CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The teams atop the America East standings through three weeks of play--Vermont and UMBC--each had a player recognized by the conference office on Monday, December 1. Catamount junior guard May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate Institute) was named the Player of the Week while Retriever freshman guard Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn./Heritage) is a repeat Rookie of the Week award-winner, garnering the same distinction last week.
Despite her reputation for defense, Kotsopoulos has been hot on the offensive end of the court as of late. For the week she averaged 18.7 points, 1.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 3.0 steals per game while shooting 46.3% from the field and over 30% from beyond the arc. The Canadian came one point shy of her career high on Wednesday night, netting a game-high 25 points in an overtime win over Providence. Twenty-four of her points in that game came after halftime. In the Catamounts' second win of the week, Kotsopoulos contributed 16 points, three assists and four steals at Manhattan. In a loss to St. John's Sunday, the junior recorded 15 points, three assists and three steals. This is the first career player of the week award for Kotsopoulos, and the second such award for a Catamount this season.
The rookie averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, helping the Retrievers to a 2-0 week. Brooks also shot 56.5% from the field and 81.8% from the charity stripe in addition to going 2-for-3 from long-range. In Sunday's game against UMES, Brooks handed out nine assists to tie the conference high this season. The rookie was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Iona Thanksgiving Classic for her efforts. Averaging 15.0 points per game this season, Brooks ranks fifth among America East scorers.
Honor Roll
University of Hartford's Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) posted a double-double of 10 points and 11 boards in the first game of the George Washington Thanksgiving Classic against Liberty. For the week she averaged 10.7 points and 8.3 rebounds... UMBC guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) was named to the Iona Thanksgiving Classic All-tournament Team, scoring a tournament-high 19.5 ppg shooting at a 44.4% clip from the field... Binghamton freshman guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) continues to be an everyday starter for the Bearcats. She averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and a steal per game... Senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley (Kansas City, Mo./Lincoln College Prep) led Boston University last week with 15.0 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She set a career high with 23 points in a come-from-behind victory over Northeastern on Tuesday night... New Hampshire's Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass./St. Raphael's) notched a double-double against Long Island with 18 points and ten rebounds. The junior finished one board shy of her second double-double of the season scoring 16 points against Yale the next day... Sophomore Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa./Cheltenham) put up a solid effort in Stony Brook's only game of the week, scoring 11 points, corraling four rebounds and only turning the ball over once playing the full 40 minutes... Senior forward Tiffanie Johnson (Richmond, Tex./Crockett/Panola J.C.) averaged 17.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game for Albany last week, posting career highs of 25 points and nine rebounds against Colgate.
What's on TV?
A total of four regionally-televised games are slated for the upcoming week. Binghamton travels to Niagara for a Monday morning tilt on Kid's Day, which will be broadcast locally by LCTV. On Wednesday, December 3, MASN will carry the Navy at UMBC contest at 4:30 p.m., part of a women's-men's double-header. Later that night, the Hawks will travel to Hamden to take on Quinnipiac, a game televised live by NESN at 8 p.m. NESN will stay in Connecticut to air Saturday afternoon's match-up between Hartford and St. Joseph's at 1 p.m.
November Report
Now that the first month of the season is complete, it's time to see where the league is in non-conference play to date. America East teams are 18-34 in out-of-conferece contests, and have a .500 or above record against six diferent conferences (ACC, Big South, Colonial, MAAC, MAC, MEAC, and Patriot). Last season through three weeks of play, America East had a 22-27 non-conference record and had an even record or better versus 10 leagues.
A Pair of Nines
A pair of guards dished out a conference-high nine helpers during the week of November 24. Albany guard Britney McGee handed out nine assists in the Great Danes' loss to VCU on Saturday, November 29, and finished just one assist shy of her first career double-double. Twenty-four hours later, freshman Katie Brooks also recorded nine assists in a 92-70 victory over UMES. Brooks finished one assist and three boards shy of a triple-double.
Most Outstanding, Most Impressive
UMBC rookie Katie Brooks earned the Most Outstanding Player award at the Iona Thanksgiving Classic after the Retrievers finished the tournament 2-0. The freshman averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.5 blocks per game against Western Michigan and UMES for a stellar performance. In the first game against Western Michigan, Brooks finished with a game-high 23 points, including the final seven points of the first frame to give UMBC a three-point intermission lead. On the second day, she nearly had a triple-double and handed out nine assists, the most helpers by a Retriever since January 2007.
What a Win
The University of Hartford pulled off one of the biggest wins in America East history. On Friday, November 21 at the DePaul Invitational, the Hawks defeated #6/5 Duke, 53-51, for the program's first win over a top ten opponent ever. It was the second time an America East squad upended a top ten opponent, and the highest-ranked victim. University of Maine defeated Alabama, ranked 10 in the AP poll, 75-73, on January 5, 1995.
Free-Throwing Into the Books
The 64 combined fouls in the UMBC-Northern Illinois game on Saturday, November 22, which the Retrievers won, 88-73, was a new NCAA record. The mark knocked off a 22-year old record of 56 combined personal fouls in 1986 between Eastern Michigan and Kent State. UMBC took advantage, hitting 41 of 53 free-throw attempts.
Deja-two
A glance at the conference scoring leaders as of November 24 would tell you that not much has changed since last season. Cassidy (24.3 ppg) and Vermont junior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis (18.0 ppg) finished 1-2 in scoring for 2007-08 and topped the list once again early on this season. Burks-Wiley, who finished fourth in scoring last year, and is the next returning scorer from a year ago, was third this year with 15.8 ppg.
Closing In
While Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter's) managed to get it out of the way early, several other America East players are eyeing the 1,000 point mark. Below is a list of players who may reach that mark by the end of this season, their total points and their 2008-09 points per game average as of today.
Player, School Points PPG
Amy Rosenkrantz, Sr., UVM 855 11.3
Jesyka Burks-Wiley, Sr., BU 839 15.4
May Kotsopoulos, Jr., UVM 826 16.0
Carlee Cassidy, Jr., UMBC 751 22.7
Marylynne Schaefer, Sr., UH 732 7.4
Erica Beverly, Jr., UH 727 8.6
Home Court Advantage
Following last year's America East Championship and two wins so far this season, the Hartford home-court win streak has now risen to 28 games, tops in Division I women's basketball, tied with Old Dominion. The Hawks will next have the opportunity to extend the streak to 29 games when they return home from a six-game road trip and host Saint Joseph's on Saturday, December 6 at 1 p.m.