Albany’s Sherri Mikus (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) and Boston University’s Rachael Vanderwal (Stoney Creek, Ontario/Bishop Ryan Catholic) share Wilson Player of the Week honors, while Hartford’s Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) wins Rookie of the Week accolades for the 10th time this season. The awards were handed out on Monday (February 20).
Mikus netted a career-high 23 points to help the Great Danes earn their first win in 10 tries against the Catamounts. She connected on 8-of-16 field goals and a career-high 7-of-8 free throws. The sophomore had an impressive line all around as she also added career-bests of seven rebounds and six steals, which fell one shy of the school’s single-game record, and dished out five assists. Mikus scored 18 of her points in the second half, including eight of the team’s 12 over the final three minutes. She was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line in the closing minutes to help ensure the outcome.
Highlighted by a career-high 29-point performance at Binghamton, Vanderwal led the Terriers to two important victories on the week, allowing the team to move into a tie for second place in the league standings. The senior went 10-of-14 from the floor against the Bearcats, including a 4-of-5 effort from beyond the arc, and scored 18 of her 29 points after halftime. Vanderwal filled up the box score in a 72-64 home triumph over Stony Brook, recording game highs of 15 points, six assists and four steals in addition to hauling in seven rebounds. She now has scored in double figures in nine straight contests.
Beverly finished the week as one of four Hawks to average double digits over this past week’s two game stretch. She finished with six against UMBC and then scored 14 at home against Binghamton and was instrumental in Hartford clinching its first-ever regular-season championship and the top seed for the upcoming Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women’s Basketball Championship. On her home floor she was 6-of-10 shooting, 2-of-2 from the free throw line and finished with two assists and a steal.
AMERICA EAST NOTES:
Terriers Topple Two: Boston University (15-8, 8-4 America East) defeated two of the conference’s top teams, Binghamton (13-11, 6-7) and Stony Brook (15-8, 8-4), to move into a tie for second place in the league standings with the Seawolves. The Terriers now take on three of the bottom four squads in the America East standings before facing league-leading Hartford (21-2, 13-0) in their regular-season finale on March 4.
RPI Watch: America East has maintained its 11th ranking in The Collegiate Basketball News Women’s RPI Report and ranks third among I-AA conferences. Only the Colonial (eighth) and Atlantic 10 (10th) are higher ranking I-AA leagues. America East has never finished as high as 11th in the final RPI for a season and never as high as third among I-AA Conferences. America East boasts three teams with RPIs in the top 100. Hartford leads the conference with an RPI of 33, followed by Stony Brook (38) and Boston University (73).
Home sweet home: Hartford is 10-0 at home this season and the Hawks are currently riding a 15-game home win streak, which dates back to March 2, 2005. The Hawks home court advantage could loom huge come March as they play host to the America East Women’s Basketball Championship for the fifth-straight season. Hartford has won two of the four conference championships that it has hosted at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
America East TV Game: The 2005-06 women’s America East TV schedule continues this week as Hartford hosts Maine on Saturday, February 25. Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Leah Secondo (color analyst) will call the game live on the New England Sports Network (NESN) with a tape delay on College Sports Television (CSTV) at 6:30 p.m.). The game can also be seen live on the internet through America East All Access. A live streaming feed of the game will be posted once made available. Log on to www.AmericaEast.com on Saturday to follow the action.