. Katie Whittier, Maine 12.2
Vermont’s Youth Movement
With three-straight America East Rookie of the Week awards, its no surprise the Catamount rookies are leading the team in several key catagories.Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter’s) and May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) rank first and second on the team, respectively, (ninth, tenth in America East) in scoring. In addition, Kotsopoulos is third in the league in steals (2.0 spg), while Pilypaitis is fourth in assists (3.86 apg).
Welcome to Our House
This week America East has several marquee home matchups. Boston U. will entertain Brown at Agganis Arena. It will be the only time the Terriers play at the 5,687 seat state-of-the-art building. Agganis will be the site of the 2007 America East Men’s Basketball Championship. In addition, Binghamton will welcome Big-East foe Villanova into the 5,142-seat Events Center. The Events Center is the site of the 2007 America East Women’s Basketball Championship. Other marquee homes games include Hartford playing host to A-10 foe Massachusetts and UMBC entertaining Navy.
ACC Sweep
Vermont and Maine teamed up last Saturday to record an impressive sweep over two Atlantic Coast Conference opponents. First the Catamounts knocked off #22 Boston College, 56-48, to win the URI Invitational. Then the Black Bears followed up with an 80-78 victory over Clemson to clinch the Dead River Company Class in Orono. The win by UVM was its first versus a ranked opponent and an ACC foe. Maine’s win came courtesy of a 17-foot buzzer-beater by freshman guard Amanda Tewksbury (Clinton, N.J./North Hunterdon).
Back on Top
Despite being picked seventh and eighth respectively in the preseason coaches’ poll, Maine and Vermont are currently first and second, respectively. The Black Bears (seven) and Catamounts (four) have combined to win 11 America East titles in the 22 years of the league’s existence, but the conference’s two most dominant programs historically finished eighth and seventh last season, respectively. The last time the two finished atop the league standings was in 1999-2000 when Vermont won the league title and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, while Maine garnered the league’s second at-large berth.
Non-Conference Success
America East teams have combined for a 30-29 (.508) record to start the 2006-07 season. As a whole, conference teams are 2-0 versus the ACC, 6-0 against the Ivy League and have tallied four wins over the Atlantic 10.
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 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.
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 NOTES
Albany Great Danes
Albany (2-5, 0-0 America East) dropped its only game of the week, a 63-51 loss to defending Patriot League Champion Army, at home... Junior forward Kristin Higy (Akron, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) led the Great Danes by scoring recording a double-double with a team-high 13 points and 12 rebounds... Higy, who went 7-of-8 from the free throw line, added three assists and two steals for UAlbany... Freshman Charity Iromuanya (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast) added 10 points for UAlbany, along with three boards, two steals, one assist and one block... Classmate Britney McGee (Bakersfield, Calif./West) continued her strong play for the Great Danes, scoring nine points, including a 4-for-4 performance from the free throw line, four rebounds and two assists... Junior forward Gia Sanders (Bowie, Md./The Bullis School) also scored nine points... Sanders recorded five blocks, four rebounds and a steal... The Great Danes went 13-of-14 (92.9 percent) from the free throw line as a team... Higy leads the team in scoring (10.4 ppg) and minutes played (31.1) and contributes 5.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals while posting a .481 shooting percentage... The Great Danes will hit the road for two games this week, visiting Buffalo on Wednesday at 7 p.m. before heading to Wisconsin, where they will take on the Badgers on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (2-5, 0-0 America East) continues to rank second in the America East Conference in scoring defense (54.4 points allowed per game)... Binghamton’s last three opponents currently have a combined record of 16-4... Junior guard Laura Sario (Espoo, Finland/Etala-Tapioloonken) has reached double figures in scoring the past four games. She is averaging 13.2 points during that stretch... the freshman duo of guards Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) and Darryll Peterson (Baltimore, Md./Bryn Mawr) accounted for 28 percent of the Bearcats’ scoring in their game at Canisius on Saturday. Each player posted a career-high seven points... Junior forward Juta Jahilo (Helsinki, Finland/Helsingin Kaupunki) had a season-high 10 points, corralled a team-best seven rebounds and tied a career high with two blocks in the game against Canisius... Sophomore center Erin Owens (Coopersburg, Pa./ Southern Lehigh) posted a career-high seven points and redshirt freshman guard Lauren Regan (Patchogue, N.Y./Patchogue-Medford) chipped in a career-best five points in the Bearcats’ game against La Salle last Wednesday.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (4-3, 0-0 America East) senior Erica Kovach (Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown) recorded a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds and hit three free throws in the final 35 seconds to help lead Boston U. to 65-59 victory over Eastern Michigan (2-3) in the Terriers’ final game of the Verizon Wireless ASU Classic, on Saturday, Dec. 2... Kovach was named to the All-Tournament team... In her first game back from injury, sophomore Jesyka Burks-Wiley (Kansas City, Mo./Lincoln College Prep) posted 11 points to go along with seven rebounds, however the Terriers fell, 75-53, to No. 14/12 Arizona State University (6-1) in the first game of the Verizon Wireless ASU Classic on Dec. 1... Boston U. fell to the seventh-ranked Connecticut Huskies, 84-51, last Tuesday evening in Storrs, Conn... All 11 Terriers scored in the game, and senior tri-captain Katie Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) tallied 12 points to lead the Boston U. offense.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (5-3, 0-0 America East) split a pair of home games last week... The first was a loss to Seton Hall... The loss was the first at Chase Arena since February of 2005, snapping a 20-game home win streak, which at the time was the second longest in the nation... Against the Pirates, the Hawks were led by MaryLynne Schaefer (Centreville, Va./Westfield) who finished with a new career high of 18 points. She was the only Hawk in double digits. Hartford rebounded from that loss to pick up a 17-point win over #23 BYU at home. The Cougars were the first ever ranked team to play at Chase Arena for women’s basketball and they paid the price as the Hawks took an early 11-3 lead and never looked back... Hartford opened the second half with a 10-0 run and the Cougars never recovered from that double-digit deficit, with Hartford’s biggest lead of 20 coming on three different occasions... Hartford was led by three players in double digits against the Cougars. Lisa Etienne (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon/Penn State) led the Hawks with 13 points, a career high for her, while also recording a career best five steals... Ikea Witt (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart) and Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) both finished with 12 points... For the season, Witt is the only Hawk in double digits with a 10.6 points per game average. Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) is second on the team, averaging 9.9 ppg.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (5-1, 0-0 America East) ran its win streak to four games last Wednesday when it rallied from a 10-point second half deficit to defeat Dartmouth, 72-61, at Leede Arena in Hanover, N.H... It marked the first win for Maine under head coach Ann McInerney when it trailed at halftime... The win also gave Maine a season sweep over the three defending Ivy League champions (others being Princeton and Brown)... The Black Bears scored 53 points in the second half to pull out the win after trailing 26-19 at halftime... Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island H.S.) scored all 17 of her points in the second half, and led Maine in scoring for the sixth time in as many games this season... It was the 48th double-figure scoring game of her career and was the seventh-straight game she led the team in scoring... Katie Whittier (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) ripped down a season-high 12 rebounds, while Ashley Underwood (Augusta, Maine/Cony H.S.) chipped in 13 points ... Amanda Tewksbury (Clinton, N.J./North Hunterdon H.S.) scored a career-high 11 points, marking the first double-figure scoring game of her career... Maine’s 5-1 start is its first since the 1997-98 season... The Black Bears return to action with a pair of games this week ... Maine travels to face Holy Cross on Thursday (7 p.m.), and then travel to face Saint Joseph’s, Pa. On Sunday (2 p.m.).
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (3-4, 0-0 America East) went 1-1 in two road games last week, falling to American, 61-60 before defeating Fairleigh Dickinson, 78-72... America East Player of the Week Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) posted back-to-back double-doubles, the third and fourth of her career... She scored 17 points and posted 10 rebounds at American, then followed that up with a 23-point, 10-rebound performance at FDU... Rohde was two assists shy of a triple-double at FDU... Rohde came on strong in the second half of both games with 10 points and eight rebounds in the second period at American and 16 points and eight boards after halftime at FDU... Junior forward Amanda Robinson (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) also recorded a double-double against Fairleigh Dickinson with 22 points and 12 rebounds... The last time two Retrievers recorded double-doubles in the same game was Jan. 29, 2006... Rohde has scored in double figures in the last five games and six of seven this season, averaging a team-best 14.9 ppg... Rohde has started every game of her career, a streak of 91 consecutive starts... The Retrievers recorded their best shooting performance of the season at FDU (.470)... Senior point guard Brittnie Hughes (Roanoke, Va./Northside) is averaging 7.0 apg over the last four games... The Retrievers recorded 26 assists against the Knights, one shy of the school record... UMBC returns home to host Navy on Dec. 6, the last game at the RAC Arena before the new year, then hits the road again to take on Longwood on Dec. 9.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (2-4, 0-0 America East) was on the losing end this week as it dropped losses to Providence and at Central Connecticut... Against Providence, senior forward Danielle Clark (Corinna, Maine/Nokomis Regional) scored her 1000th career point with a layup early in the second half... Providence shot 59.6 percent from the field and defeated New Hampshire on the boards, 30-29... Senior guard Whitney Edwards (Mount Vernon, N.Y./Trinity Catholic (Conn.)) led the Wildcats in scoring with 12 points along with four assists and one steal... Freshman Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) converted three treys behind the arc and added two free throws to register a season high 11 points... Clark finished with 10 points in the game... At Central Connecticut, the Wildcat offense struggled, shooting 45.8 percent in the first half and falling to 25.9 percent in the second half... New Hampshire committed season-high19 turnovers, including 11 in the first half and allowed the Blue Devils to score 23 points off the advantage... Clark and sophomore Danielle Flowers (Chalfont, Pa./Central Bucks South) scored 10 points apiece for the Wildcats... New Hampshire hopes for a rebound this week when it faces the Boston College on Dec. 5 and hosts the Colgate University on Dec. 9... The Wildcats are 8-10 against the Eagles and 3-3 against the Raiders.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (2-3, 0-0 America East) took on Iona and #20 George Washington this week... On Tuesday against Iona, senior guard Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) had her best game of the season with 27 points, eight rebounds, three assists and just three turnovers in 38 minutes as the Seawolves rolled to a 76-55 win over Iona... The Seawolves held Iona to 39 percent shooting from the field and forced 21 turnovers... On Saturday versus George Washington, Stony Brook opened up an early nine-point lead but the Seawolves committed 20 turnovers en route to a 68-55 loss to the Colonials... Stony Brook faces Temple on Tuesday before returning home to face Long Island rival, Hofstra on Saturday.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (5-2, 0-0 America East) posted a 1-1 week, falling at Minnesota, 74-59, and defeating Lafayette on the road, 73-64... Freshman May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) led the Catamounts in the two games, averaging 19.5 points and shooting 41.7 percent from three-point range... Kotsopoulos scored a career-high and game-high 21 points in the loss to Minnesota where the Catamounts gave the Gophers all they could handle for 36 of the 40 minutes... Vermont faced a former Catamount head coach for the second straight game when UVM took on Minnesota and head coach Pam Borton... Borton first served as an assistant at Vermont before being promoted to head coach and served that role from 1993-97... Kotsopoulos added 18 points in Vermont’s win over Lafayette... Kotsopoulos and classmate Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter’s) lead the team in scoring at 12.1 and 11.9 points per game, respectively... The Catamounts have collected double-digits in steals in all seven games this season, with a season high of 17 versus Holy Cross... UVM improved to 49-10 when it scores 70 points or more dating back to the 2001-02 season with the victory over Lafayette... The Catamounts are 2-0 this season when hitting the 70-point plateau... Vermont closes out a five-game road swing with a trip to Colgate on Wednesday (Dec. 6) for a 6 p.m. game, then UVM takes a 10-day layoff for final exams before entertaining Manhattan (Dec. 17) and Kent State (Dec. 19) at Patrick Gymnasium.