Binghamton’s Laura Sario (Espoo, Finland/Etela-Tapiolanlukio) has been named America East Player of the Week for week 15, while Hartford’s Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./West Hill) wins her third America East Rookie of the Week award in the last four weeks.
Sario led the Bearcats to a 2-0 mark on the week. The junior guard averaged 16.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 3.5 apg during the week. Sario scored a team-best 14 points against UMBC on Wednesday and followed that up with a game-high 19 points at Vermont. She also grabbed six rebounds and a dished out a game-high five assists in the win over the Catamounts. Sario currently ranks sixth in America East in scoring averaging 13.7 ppg, which is best among the league’s junior class. She earns her first-ever America East Player of the Week and becomes the first Bearcat to win the award this season. The last Binghamton player of win this accolade was Laine Kurpniece (Coopersburgm Pa./Southern Lehigh), who won this award in the final week of the regular season last year. In 2004-05, Sario won America East Rookie of the Week twice and was an all-rookie team selection.
Delva finished with 16 points off the bench for the Hawks as they earned their ninth-straight victory with a 60-54 win over Albany. She finished a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe, while grabbing eight boards. Widely considered one of the league’s top sixth-men, she is averaging 10.7 ppg in conference play and leads America East in rebounding (8.3 rpg) and shooting (68.9 percent) during conference games.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Hawks Continue to Roll
Hartford extended its league-best nine-game winning streak with a win over Albany. During the nine-game win streak, the Hawks are averaging 60.8 ppg and allowing just 47.7 ppg for a +12.9 margin. All and all, Hartford has won 10-of-11 with its lone defeat coming in a 66-64 overtime loss to Vermont.
Ford Second-Longest Streak in Nation
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) owns a league-best 34-game double-digit scoring streak, dating back to the February 9, 2006 America East game at Vermont. Ford owns the second-longest streak in the nation behind Courtney Paris of Oklahoma.
Barker Nation’s Best From the Line
Maine’s Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) leads the nation in free throw percentage. She is shooting 92.5 percent (74-for-80) overall.
Hartford Defense Fourth Nationally
Hartford continues to rise to the top behind the strength of its defense. The Hawks rank fourth nationally as they are allowing just 52.3 ppg. The Hawks have allowed under 50 points on 13 different occasions this season, including seven times during Hartford’s current nine-game win streak. LSU boasts the nation’s top defense allowing 49.1 ppg.
AETV: Boston U. at Hartford
America East Basketball Presented by Boston Herald continues as Hartford hosts Boston U. Eric Frede (play-by-play) and Leah Secondo (color analyst) call the action live from Chase Arena on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. This rematch of the last two America East Championship title games features two of the league’s hottest teams. Hartford has been untouchable since earlier January rattling off nine straight and boasting a league-best 11-1 mark in conference play. The Terriers appear to be hitting on all cylinders as well, winning four out of their last five. Back on Jan. 31, the Hawks defeated Boston U. 57-42. The game can be seen live on NESN with free live streaming video available through America East Zone on the conference’s website www.AmericaEast.com.
1,000 Point Scorers
Hartford’s Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) became just the 10th player in Hawk history to score 1,000 points in her career. She joins a long list of America East players to net their 1,000 point this season.
Players to Surpass 1,000 Points This Season
Boston U.’s Katie Meinhardt
Hartford’s Danielle Hood
Hartford’s Ikea Witt
Maine’s Bracey Barker
Maine’s Ashley Underwood
UMBC’s Sharri Rohde
New Hampshire’s Danielle Clark
RPI Update: Five Teams Moving Up
America East remains locked into the #16 slot in the Feb. 19 version of the Collegiate Basketball News (CBN) women’s college basketball ratings percentage index (RPI). Five America East teams improved its standings from week nine. Hartford continues to rise in the rankings jumping five spots to 45, while Stony Brook dropped below 90 for the first time this season. Binghamton jumped an impressive 27 spots by virtue of a 2-0 mark during the week. All and all, five of the nine teams ranked in the top 200.
School 2/12 2/19 Diff.
Binghamton 270 243 +27
Boston U. 152 134 +18
Stony Brook 93 87 +6
Hartford 50 45 +5
Albany 262 261 +1
Building a Lead, Again
By continuing to win and getting a little help from those below them, Hartford and Stony Brook have begun to build a gap between themselves and the rest of the field. Hartford is 11-1 with its lone loss coming in overtime at Vermont, while Stony Brook is 10-2 with two losses to Hartford. Stony Brook leads its next closest competition (Binghamton and Vermont) by four full games, while Hartford has a one-game lead over the Seawolves with a pair of head-to-head wins. The two finished first and second by a comfortable three-game margin last season.
Ford Cracks Top 25 in Scoring
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) recently moved into the top 25 nationally in scoring. The senior guard leads America East and ranks 23rd nationally averaging 19.0 ppg.
Preseason All-Conference Earn Billing
While not much stock usually goes into the preseason all-conference team, this season these players could be among the league’s all-conference honorees. With the exception of Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral), who missed most of 2006-07 with a season-ending knee injury, the all-conference honorees rank among the league leaders in several catagories.
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) ranks first in scoring (19.0 ppg), third in assists (4.00 apg) and is a three-time America East Player of the Week.
Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) of Stony Brook ranks second in scoring (16.0 ppg), first in rebounding (7.6 rpg) and is also a three-time player of the week honoree.
Hartford’s Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) ranks eighth in the conference in scoring (13.0 ppg), sixth in field goal percentage (.493) and recently became the third junior to pass 1,000 points in her career at Hartford.
Binghamton’s Laine Kurpniece (Coopersburgm Pa./Southern Lehigh) missed five games this season, but has really emerged of late. She’s scored in double figures in six-straight games and ranks 14th in the conference in scoring (10.6 ppg). In addition, she ranks third in field goal percentage (.496) and fourth in offensive rebounds (2.20 orpg).
Championship Brunch at Events Center
The 2007 America East Women’s Basketball Championship Brunch will be held at Binghamton’s Events Center on March 8 at 10 a.m. The league will hand out its annual awards just hours before the start of the conference’s nine-team tournament. The brunch is open to the public with ticket prices set at $40. To purchase tickets, contact Assistant to the Commissioner Rachael Hilgar at hilgar@americaeast.com.
Postseason Replay on Sunday
On Saturday, three of the four match ups will be rematches of 2006 America East Championship games. Vermont at Stony Brook and Boston U. at New Hampshire are rematches of quarterfinal games, while Hartford at Binghamton is a rematch last year’s second semifinal game. The higher seeds Hartford, Stony Brook, Boston U. were all victorious in those match ups.
Championship Tickets On Sale Now
Tickets for the 2007 America East Women’s Basketball Championship on March 8-11 are on sale now. To purchase tickets visit www.AmericaEast.com or www.BearcatStuff.com.
Glass Cleaner
Freshman Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./West Hill) has emerged as one of the league’s top rebounders since the start of league play. She is first in America East in rebounding during conference play at 8.3 rpg and owns two of the best single-game rebounding performances of the season pulling down 16 rebounds on Jan. 7 against New Hampshire and on Feb. 10 against Vermont.
With a Little Help From a Friend
Vermont’s Brittney Cross (Durham, N.H./Oyster River and Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter’s) have recorded 100 assists this season, marking the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Catamounts have had two players with 100+ helpers. Overall, only three players in the league have handed out 100 assists this season.
Retrievers Scoring Well-Balanced
UMBC is the only team in the America East with four players ranking in the conference’s top-20 scoring leaders.
Player PPG Rank
Sharri Rohde 12.8 9th
Brittnie Hughes 11.3 12th
Kristin Drabyn 10.2 17th
Amanda Robinson 9.9 18th
Signs of Improvement
Maine, Vermont and Albany finished as the bottom three teams last year and struggled to find wins throughout the season. This season all three have matched or surpassed their win totals from the previous season.
Win Totals
School 05-06 06-07 Diff.
Vermont 9 16 +7
Maine 10 12 +2
Albany 7 7 ----
Maine 7th Nationally from the Line
The Black Bears rank seventh nationally from the charity stripe converting on 77.7 percent. Maine has made 369-of-476 through 24 games this season.
Kurpniece Leading the Bearcats
Binghamton’s Laine Kurpniece (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) is averaging 11.9 ppg in conference play and has scored in double figures in six-straight games and eight of 12 games in league play. She is shooting 55.2 percent from the floor and 88.9 percent from the charity stripe.
UMBC Not in the Giving Mood
The Retrievers have been very protective of the ball this season. They lead America East and rank 18th in the nation in turnovers at 14.4 per game. In addition, they boast a league-best 0.96 assist/turnover ratio.
Boston: A Long Distance Call
Boston U. has found success from behind the arc this season. The Terriers are averaging 6.2 three-pointers per game this season, which is first in the conference and ranks 27th out of 324 teams in Division I.
2007 Ford Scorer
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) has kicked her scoring up a notch since the new year. The senior guard is averaging 22.5 ppg in 2007, which is six points more than her closest competition. In addition, she has led the Seawolves to a 10-2 mark in conference play and is averaging 3.87 apg, which is fourth since the new year.
Stony Brook’s One-Two Scoring Duo
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) and Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) rank first and second in the league in scoring-respectively. Ford leads the league averaging 19.0 ppg, while Smith is second at 16.0 ppg. Never in league history has a team had players finish first and second in scoring.
Seawolves’ One-Two Rebounding Pair
Stony Brook’s Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) and Dana Ferraro (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) rank first and second in the league in rebounding-respectively. Smith leads the league averaging 7.6 rpg, while Ferraro is second pulling down 7.4 rpg.
Hartford Extends Home Streak
The Hawks extended their conference home win- streak to 22 games with a win over Albany. This streak includes Hartford’s impressive 6-0 record in the America East Championship over the past two seasons and a 6-0 mark this season.
Defense: A League Trend
America East schools have been turning up the heat defensively this season. Four of nine teams are holding opponents under 60 points per game-while all nine are under 68.0 ppg allowed. In addition, all nine schools are holding its opponents under 44.4 percent shooting from the floor.
Non-Conference Success
America East teams have combined for a 55-58 (.491) non-conference record in 2006-07 season. As a whole, conference teams are 9-2 against the Ivy League and have tallied seven wins over the MAAC and six over the Patriot League and Northeast Conference.
Tournament Frenzy
America East schools have participated in 16 in-season tournaments during non-conference play this year. Earlier this season-Vermont won the URI Invitational and TD Banknorth Classic, Maine captured the Dead River Classic title, UMBC went a perfect 2-0 at the Battle at the Border Tournament-and Boston U. lost to No. 3 Duke in the finals of the Blue Sky Classic.
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
UAlbany (7-19, 3-10 America East) has lost eight straight after falling to Boston U., 64-53, at home on Wednesday and dropping a 60-54 decision on the road at Hartford on Saturday... Junior forward Kristin Higy (Akron, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) recorded her third double-double of the season against the Terriers, scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds... She also handed out three assists and made one block... Higy added nine points and five rebounds at Hartford... Junior Sherri Mikus (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) led the Great Danes with 19 points against Boston U... Senior Amanda Ward (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) handed out a career-high six assists versus the Terriers... Freshman guard Britney McGee (Bakersfield, Calif./West) scored 12 points at Hartford to go along with three rebounds and one assist... McGee shot 36.3 percent from the floor, including a 2-of-4 performance from beyond the 3-point arc, and hit 2-for-2 from the free throw line... Mikus followed up her performance against Boston U. with 14 points at Hartford... UAlbany will host New Hampshire on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the Great Danes only game of the week.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (10-15, 6-6 America East) has won its past two games and three out of its past four contests... In their last eight games, the Bearcats have averaged 65.8 points per night... Three times during that span, they have scored at least 70 points... Junior guard Laura Sario (Espoo, Finland/Etela-Tapiolanlukio) averaged 16.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Binghamton’s two wins last week... She scored a team-best 14 points against UMBC on Wednesday and a game-high 19 points at Vermont as Binghamton recorded a pair of wins last week... Sario also grabbed six rebounds and a dished out a game-high five assists in the game against the Catamounts... Sario currently ranked sixth in America East with 13.7 points per game... Against conference opponents, she is averaging 14.5 points per outing... Junior center Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia/Secondary School 47) has reached double figures in scoring her last seven games. She has averaged 15.0 points per game during that span... Sophomore forward Laura Franceski (Moscow, Pa./North Pocono) has blocked 42 shots this season, which is the fifth-best single season total in school history... Her career averaged of 1.28 blocks per game ranks second all-time in program history... With 108 games played, senior guard Rebecka Lindgren (Oskarsham, Sweden/Sandagymnasiet) ranks ninth all time in program history... with her next point, Sario will reach the 700-point mark for her career.
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (14-12, 6-7 America East) earned a 64-53 come-from-behind win over Albany on Wednesday evening at SEFCU Arena... Junior Kasey Devine’s (North Kingstown, R.I./North Kingstown) jumper with 5:43 left in the game put Boston U. up for good, 51-49, as the Terriers erased an 11-point second-half deficit... Devine put together one of her best outings of the season with a 14-point performance, 12 of which came in the second half... She added four steals, two blocks and a pair of assists... Freshman Aly Hinton (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) continued to contribute on the offensive front, pouring in 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting... The Terriers caused 18 Albany turnovers and earned a season-high 11 steals eclipsing an 11-point Albany advantage with their late second half comeback. Seniors Katie Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) and Erica Kovach (Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown) along with junior tri-captain Cheri Raffo (Asbury, N.J./North Hunterdon) shook off a tough shooting first half and led the second-half charge, earning a 63-61 come-from-behind win over Maine on Saturday afternoon... The Terriers scored 42 points in the second stanza after putting up just 21 in the first... Boston U. matched its first-half total just eight minutes into the second half... Meinhardt scored nine of her 11 points in the second half, as Kovach chipped in with nine points, and Raffo had a team-high 15... The Terriers got some help from the bench as sophomore Christine Kinneary (Plainedge, N.Y./Holy Trinity) came off the bench to add 10 points and six assists, while Devine scored eight points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, six on the offensive side.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (18-7, 11-1 America East) played just one game last week and came out with a six-point victory over visiting University at Albany on Saturday afternoon... The Hawks inside game provided 42 of the Hawks 60 points with Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) and Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) leading the Hawks... Both added 16 points with Delva going a perfect 5-of-5 from the field and missing only one free throw in seven attempts. Hood finished the game shooting 6-of-12 from the field and had four free throws on seven attempts... She also added four assists and a block... Also finishing in double digits was Lisa Etienne (Norwalk, Conn./Penn State) and Katie Kelley (Syracuse, N.Y./Corcoran). Etienne added 11 points while Kelley finished with 10 points and eight rebounds... As a team the Hawks shot 41.7 percent (20-of-48) and held the Great Danes to just 20 percent in the first half (5-of-25) and 39.2 percent for the game (20-of-51).
Maine Black Bears
Maine (12-12, 6-7 America East) dropped a pair of games this week, including a tough 80-74 loss to Vermont on Tuesday and another tough 63-61 decision at Boston University on Saturday... Ashley Underwood (Benton, Maine/Cony) led Maine in scoring in both contests, including 20 points versus the Catamounts... She has led Maine in scoring in each of the last five games and has gone over 20 points three times... Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) had a solid game against Boston U. as she scored 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds... Freshman point guard Abby Greene (Eden Prairie, Minn./Hopkins) netted a career-high 12 points against the Terriers, while Kris Younan (Chicago, Ill./East Leyden) dished out a career-high tying seven assists in the game... Maine has a mid-week bye and will return to action next Saturday at 12 p.m., in Alfond Arena, when the Black Bears play host to UMBC... The game will mark Senior Day as Underwood, Barker, Katie Whittier (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) and Lindsey Hugstad-Vaa (Apple Valley, Minn./The Breck School) will be honored before the contest.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (12-14, 5-8 America East) split a pair of conference games last week, falling at Binghamton, 68-65, on Feb. 14, before defeating New Hampshire, 59-51, at home on Feb. 17... The Retrievers have won two of their last three games... Senior forward Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) posted her fourth double-double of the season and sixth of her career with 19 points and 12 rebounds against the Bearcats... Freshman guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) scored 12 points on four three-pointers... The Retrievers completed the season sweep of the Wildcats with a 19-point comeback victory... Junior forward Amanda Robinson (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) scored a team-high 14 points in the game... UMBC is the only team in the America East with four players ranking in the conference’s top 20 scoring leaders, with three players averaging double figures... Rohde is the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists... UMBC ranks 16th in the country with 14.4 turnovers per game... Rohde leads the team with 12.9 ppg and 6.3 rpg... Junior guard Morgan Hatten is averaging 5.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists in conference games this season... The Retrievers take to the road for two America East contests this week, facing Vermont on Feb. 20 and Maine on Feb. 24.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (8-16, 3-9 America East) dropped two conference road games this past week... The Wildcats fell 71-64 at Stony Brook on Wednesday... Senior forward Danielle Clark (Corinna, Maine/Nokomis Regional) recorded her third double-double of the season with 25 points and 10 rebounds in the game... Salee-Marie Johnson (Brampton, Ontario/St. Augustine School) posted 14 points in the game for the Wildcats... On Saturday, the Wildcats opened up a 14-0 lead to start the game and led by as many as 19 points against UMBC, but a 15-0 run to end the first half and start the second, brought the Retrievers back into the game... Clark enjoyed her third straight 20+ point game with 21 points for the Wildcats... Freshman Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) drained three 3-pointers en route to a 15-point performance... The Wildcats return to action, continuing on the road at Albany on Wednesday... New Hampshire returns home to Lundholm Gymnasium when the Wildcats host Boston University on Saturday.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (14-10, 10-2 America East) won its only game played last week... In the 71-64 win over New Hampshire, Leah Getz (Peninsula, Ohio/Southampton) and Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) lead four Seawolves in double figures with 16 points... Ford also added nine rebounds... Kelly Watson (Chatham, Ontario/John McGregor) (12 points) and Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) combined for 22 points... Ford has scored in double figures in all 24 games this season and has the second longest active streak in the nation with 34 consecutive double-digit scoring games... Stony Brook held New Hampshire to 28 percent shooting from the floor... Stony Brook travels to face Binghamton on Wednesday and returns home on February 24 to face Vermont. At halftime of the game against Vermont, Stony Brook will honor its 1986-87 team, which had the best record of any team in Stony Brook women’s basketball history.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (16-9, 6-6 America East) went 1-1 on the week... The Catamounts came-from-behind to post an 80-74 victory at Maine... Senior Brittney Cross (Durham, N.H./Oyster River) matched her career-high with 21 points and totaled seven steals (two off the school record for a single-game)... She averaged 16.0 points, 6.5 assists, 3.5 steals per game and shot 47.6% from the field for the week... Sophomore Amy Rosenkrantz (Tempe, Ariz./Corona del Sol) equaled her season-high with 19 points at Maine and averaged 14.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and totaled five steals on the week... Sophomore Andrea Cihal (Mississauga, Ontario/Cawthra Park) scored a career-high 16 points (8-for-10 FG) and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds in the loss to Binghamton... Vermont is the only team in the country at the Division I level to have two freshmen as the top two scorers on the team... Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter) and Kotsopoulos rank 1-2 on the team in scoring for Vermont... Pilypaitis is averaging (13.3 ppg) and Kotsopouols is averaging (10.3 ppg)... The rookie duo also has two of the top scoring averages for freshmen in the history of the Vermont program... Both Pilypaitis and Cross have recorded 100 assists this season, marking the first time since the 2002-03 season that the Catamounts have had two players with 100+ helpers... Only 10 teams at the Division I level this season have started a freshmen at the point in their first game of the year, including UVM’s Pilypaitis... Vermont hosts UMBC on Tuesday at 7 p.m. and travels to Stony Brook for a 4 p.m. tip-off on Saturday.