For just the second time in America East women’s basketball history, a newcomer has been named player and rookie of the week in the same week. Hartford’s Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./West Hill) swept the league’s top honors for week 13. The awards were announced on Monday (February 5).
Delva led the Hawks to a pair of wins over the league’s second- and third-ranked teams in the preseason coaches’ poll. She notched back-to-back career-highs in each of last week’s games. She was a perfect a 5-of-5 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free throw line to open the week netting a career-high 14 points, while grabbing seven boards at Boston University. She followed that up by going 8-of-9 from the field and the charity stripe to finish with 24 points in a win over Stony Brook. She also grabbed 13 rebounds for her first collegiate double-double. Maine’s Cindy Blodgett was the only other player in league history to sweep the player and rookie of the week awards in the same week. However, several other rookies have won player of the week awards.
AMERICA EAST NOTEBOOK
Hawks Continue to Roll
Hartford has won six straight and eight of its last nine games to establish a one-game lead in the league standings. During the six-game win streak, the Hawks are averaging 62.8 ppg and allowing just 48.3 ppg for a +14.5 margin.
Vermont at Hartford: The Rematch
First-place Hartford is out to an 8-1 mark in conference play with its lone loss of the season coming at the hands of Vermont, 66-64, in overtime at Patrick Gym. The teams square off again on Saturday in West Hartford. In the first meeting, Courtnay Pilypaitis (Orleans, Ontario/St. Peter’s) scored a team-high 16 points to lead Vermont, while Danielle Hood had a game-high 22 points for the Hawks.
Hawks Down SBU in Battle for First
Behind a career day from Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./West Hill), the Hawks earned a 65-47 win over Stony Brook on Sunday. This matchup of a pair of 7-1 teams saw Stony Brook build an early 18-9 lead over the first 16 minutes, which was erased by a 14-0 run to end the half. Hartford went on to the 18-point win.
In Good Company
Hartford’s Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./West Hill) became just the second player in conference history to earn player and rookie of the week honors in the same with. The only other player to do so was Maine’s Cindy Blodgett. Blodgett’s storied career at Maine included four-straight league titles, two Player of the Year awards, one Rookie of the Year award, a league-best 17 Player of the Week honors and six Rookie of the Week accolades. The Black Bear is also the league’s all-time leading scorer netting 3,005 points in her career.
Dawley Earns Highest Win Total at Vermont
The 15 Catamount victories this season are the most under head coach Sharon Dawley during her tenure at Vermont. She recorded 14 wins in her first two seasons in Burlington.
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 13.1 8th
Brittnie Hughes 11.5 12th
Kristin Drabyn 10.2 17th
Amanda Robinson 10.0 18th
A Balanced Rohde: Nears Milestone
UMBC’s Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) is the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists...Rohde is one assist away from becoming just the third Retriever ever to record 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
Middle of the Pack Filling Up
Midway through league play the majority of the conference appears to be in a log-jam with two teams tied at fourth-place and a four-way tie for sixth. How the jam in the middle clears out will be determined over the final month of the regular season and will establish seeding for the America East Championship at Binghamton’s Events Center March 8-11.
AETV: Stony Brook at Boston U.
Stony Brook and Boston University played in one of the most memorable games in America East Championship history as the Terriers earned a 76-74 overtime win in 2005-06. The Seawolves are 7-2, winners of six their last seven. Boston U. is just 3-6, but got back on track with a 74-57 win last time out. The two will square off on Saturday at noon in Boston. This game is part of America East Basketball Presented by Boston Herald television package and will air on NESN and Fox Sports New York (FSNY). Stony Brook won the first meeting between the two 69-48 back on Jan. 10.
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 15 +6
Albany 7 7 ----
Maine 10 10 ----
Barker 2nd in the Nation From The Line
Maine’s Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) has been lights out from the charity stripe this season. She leads the league in free-throw percentage and ranks second in the nation from the line. She is shooting 92.1 percent overall.
LundHolm Sweet Home
New Hampshire is 8-4 this season with all but one win coming from the friendly confines of Lundholm Gymnasium. The Wildcats scoring average is 18.3 points higher at home, (63.5 ppg compared to 45.2 ppg on the road).
Hartford Defense Seventh Nationally
Hartford continues to rise to the top behind the strength of its defense. The Hawks rank seventh nationally as they are allowing just 53.0 ppg. The Hawks have allowed under 50 points on 11 different occasions this season.
Maine 10th Nationally From The Line
The Black Bears rank 10th nationally from the charity stripe converting on 76.5 percent. Maine has made 302-of-395 through 21 games this season.
Stony Brook’s Smith Seeing Double
Stony Brook’s Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) has posted a league-high six double-doubles this season. She garnered four of the six double-doubles over the last three weeks including a 15 point, 11 rebound performance against Binghamton on Wednesday.
Kurpniece Leading the Bearcats
Binghamton’s Laine Kurpniece (Coopersburg, Pa./Southern Lehigh) is averaging 12.1 ppg in conference play and has scored in double figures in four-straight games and six of 11 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 the in nation in turnovers at 14.4 per game. In addition-they boast a league-best 0.97 assist/turnover ratio.
RPI Update: Four Teams Moving Up
America East remains locked into the #16 slot in the Feb. 5 version of the Collegiate Basketball News (CBN) women’s college basketball ratings percentage index (RPI). Five America East teams improved its standings from week seven. All and all, five of the nine teams ranked in the top 200, with one in the top 100 (Hartford - 63).
School 1/28 2/4 Diff.
Hartford 78 63 +15
New Hampshire 284 272 +12
Vermont 139 130 +9
Boston U. 164 158 +6
Binghamton 273 269 +4
Boston: A Long Distance Call
Boston U. has found success from behind the arc this season. The Terriers are averaging 6.4 three-pointers per game this season, which is first in the conference and ranks 28th out of 324 teams in Division I. Boston U.’s three-point pace has been led by Kristi Dini, who is shooting 40.2 percent from behind the arc.
Bracey Barker - She Shoots: She Scores
Maine’s Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) leads the conference in free throw percentage and ranks fourth in field goal percentage. She ranks 75th in the nation in field goal percentage at 49.1 percent and is second in free throw percentage at 92.9.
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 24.7 ppg in 2007 and has led the Seawolves to a 7-2 mark in conference play out of the gate. In addition, she is averaging 4.14 apg, which is fourth since the new year and 2.14 spg-which is second-best in America East.
Ford Extends Double-Digit Streak
Stony Brook’s Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy) owns a league-best 23 game double-digit scoring streak, dating back to the March 10, 2006 America East quarterfinal game against Vermont. The league-leading scorer netted 24.5 ppg in a pair of wins last week.
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 19.5 ppg, while Smith is second at 16.5 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 7.9 rpg, while Ferraro is second pulling down 7.1 rpg.
Hartford Extends Home Streak
The Hawks extended their conference home win- streak to 20 games with a win over Binghamton. This streak includes Hartford’s impressive 6-0 record in the America East Championship over the past two seasons and a 4-0 mark in the early going 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 69.0 ppg allowed. In addition, all nine schools are holding its opponents under 45 percent shooting from the floor.
Not in Our House
America East schools finished non-conference play 24-17 in non-conference home games. Home teams are 20-12 in conference games this season.
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.
Seniors Leading the Way
The America East elders continue to lead their respective teams offensive. Seven of the top 10 scorers-including the top four-are all seniors.
Rank Name-School PPG
1. Mykeema Ford, Stony Brook 19.5
2. Jessica Smith, Stony Brook 16.5
3. Bracey Barker, Maine 14.9
4. Danielle Clark, New Hampshire 14.2
6. Ashley Underwood, Maine 13.7
8. Sharri Rohde, UMBC 13.1
9. Katie Meinhardt, Boston U. 12.8
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
Albany (7-15, 3-6 America East) dropped two conference games last week ? a 58-44 loss to New Hampshire and a 70-60 defeat at the hands of Binghamton... Senior guard Amanda Ward (East Hartford, Conn./East Hartford) led the Great Danes in both games, scoring 13 points and grabbing nine boards against the Wildcats and recording 16 points and five boards versus the Bearcats... Junior forward Kristin Higy (Akron, Ohio/North Canton Hoover) recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds... Higy, who added 13 points and four steals against Binghamton, shot 55.6 percent (10-18) for the week, and leads the team with a 44.7 (80-179) shooting percentage from the floor for the season... Freshman Charity Iromuanya (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast) earned her fifth start of the season against Binghamton after scoring 10 points and recording four rebound, two assists, two steals and a block against New Hampshire... Versus the Bearcats, Iromuanya scored six points,grabbed six boards, handed out five a assists and notched a steal... Junior Sherri Mikus (Duncannon, Pa./Susquenita) chipped in with four points, six rebounds, five assists and a steal against the Wildcats and followed up with six points, five boards, three helpers and three steals... The Great Danes travel to Maine on Wednesday for a 12 noon game and visit UMBC on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Binghamton Bearcats
Binghamton (8-14, 4-5 America East) junior center Laine Kurpniece (Riga, Latvia/Secondary School 47) has averaged 17.8 points over her past four games and has reached the 20-point mark twice during that span... Against Albany on Saturday, she poured in a season-high 22 points... Kurpniece is now averaging 10.4 points per game... Against America East Conference opponents, she has averaged 12.1 points per game... After struggling from the field earlier in the season, Kurpniece is now shooting .500 from the field (52-of-104)... Junior guard Laura Sario (Espoo, Finland/Tapiololonken) continues to lead the Bearacts with 13.1 points per night... Against America East Conference opponents, she is averaging 13.7 points per outing ... In its past five games, Binghamton has averaged 65 points ... senior guard Rebecka Lindgren (Oskarsham, Sweden/Sandagynasiet) continues to lead the America East Conference in three-point field goal percentage, having made 38-of-73 attempts (.521).
Boston University Terriers
Boston University (11-11, 3-6 America East) freshman Aly Hinton (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) put together an impressive performance with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while seniors Katie Meinhardt (San Francisco, Calif./St. Ignatius Prep) and Erica Kovach (Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown) along with sophomore Kristi Dini (Putnam Valley, N.Y./Putnam Valley) posted double figures to lead the Boston U. to a 74-57 victory over UMBC... Hinton posted a career-high 18 points... Meinhardt tallied 13 points, including seven in the final two minutes, while Dini added 12 and Kovach put up 11... Boston U. also earned seven steals and dished out 14 assists... It was the Terriers’ highest offensive output since an 87-74 loss to Vermont on Jan. 7... On Wednesday, Boston U. fell to the America East’s top-ranked Hartford, 57-42, on Wednesday... The Terriers’ offense was led by junior Cheri Raffo (Asbury, N.J./North Hunterdon) with 13 points ? her sixth consecutive double-digit game... Sophomores Christine Kinneary (Plainedge, N.Y./Holy Trinity) and Amarachi Umez-Eronini (Washington, D.C./Woodrow Wilson) had game-highs for steals (3) - both matched their season highs - and the Terriers were 10-of-13 from the free throw line.
Hartford Hawks
Hartford (15-7, 8-1 America East) picked up a sweep of last week’s games and retained sole possession of first place with their 18-point win over Stony Brook on Sunday afternoon. The Hawks opened the week with a 57-42 road win at Boston University... In both games last week, the Hawks were led by America East Player and Rookie of the Week freshman Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./West Hill)... She finished the week averaging a double-double with 19.0 ppg and 10.0 rpg... She scored back-to-back career-highs first with 14 against the Terriers and then topped that with 24 against the Seawolves... She opened the week with her second “perfect game” in as many weeks with a 5-of-5 effort from the field and 4-of-4 effort from the free throw line at Case Gymnasium on Wednesday morning... She then went 8-of-9 from the floor and the free throw line to finish with her first 20+ game of her career, and only the fifth for any Hawk this season... She also finished with 13 rebounds against Stony Brook for her first collegiate double double and only the third all season for the Hawks... Also posting a double digit average last week was senior Ikea Witt (Vineland, N.J./Sacred Heart) and junior Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas)... Both finished with an 11.5 ppg average last week. As a team the Hawks had their best week at the free throw line where they finished 45-of-56 (80 percent), including a 92 percent effort at Boston University on 12-of-13.
Maine Black Bears
Maine (10-10, 4-5 America East) dropped its only game this week, falling to New Hampshire on Saturday in Durham by a score of 65-55... Ashley Underwood (Augusta, Maine/Cony H.S.) led Maine with 21 points, including four three-pointers... Bracey Barker (Bar Harbor, Maine/Mount Desert Island) added 13 points for Maine, as she has scored in double figures in all nine America East games this season... Including last season, Barker has scored in double-figures in 11-straight conference contests... Katie Whittier (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) chipped in with six points and eight rebounds... Maine returns to action with a pair of home games this week... The Black Bears will play host to Albany on Wednesday at 12 p.m., while they will also take on Binghamton on Saturday at 12 noon.
UMBC Retrievers
UMBC (10-12, 3-6 America East) dropped a pair of America East games this week, falling at home to Vermont, 46-38, and at Boston University, 74-57... The Retrievers have now lost three-straight games for the first time this season... Against the Catamounts, UMBC scored less than 40 points for the first time since a 55-27 loss at Vermont on Feb. 2, 2005... That was also the last time no Retriever reached double figures in scoring... Senior point guard Brittnie Hughes (Roanoke, Va./Northside) scored 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting to lead the Retrievers against the Terriers... It was UMBC’s first 20-point performance in more than a month... Junior forward Amanda Robinson (Lusby, Md./Patuxent) tied a career-high and a school-record with six blocks in the game... UMBC is the only team in the America East with four players ranking in the conference’s top 20 scoring leaders, as Hughes, Robinson, senior forward Sharri Rohde (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and junior guard Kristin Drabyn (Avon, Ind./Avon) are all averaging double figures... Rohde is the only player in the league to rank in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and assists... Rohde is one assist away from becoming just the third Retriever ever with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists... UMBC concludes its brief two-game road swing at Stony Brook on Feb. 7 before returning home to take on Albany on Feb. 10.
New Hampshire Wildcats
New Hampshire (8-13, 3-6 America East) won both America East contests this week... With both wins coming at home, the Wildcats are now 7-4 in Lundholm Gymnasium this season... On Jan. 31, senior Danielle Clark (Corinna, Maine/Nokomis Regional) recorded her second double-double of the season (14 points, 11 assist) to lead the Wildcats to a 58-44 victory over Albany... Whitney Edwards (Mt. Vernon, N.Y./Trinity Catholic) also posted 14 points, also adding four assists... Also in double-figure was freshman Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn./Waterford)... On Feb. 3, the Wildcats faced Maine for the second time this season... Whitney Edwards and freshman Chrissy Hall (Northbridge, Mass./Northbridge) led the Wildcats with a dozen points each to a 65-55 win over the Black Bears... Edwards led the Wildcats with four steals in the game... Clark was awarded America East Player of the Game with 11 points, nine rebounds and five
first-half assists for the Wildcats... New Hampshire has one home game on Wed., Feb. 7... The Wildcats will play host to Hartford in the second meeting of the season.
Stony Brook Seawolves
Stony Brook (11-10, 7-2 America East) went 1-1 last week... The Seawolves topped the Bearcats, 64-57 behind the strength of Mykeema Ford (Trenton, N.J./Cheshire Academy), who led all scorers with 27 points... Ford has scored in double figures in each game this season... Jessica Smith (Bloomingdale, N.J./Butler) recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. As a team, the Seawolves forced 25 turnovers.... In a 65-47 loss at Hartford, Ford lead the Seawolves with 22 points... Stony Brook faces UMBC at home on Feb. 7 and travels to Boston U. to face the Terriers on Feb. 10 an America East television game aired live on NESN at 12 noon.
Vermont Catamounts
Vermont (15-6, 5-3 America East) earned a 46-38 victory at UMBC in the lone game of the week for the Catamounts... The 15 victories this season are the most under head coach Sharon Dawley during her tenure at Vermont... Freshman May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) led all scorers with 11 points, three rebounds and two steals... Junior Nicole Trott (Wasaga Beach, Ontario/Collingwood Collegiate) posted career highs in points (9) and rebounds (8) in the win over UMBC... Her previous career highs in points and rebounds were 4 and 3, respectively... It was her
third straight start and fourth of her career (all coming this season)... Vermont dominated the boards for the second straight game, 47-28, and has out rebounded its opponents 87-54 in the last two games... Vermont returns to action with three games in seven days, hosting Boston U. on Feb. 7, then traveling to Maine on Feb. 10 and Maine on Feb. 13.