Binghamton University’s Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia/Secondary School 47) has been named America East’s Wilson Player of the Week for the third time this season, while Boston University’s Jesyka Burks-Wiley (Kansas City, Mo./Lincoln College Prep) earns her fourth Rookie of the week award. The accolades were announced Monday (March 6).
Kurpniece turned in a 17-point, 10 rebound performance against Albany on Wednesday and followed up with a 21-point, 13-rebound, five-assist, two-block, two-steal effort against Vermont on Saturday. In the process, Kurpniece finished the regular season with a 56.1 field goal percentage, the most accurate single-season mark in school history. For the season, Kurpniece has reached the 20-point mark five times and has recorded six double-doubles.
Burks-Wiley tallied a team-high 16 points in the Terriers’ 69-66 loss at Maine on Wednesday. Seven minutes into the game, the rookie forward came off the bench and provided an instant spark, scoring Boston U.’s next 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. She went on to add nine rebounds and a pair of steals against the Black Bears. On Saturday, Burks-Wiley recorded four points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals in the regular-season finale against Hartford.
AMERICA EAST NOTES
Championship seedings:
The field for the 2006 Friendship Cottage Cheese America East Women’s Basketball Championship is now set. The nine-team tournament will be held on March 9-12 at University of Hartford’s Chase Arena at Reich Family Arena in West Hartford, Conn. The Hartford Hawks (23-3, 13-1) are the regular season champions and will be the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. The No. 8 Black Bears (9-18, 5-11) and No. 9 Great Danes (7-20, 9-18) will tip off the conference tournament on Thursday March 9, 7 p.m., with the winner to face Hartford on Friday, March 10 at 6 p.m. No. 2 Stony Brook (19-8, 12-4) and No. 7 Vermont (9-17, 5-11) will meet in the first quarterfinal game of the day on March 19 at 12 noon, followed by No. 3 Boston U. (16-11, 9-7) and No. 6 New Hampshire (15-12, 7-9) at approximately 2:30 p.m. The day’s final match-up pits No. 4 Binghamton (16-11, 9-7) versus No. 5 UMBC (15-12, 7-9) at approximately 8:30 p.m.
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. Stony Brook leads the conference with an RPI of 29, followed by Hartford (38) and Boston University (85).
Matchup history:
No. 1 Hartford defeated Northeastern in the quarterfinals last season 47-43. The Hawks went on to earn wins over New Hampshire in the semifinals 52-38 and Boston U. in the championship 52-50. No. 2 Stony Brook has not won a tournament game since the 2002 championship and has to meet No. 7 Vermont in championship play. No. 9 Albany and No. 8 Maine faced off in the 2004 championship semifinals with the Black bears taking the contest 62-49. No. 6 New Hampshire and No. 3 Boston U. have not met in the postseason since 1989. The No. 4 Binghamton Bearcats are 0-3 in tournament play.
TV exposure:
Both semifinal games of the 2006 America East Women’s Basketball Championship on Saturday, March 11 will be televised as part of the America East TV package. The championship game will be played Sunday, March 12, and will be also be televised as part of the America East TV package, beginning at 12 noon.