Download the complete Postseason Update here.
Upcoming Action
Women’s National Invitational Tournament
at Patrick Gymnasium (Burlington, Vt.)
Round One: Thursday, March 20
Dartmouth at Vermont, 7 p.m.
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament
at Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
First Round: Saturday, March 22
#7 Syracuse vs. #10 Hartford, 1:30 p.m. (CST)/2:30 p.m. (EST) (ESPN2)
NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament
at Pete Maravich Assembly Center (Baton Rouge, La.)
Second Round: Monday, March 24
#2 Texas A&M/#15 Texas-San Antonio vs. #7 Syracuse/#10 Hartford, 7 p.m. (CST)/8 p.m. (EST) (ESPN2)
Women’s National Invitational Tournament
at Conte Forum (Chestnut Hill, Mass.)
Round Two: Monday, March 24
Dartmouth/Vermont at Boston College, 7 p.m.
Postseason Breakdown
Title Reclaimed
After being upset in last year’s title game by the six seed, junior guard Lisa Etienne lifted the University of Hartford women’s basketball team to its third America East Women’s Basketball Championship title in four years with a career-high 19 points against Boston University at Chase Family Arena on Sunday, March 16. With the 61-45 victory over the Terriers, the Hawks received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Back-to-Back
With its win over Bucknell in the Postseason WNIT last year and an upset win over Temple in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, Hartford became the first America East team to win postseason games in consecutive seasons.
Ten's the Seed
Hartford’s ten seed in the 2008 NCAA Tournament matches the best seeding in the tournament by an America East team since the bracket expanded to 64 teams. Maine earned a ten seed in 1999 and defeated No. 7 Stanford before falling to No. 2 Old Dominion. When the bracket still included 48 teams, Vermont captured a ninth-seeded spot in 1992 and an eight seed in 1993.
Crowned at the Top
Traditionally, gaining a top seed in the America East Championship has proven important, as 22 of the 24 championships have now been won by one of the top-three seeds, with the No. 1 seed winning 15. The No. 1 seed has posted a 51-7 (.879) record in championship play, advancing to the championship game 20 of 23 times (note: there was no No. 1 seed in 1994). Hartford continued that trend by winning the 2008 America East Championship as the top seed.
Hawks vs. Terriers x 3
Hartford and Boston University have now met in the title game of the America East Championship three out of the last four years, with 2007 being the only exception. The Hawks won all three match-ups.
Defense Wins Championships
Part of Hartford’s success over the past few seasons can be attributed to their overall team defense. Last year, the Hawks finished the season with the fourth-stingiest defense in the nation allowing just 53.2 ppg. In 2007-08, Hartford is ninth in all of Division I with a 53.5 ppg scoring defense. Hartford has also kept its opponents to a 36.4% field goal percentage this season, 23rd-best in the country.
Building Relationships
The Hartford Hawks and the Syracuse Orange will begin a new all-time series during the NCAA Tournament having never faced each other prior to this match-up. Hartford went 2-1 against the Big East this season, while Syracuse did not play an America East team in 2007-08.
Back on their Feet
Vermont received the America East automatic bid to the Postseason WNIT by virtue of its second-place finish in the regular season standings. The Catamounts were the highest-finishing squad in the league to not receive an invitation to the NCAA Championship. This is the Catamounts’ first postseason appearance since 2002, also a WNIT bid.
Home Sweet Home for the Cats
The confines of Patrick Gymnasium have been kind to the Vermont Catamounts this season and in past NIT appearances. UVM went 13-1 on its home court in 2007-08, and is 2-0 all-time in NIT action in the gym. Both of those NIT wins came in 2002.
NIT Sweethearts
Vermont has had more success (2-1) in the Postseason NIT than any other America East team. The Catamounts have made just one previous appearance, in 2002, but advanced all the way through to the Quarterfinals. On the way, Vermont defeated Holy Cross and St. Joseph’s (Pa.) before falling to Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. Hartford’s first round win last season is the only other team from the conference to record a victory in the postseason tournament.
Take Me Home
This is the second straight year in that an America East team has hosted a Postseason WNIT game. Vermont will host Dartmouth at Patrick Gym, while Hartford hosted Bucknell at Chase Family Arena in 2007.
Next Door Foes
With their campuses in close proximity to one another in neigboring states, Vermont and Dartmouth have a fairly lengthy history. The Big Green has the slight 11-12 advantage, however these squads have not met since 2002.
Mentor Alert
Vermont head coach Sharon Dawley will look over to the Dartmouth bench on Thursday and see a familiar face. Dawley was both an assistant and associate head coach at Dartmouth from 1993-2003 under Chris Wieglus, who still guides the Big Green from the sidelines.
A Champion at Every Level
Hartford’s ninth-year head coach Jen Rizzotti is no stranger to success, having won championships at every level she has competed at. Most notably, Rizzotti was a member of University of Connecticut’s 1994-95 35-0 National Championship team, where she earned first-team All-America honors. But her championships did not end there, as she was a member of the WNBA champion Houston Comets in 1999. As she has moved on to the coaching ranks, her knack for winning championships led her to Hartford, where she coached the team to the University’s first-ever women’s basketball conference title in 2002, back-to-back titles in 2005 and 2006, and now the 2008 crown. Rizzotti’s championship pedigree did not begin in college, however, as she won two state championships while at New Fairfield (Conn.) High School. This season Rizzotti has guided the Hawks to their fourth straight 20-win season and third-consecutive regular-season crown.
Darlin' Dawley
With a win over Harvard earlier this season, Vermont head coach Sharon Dawley earned her 200th career coaching win. Under fifth-year coach Dawley, the Catamounts have posted 14 or more wins in four of the last five years, including the first 20+ win season in 2007-08. The Catamounts, however, have gotten bounced from the tournament in the semifinals in each of the last two years.
You Can Feel Good About Hood
The Hartford Hawks can feel pretty good in the postseason when senior forward Danielle Hood (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y./Walter Panas) is on the floor. The senior has averaged 13.1 ppg in 12 career conference tournament games, and in last year's final, she drained 17 points. In the process she has led the Hawks to three straight regular season crowns and three conference championships. In five career NCAA and NIT games, Hood has posted 11.8 ppg.
Case of the Pilypaitis
Vermont's sophomore guard from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, Courtnay Pilypaitis (St. Peter) became just the fifth sophomore in league history to earn the top honor when she earned the 2008 Player of the Year award. Among the league's top-ten leaders in 11 of 13 statistical categories, her all-around consistent play has not gone unnoticed.
Etienne's Moment
Hartford junior guard Lisa Etienne (Norwalk, Conn./Brien McMahon/Penn State) earned the 2008 Championship’s Most Outstanding Player for her part in leading the Hawks to their fourth title. For the tournament, she averaged 11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 5.3 apg and 2.7 spg while shooting 41.9% from the field and 80% from the free-throw line. She also set a new career high in the championship final when she netted 19 points, including 10 in the first 13 minutes. This is the second straight year that a player unrecognized on the all-conference teams has gone on to garner MOP honors in the tournament (2007-Amanda Robinson, UMBC).
Cheers for 20
For only the second time in league history, three America East women’s teams recorded at least 20 wins. Hartford entering the postseason has 27 wins, while Vermont sits at 23 hoping to add more. Boston University, whose season ended in the conference championship final, finished with 20 victories. Three teams (Vermont, Maine, Delaware) also hit the 20-win watermark in 1999-2000.
Top Cats
The Catamounts have three players among the top-ten scorers in the conference this season, the only team in the league able to boast that feat. Courtnay Pilypaitis (16.7 ppg), Amy Rosenkrantz (13.2) and May Kotsopoulos (12.8) are all cruising in double-digits.