CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- University of Hartford senior center Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) and University of Vermont freshman forward Kendra Seto (Oshawa, Ontario/Eastdale, C.V.I.) each picked up their second America East women's basketball weekly award of the season. Delva, who picked up the Player of the Week honor for the fifth time in her career, and Seto each led their teams to victory during the holiday week.
Delva led the Hawks in their only game last week, a 51-44 win over Coppin State inside Chase Arena. The senior center finished with her conference-leading fifth double-double of the season, and her third straight, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Delva shot an outstanding 72.7% from the field, missing just three of her 11 shots, continuing to build upon her team and conference-leading season field-goal percentage of 61.7%. She also rejected three opponent's shots to keep up her pace of 2.1 blocks per game.
This is Delva's second Player of the Week honor this season. The senior leads America East in rebounding, with 8.9 per game, and is sixth in scoring, with 14.5 points per game.
Seto scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds, one shy of a double-double, to help Vermont earn a 66-57 victory at Providence last Monday. In addition, the rookie recorded an assist and two steals, and shot 50% (7-for-14) from the field and perfect (2-for-2) from the foul line.
This is Seto's second Rookie of the Week award this season. She is the third-leading scorer this year for the Catamounts with 10.7 points per game and tied as the leading rebounder at 5.7 rebounds per game, ranking 16th and 14th, respectively, in the league.
Honor Roll
The best of the rest last week....
Felicia Johnson, Albany, So., G
17 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 46.2 FG%
Jill McDonald, New Hampshire, Jr., C
18 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 blocks, 58.3 FG%
May Kotsopoulos, Vermont, Sr., G
18 points, 5 rebounds, 3-for-4 3FG
Kirsten Jeter, Stony Brook, Jr., F
13 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.0 spg, 88.9 FT%
Fast Start
The conference currently owns a 39-51 (.433) record in non-conference action against some of the toughest competition in the country. The last time America East finished with a non-conference record higher than .500 was during the 2005-06 when the league finished with a 66-50 record (.569).
America East In The RPI Report
This week's edition of Collegiate Basketball News' RPI Report ranks America East 12th among 33 Division conferences, up one spot from a week ago. In comparison, the league ranked 21st a year ago. The improvement can be heavily attributed to the league's strength of schedule, which ranks eighth-toughest in the country. Only three other non-FBS conferences ranked higher than America East: Atlantic-10 (7th), Colonial (9th), and Missouri Valley (10th). America East teams have a combined 9-8 record against those three leagues. The highest the conference has been ranked in the final RPI is 11th in 2005-06. Last season when the league tied a record with three teams in the postseason, America East finished with an RPI rank of 24.
The Teams In The RPI Report
Vermont (23) and Hartford (32) are ranked in the RPI Report's top 100. They are followed by Boston University (143), Binghamton (200) and New Hampshire (201) as the conference's top five teams in the rankings. Albany made the largest leap over the past week, jumping from 240 to 213 after beginning the season at 299. In 2005-06, the league had three teams - Hartford, Stony Brook and Boston U. - complete the season in the top-100.
Poll Position
Both Vermont and Hartford received votes in the latest USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Top-25 Poll released on December 21. The Hawks received eight votes, while the Catamounts earned two votes. Both teams have been receiving recognition throughout the regular season, while Hartford also received votes in the preseason poll.
Against The Best
To get into postseason tournaments - and then succeed in them - you must compete against the best teams. Over a third of the league's non-conference games this year (36 of 90) have been against teams which qualified for the NCAA or WNIT postseason tournaments last season. Below is how the league has fared against those teams.
vs. NCAA Teams 5-14 (.263)
->wins over Dartmouth (x2), Temple, Sacred Heart, Louisville
vs. WNIT Teams 4-13 (.235)
->wins over Central Conn., Harvard, Boston College, Coppin St
vs. All Postseason Teams 9-27 (.250)
Star Tracker
Throughout the season, we will track the statistics of the five players named to the preseason all-conference team by the coaches.
Player, Team Key Stats
E. Beverly, UH 9 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg
C. Pilypaitis, UVM 15.3 ppg, 5.4 apg, 2.9 spg
M. Kotsopoulos, UVM 18.9 ppg, 42.6% 3fg, 1.7 spg
C. Cassidy, UMBC 11.8 ppg, 2.0 3fgm, 29.4% 3fg
D. Delva, UH 14.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 61.7% fg
TV Record
America East is 7-4 in non-conference televised games this season. Two of those losses came against top-ranked Connecticut on CPTV. The next television game will be the first of the America East Television package on January 18. The noon time match up in Vestal between Binghamton and Hartford can be seen live on New England Sports Network or Time Warner, as well as online at AmericaEast.tv.
Coaching Milestone
Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti reached her 200th career victory last week in the Hawks' win over Coppin State at Chase Arena. Rizzotti, who has spent her entire coaching career in West Hartford, has a 200-119 (.627) record and is only the second active America East coach to reach the milestone, the other being Vermont's Sharon Dawley with 238 career wins.
Clawing Away
New Hampshire senior forward Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass./St. Raphael) reached the 1,000-point plateau at home against Louisville last week during her 18-point performance. She is the second America East player to hit the mark this season and with 1,007 points and 548 rebounds, is the fourth active player to have at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. Wildcat classmate guard Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) currently sits at 930 career points and could be the next America East player to conquer the career points milestone. Simpson is the team's fourth-highest scorer with 5.6 points per game.
Home Cookin'
Home courts have been kind to both Hartford and Albany this year. Both teams own an unblemished 5-0 mark at home this season. The Hawks have been known for their home-court success in the past, winning four America East Championships at Chase Arena in West Hartford. The Great Danes are making program history, going 5-0 at SEFCU Arena for the first time ever, the most recent win coming against Fairfield on December 23rd. Hartford puts its record to the test against Bowling Green on December 30th, while Albany waits until the new year to host Rhode Island on January 2.
Nine of a Kind
Binghamton senior guard Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) tied an all-time conference single-game record on December 7 at Bryant with nine three-pointers. The nine three's, a school record, tied former Great Dane Jen Schumacher who achieved the feat against conference foe Vermont in 2005, and was part of Carter's 35-point performance.
Raining Three's
Vermont's Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) and UMBC's Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) are both climbing up the America East record book for three-pointers made. Pilypaitis moved into fourth in conference history, eight behind the all-time leading scorer Cindy Blodgett, who finished her career with 219. Cassidy, with 198 long field-goals, moved into seventh place past former Great Dane Jen Schumacher. Cassidy and Pilypaitis, already the all-time leaders at their respective schools, are third and fourth in the league rankings this year with 2.0 and 1.9 three-pointers per game.
All-Time Three-Point Field Goals Made
1. 245, Melissa Kowalski, Northeastern, 00-04
2. 222, MaryLynne Schaefer, Hartford, 05-09
3. 219, Cindy Blodgett, Maine, 94-98
4. 211, Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 06-
5. 210, Ashley Underwood, Maine, 03-07
6. 208, Kristi Dini, Boston U., 05-09
7. 198, Carlee Cassidy, UMBC, 06-
8. 197, Jen Schumacher, Albany, 02-06
Helping Hand
Pilypaitis is also among the league's all-time elite in dishing out assists. She handed out four assists last week to bring her total to 526, currently fifth all-time. Recent Boston University graduate Christine Kinneary is the next player on the list with 554 career helpers in fourth place. Pilypaitis' 500th assist earlier this season made her the first-ever America East player to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists.
All-Time Assists
1. 759, Amy Vachon, Maine, 96-00
2. 605, Maureen DiJulia, Hartford, 94-99
3. 571, Lori Taylor, Vermont, 94-98
4. 554, Christine Kinneary, Boston U., 05-09
5. 526, Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 06-
6. 487, Cindy Blodgett, Maine, 94-98
7. 475, Andrea Higgins, Boston U., 89-93
Dead River Returns
University of Maine held its 17th annual Dead River Company Classic earlier this year in what is the longest running regular season tournament hosted by an America East school. Initiated in 1993-94 under head coach Joanne Palombo-McCallie, the Dead River Company Classic is always held early in the season and attracts prominent programs such as Florida, Oklahoma State, Wisconsin, Georgia and Clemson. The Black Bears defeated Buffalo, 58-53 in the consolation game this year, while Penn State took the tournament title with 52-48 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.
Hartford Downs Ranked Foe Again
In what is becoming a common occurrance, Hartford defeated a ranked opponent when the Hawks upended #19/23 Louisville, 62-50 Tuesday night (11/17) at Chase Arena. It was the fifth straight season Hartford has defeated a team ranked nationally. Below is a breakdown of those victories.
November 17, 2009 62-50, #19/23 Louisville
November 21, 2008 53-51, #5/6 Duke
December 22, 2007 54-51, #23 Michigan State
December 2, 2006 60-43, #23/22 BYU
March 19, 2006 64-58, #23 Temple
Returning Champs Are Back At It
Eight months removed from their America East Championship in March, Vermont is back to doing what they've been doing best - winning. The Catamounts opened the season winning the tournament title at the Sheraton Raleigh Wolfpack Invitational hosted by NC State. UVM beat the MAC's Western Michigan by a 79-65 score Friday night (11/13), then beat host NC State, 52-47, on Saturday night (11/14). Senior guards May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) and Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) were both named to the all-tournament team, with Kotsopoulos earning MVP honors.
Back In The Game
The 2008 Rookie of the Year Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) of University of New Hampshire is back for her sophomore season after a season-long hiatus due to injury. Out to prove that the time away from the court won't cause a sophomore slump, the 5-foot-11 forward powered the Wildcats to a season-opening win over St. Joseph's with 21 points, nine rebounds and two assists. As a rookie she averaged 10 points, 6.2 rebounds, two assists and two steals per game.
Class Act
Vermont's May Kotsopoulos, a business administration major with a GPA of 3.67, was named one of 30 candidates for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Women's Basketball Award. She is the two-time Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete and was the team MVP for the America East champion Catamounts. Kotosopoulos is the second straight Catamount to be selected as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Women's Basketball Award. Former standout Amy Rosenkrantz '09 earned the honor last season.
Wooden Award
University of Hartford's Erica Beverly (Bridgeport, Conn./Kolbe Cathedral) was named a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, the most prestigious award in college basketball. Beverly was one of 31 candidates announced over the summer. These players and others who excel throughout the season will be evaluated and considered for December’s midseason list and the official ballot released in March. She finished her junior year averaging 11.1 ppg and led the team at 7.2 rpg, while being named to the America East All-Conference First Team and to the All-Defensive Team. She also led the team in blocked shots with 61, on the way becoming the school’s all-time shot blocker. Beverly also finished second on the team with 68 assists.
Good Things Come In TV Packages
During the regular season, America East, in partnership with ESPN Regional Television, will produce 14 games, which will be distributed among regional sports networks and local carriers. Eric Frede returns as the play-by-play announcer for America East basketball. Frank Sullivan, who coached in the ranks for 33 years, returns for his third season as men’s basketball color analyst. Leah Secondo, a veteran of America East television productions, is the color analyst for women’s basketball games.
The conference television slate begins Jan. 2 when Stony Brook battles Boston University on MSG and NESN at Case Gym, site of last year’s four-overtime thriller between the two schools. In women’s action, Vermont will host Hartford on Jan. 26 on NESN in a rematch of a 2009 semifinal game.
Both America East Championship games will be aired live on Saturday, March 13. The men’s title bout will take place at 12 p.m. on ESPN2, marking the 23rd straight year the conference championship has been nationally televised. The women’s championship contest will be televised on Comcast Sports Net at 8 p.m. All four semifinal contests will be aired regionally on Sunday, March 7 from Hartford’s Chase Arena, site of the 2010 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Newman's Own.
As result of a partnership with Pack Network, each of the conference-produced games will also be streamed and available for free at AmericaEast.tv, the league’s new home for live webcasts. First-round and quarterfinal action from the America East Men’s & Women’s Championship will also be aired on the new site.
Coming To A TV Near You
America East will produce four episodes of America East On Campus, a 30-minute magazine show devoted to showcasing the conference’s best and brightest student-athletes. The fifth-year show, which will air on regional sports networks including NESN beginning in January, is hosted by Frede, who produces the show along with his Cod Rock Media Productions partner, Dan Hannigan.
A Return To Familiar Ground
For the first time in the league’s history, the 2010 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championships will be held in a combined tournament format at the University of Hartford’s 3,508-seat Chase Arena in West Hartford, Conn. March 4-7, 2010. The first, quarterfinal and semifinal rounds for both the men and women will be held at the combined tournament, while the title games will both be held the following weekend at the site of highest seeds remaining.
Both first round games will be held Thursday, March 4, while the women’s quarterfinals will follow on Friday, March 5. The men’s quarterfinals will be scheduled for Saturday, March 6 and both the men’s and women’s semifinal tilts will take place Sunday, March 7. The highest seeds remaining in both the men’s and women’s tournament will host the championship games on Saturday, March 13.
Newman's Own Signs Title Sponsorship
The America East Conference, the University of Hartford and Newman's Own, Inc. announced at this year's Media Day that Newman's Own, Inc. will serve as the title sponsor of the 2010 America East Men's and Women's Basketball Championship. The Championship trio of America East, University of Hartford and Newman's Own, Inc. will announce a plan later this year that will further cultivate the principles of community service, education and leadership among students from the nine conference campuses.
ALBANY GREAT DANES (6-4, 0-0 AE)
UAlbany improved to a perfect 5-0 at SEFCU Arena for the first time in program history and matched its best 10-game start as a Division I program by defeating Fairfield, 63-52, on Wednesday, Dec. 23 … Felicia Johnson (Newport News, Va./Woodside) netted a career-high 17 points, while Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) added a career-best 16 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks … UAlbany shot a season-best 44.2 percent (23-for-52) from the field, while Fairfield was held to a season-low 31.3 percent shooting (21-for-67) from the floor … The Great Danes lead the league in several defensive categories, including scoring defense (56.5 ppg), steals (10.9 pg) turnover margin (+2.70) and three-point field goal percentage defense (.241) … The team also ranks second in field goal percentage defense (.357) …Charity Iromuanya (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast) averages a conference-best 3.0 steals per game, while Forster’s 7.3 rebounds per contest and .464 field goal percentage each rank first among America East freshmen … The newcomers, which were the top-ranked America East recruiting class in All-Star Girls Report, account for 31.9 of the team’s 58.8 points per game … UAlbany will travel to face undefeated Nebraska, ranked 14th in the most recent Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today national polls, on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at 4 p.m. Eastern … Afterwards, the Great Danes will look to continue their historic start at home when Rhode Island visits SEFCU Arena on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 2 p.m.
BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (2-8, 0-0 AE)
Binghamton heads to the Fordham Holiday Classic, where it will take part in an in-season tournament for the first time since the 2006 Florida Atlantic Tip-Off Classic. The Bearcats went 1-1 in that tournament and Rebecka Lindgren was named the tournament MVP. The last in-season tournament title won by the Bearcats was the 2003 Binghamton/Time Warner Classic. The Bearcats have won three in-season tournament titles since moving up to the NCAA Division I level prior to the 2001-02 season … Senior guard Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) is 15th all-time in program history with 905 career points. She is 13 points away from tying Jen Gaeta (1992-94) for 14th place all time with 918. Gaeta, who is now Jen Wegmann, is a color commentator for Time Warner Sports during its coverage of men’s and women’s home basketball games.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (3-6, 0-0 AE)
The Boston University women’s basketball team is in the midst of a 16-day break and will return to the floor on Dec. 28 when it heads to Philadelphia, Pa., for the Saint Joseph's Hawk Classic. It will face South Carolina on the first day of the tourney and tip-off is slated for 4 p.m. Last time Boston U. was on the court, it rounded out a tough three-game road stretch of the Ivy League as it dropped a close 61-57 contest at Yale on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Freshman Caitlynn Moran led the way with 18 points, backed by a strong performance from the charity stripe, where she netted nine made free throws. On Sunday, the Terriers hosted Marist – their sixth top-100 opponent of the season, and kept the game close, however, the Red Foxes pulled away for an 81-73 decision. In that game, three Terriers reached double figures, led by Moran’s 20-point performance. Classmate Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) put together a strong performance with 18 points, six rebounds, five assists, five blocks and two steals.
HARTFORD HAWKS (8-3, 0-0 AE)
The Hawks scored a seven-point victory in their only action last week over the Coppin State Eagles to remain a perfect 5-0 at Chase Arena in 2009-10 … Despite scoring just six points from the field in the second half, the Hawks defense and free throw shooting led to Hartford’s bounce-back victory after a loss the week prior to Marist … Hartford was led by senior forward/center Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) who finished with her fifth double double of the season, and third-straight, with 16 points and 11 rebounds … Leading the team in rebounding was rookie Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) who finished with a game-high 14 boards … Doherty’s 14 rebounds is just the third time this season a Hawk has finished with 14 or more rebounds and it doubles the rookie’s previous high of seven against Louisville … Despite the Hawks shooting struggles, Delva finished the game missing just three of her 11 attempts for a .727 field goal percentage, continuing to build on her team and conference-leading season field goal percentage (currently .617, 66-107) … The Hawks will close out the non-conference portion of their schedule with a home game against the Bowling Green Falcons on Wednesday at 7 p.m. … Hartford will be looking to exact revenge from a 52-56 loss in Ohio last year … The Hawks will also open up conference play before the week is over, welcoming the Stony Brook Seawolves to West Hartford just after the New Year on January 2 for a 4 p.m. tip.
MAINE BLACK BEARS (2-7, 0-0 AE)
Maine fell to #7 Duke, 75-34, on a special night where it honored former head coach Joanne P. Mcallie… The Black Bears hosted a crowd of 3,717… The largest since a 2004 home game against Vermont… Sophomore Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y./Churchville-Chili) led the Black Bears with seven points off the bench. Williams recorded the most minutes, 26, of any non-starter… Sophomore Samantha Wheeler (Derry, N.H./Timberlane Regional) was the America East Player of the Game, scoring six points and leading the team with six boards. Wheeler also applied her trademark defense and tallied a block against a taller Joy Cheek.
UMBC RETRIEVERS (4-6, 0-0 AE)
UMBC dropped its fourth straight game, falling at No. 21 West Virginia on Dec. 22… Sophomore guard Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn./Heritage) led the Retrievers with 11 points, while senior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) tallied 10… Junior forward Meghan Colabella (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) added eight points and a team-high eight rebounds… The Retrievers went without a 3-point field goal for the first time since Feb. 5, 2005, a streak of 140 games… UMBC is the only team in the America East with five players ranking among the league’s top 30 scoring leaders, led by sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville), who ranks second with 16.5 ppg… Kurowski is also the conference’s second-leading rebounder at 8.3 rpg… She is the only player in the America East to rank in the top 10 in points, rebounds and assists… Cassidy is UMBC’s fourth all-time leading scorer with 1,346 career points… The Retrievers will close out 2009 at the Fordham Holiday Classic, where they will take on East Carolina on Dec. 28 and the host Rams on Dec. 29.
NEW HAMPSHIRE (4-6, 0-0 AE)
Last time out the University of New Hampshire women’s basketball team fell to the University of Louisville 76-67 on Dec. 22 at Lundholm Gymnasium … UNH outscored Louisville 36-29 in the first frame, outshooting the Cardinals .405 to .367 in the stanza ... Louisville picked up the pace in the second half, shooting a .593 clip from the floor, including a .500 mark from beyond the arc on its way to outscoring the 'Cats 47-31 in the frame ... Three Wildcats scored in double-figures for the fourth time this season in the contest ... Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) scored 18 points and pulled down five rebounds in the game, becoming just the eleventh Wildcat to score over 1,000 points and compile 500 rebounds in program history. For her career she has compiled 1,007 points and 548 rebounds ... For Williams, it was the 13th time in the last 16 games dating back to last year she has scored in double-figures ... Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) tallied career highs in points (18), rebounds (9) and blocks (5) ... She has tallied a block in each of the last six games ... Lauren Wells (West Chester, (Pa.) tallied 12 points, one shy of her career high, for the second time this season ... Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) notched a three-pointer field goal against the Cardinals, giving her 173 3-point field goals for her career, which is just six away from UNH’s all-time career mark of 179 ... Simpson scored 5 points in the contest, giving her 56 on the young the season. She now has 930 points for her career, which ranks 15th all-time in program history ... The Wildcats currently have three players averaging in double-figure scoring, with Williams leading the way with 12.8 points per game, while Beliveau and McDonald are averaging 12.6 and 11.7 points per game ... The last time at least three Wildcats ended the season averaging double-figures in scoring was the 2007-08 campaign, when Simpson averaged 11.3 points, Ashley Cerniglia averaged 10.8 points, Williams averaged 10.5 points and Beliveau averaged 10.0 points per game ... Simpson tallied eight assists for the second time this season in the game, giving her the second-best assist total in the conference with 57 through the first 10 games this year.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (2-9, 0-0 AE)
Stony Brook lost both of its contests this week, dropping a close game to Hofstra, 67-61, before losing to Maryland 76-44… For the second-straight game SBU fell just short of completing a double-digit comeback against Hofstra… The Seawolves trailed by 15 early on in the game, but behind 14 points from freshman Sam Landers and junior Kirsten Jeter they pulled within three with ten seconds to go… Senior Crystal Rushin played well against the Pride, recording 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals… In the game against Maryland, SBU kept it close early as they trailed by just three with 7:37 remaining in the first half… Once again Landers and Jeter tied for the game-high in points with 12… Freshman Dani Klupenger came off the bench to post a career best 10 points while knocking down two threes… SBU will wrap-up its Terrapin Classic play on Monday when it faces UNC-Wilmington… The Seawolves will then open America East Conference play at Hartford.
VERMONT CATAMOUNTS (8-2, 0-0 AE)
Vermont moved to 8-2 with a 66-57 victory at Providence in the lone game of the week for the Catamounts. UVM has earned votes in the USA Today/ESPN Top-25 Coaches Poll for the sixth straight week. Senior May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) led all scorers with 18 points and five rebounds in UVM's win at Providence. She was 3-for-4 from three-point range and 5-for-5 from the line. Freshman Kendra Seto (Oshawa, Ontario/Eastdale C.V.I.) added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Catamounts. Vermont went 17-for-21 from the foul line and dominated the boards against a much bigger Providence team, out-rebounding the Friars, 41-32. UVM returns to action on Dec. 29-30 at the Blue Sky Classic hosted by Dartmouth. Vermont takes on Dayton on Dec. 29 at 5 p.m. and faces URI on Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. The Catamounts also open up league play on Jan. 2 at New Hampshire (2 p.m.).