CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- In case they didn't make their cases clear last week when they took home America East Player and Rookie of the Week accolades, University of Vermont's Courtnay Pilypaitis
(Ottawa, Ontario/St.
Peter) and Boston University's Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross)
topped their previous performances to receive back-to-back honors this week. Pilypaitis registered a triple-double, while Alford set yet another career high in scoring to lead both of their teams to 2-0 league marks for the period ending January 10.
The highlight of Pilypaitis' week came in Sunday's game against Albany when the senior guard completed her third career triple-double with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists on 4-for-5 field-goal shooting and 3-for-3 three-point shooting. Her weekly average came out to nearly a triple-double as Pilypaitis finished with 14 ppg, 11 rpg, 5.6 apg, 2.0 spg and 1.0 bpg. Pilypaitis shot 51.7 percent (15-for-29) for the week, including 72.7 percent (7-for-8) from long distance.
To start the week, Pilypaitis chipped in eight points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals against No. 12 Nebraska at home. Pilypaitis added 22 points, nine rebounds, four assists, three steals and three blocks in a league victory over Maine. Against the Black Bears, she went 4-for-5 from three-point range to move into second place among the all-time three-point field goals leaders in America East history (227 career). This is Pilypaitis' second consective weekly honor and the third this season. It is the 10th weekly award of her career.
The rookie averaged 19.0 points last week in two games, both America East road victories. Alford set a career high of 26 points at Maine on Tuesday, draining four treys, another career high. At Binghamton on Thursday, she went 8-for-9 from the free-throw line en route to a 12-point performance, her 10th consecutive double-digit points performance.
For the week, Alford also averaged 5.5 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 5.5 steals. She shot 33 percent from the field, 40 percent from long-range and 87.5 percent from the charity stripe. This is also Alford's second straight weekly accolade. It is the third time in her young career she has been recognized by the conference office.
Honor Roll
The best of the rest last week....
Erica Beverly, Sr., F, Hartford
13.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 2.0 spg, 2.5 bpg
Samantha Wheeler, So., F, Maine
12.3 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 56% FG
Carlee Cassidy, Sr., G, UMBC
20.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.5 spg
Candace Williams, Sr., F, New Hampshire
15.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 85.7% FT
Fast Start
With just one non-league tilt remaining (UNH at Dartmouth; 1/19), the conference currently owns a 51-61 (.455) record in non-conference action against some of the toughest competition in the country. It is the highest non-conference winning percentage since the 2006-07 season when the league finished at 56-60 (.483).
America East In The RPI Report
This week's edition of Collegiate Basketball News' RPI Report ranks America East 12th among 33 Division conferences, equal with last week's position. In comparison, the league ranked 20th 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: Colonial (8th), Atlantic-10 (9th) and Missouri Valley (11th). America East teams have a combined 14-11 record against those three leagues, including an 11-6 mark against the A-10. 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 (19) and Hartford (30) are ranked in the RPI Report's top 50. Eight of the nine teams are ranked higher in this week's RPI than where they finished in last season's final ranking. The largest leap is UMBC, who finished 2008-09 244th and is now rated 133: a jump of 111 spots. Albany (319/228), Vermont (109/19), Maine (323/238) and New Hampshire (288/205) have all also seen improvements of at least 83 places.
Poll Position
Both Vermont and Hartford have been receiving votes in the national polls for the entire regular season to date. In the most recent polls, both are receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll, while Vermont has 24 votes in today's AP Top 25. In addition to the regular season, Hartford also received recognition in the national preseason coaches' 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 (44 of 112) 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 5-15 (.250)
->wins over Dartmouth (x2), Temple, Sacred Heart, Louisville
vs. WNIT Teams 7-17 (.292)
->wins over Central Conn., Harvard, Boston College, Coppin State, Dayton, Bowling Green, Canisius
vs. All Postseason Teams 12-32 (.273)
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 9.6 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.5 bpg
C. Pilypaitis, UVM 15.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 5.0 apg
M. Kotsopoulos, UVM 18.3 ppg, 44% FG, 1.7 spg
C. Cassidy, UMBC 14.1 ppg, 2.4 3FGM, 1.9 apg
D. Delva, UH 14.4 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 64.9% FG
Triple The Delight
Vermont's Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) completed her third career triple double on Sunday against Albany to give her one in each of her last three seasons. Her performance of 12 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists was the 17th triple-double in Division I this season, and her rebounds total was the highest of any of the triple-double efforts this season. All three of her feats have been of the points, rebounds, assists variety.
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 first women's game of the America East Television package on January 18 pits Binghamton and Hartford at the Events Center and can be seen live on New England Sports Network or Time Warner, as well as online at AmericaEast.tv.
Coaching Milestones
Vermont Head Coach Sharon Dawley reached a career mark with her team's win over Maine on January 7. Dawley earned her 250th career coaching win and now enters this week with a career record of 251-144 (.635) over 16 seasons. Earlier this season, Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti reached her 200th career victory on December 21 in the Hawks' win over Coppin State at Chase Arena. Rizzotti, who has spent her entire coaching career in West Hartford, has a 204-119 (.632) record. Boston University's Kelly Greenberg (183 wins) and UMBC's Phil Stern (181) are next up to reach the 200-win mark.
Clawing Away
New Hampshire senior forward Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass./St. Raphael) reached the 1,000-point plateau at home against Louisville on December 22 during her 18-point performance. She is the second America East player to hit the mark this season and with 1,068 points and 585 rebounds, is the fourth active player to have at least 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds. Binghamton's Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) currently sits at 954 career points and could be the next America East player to conquer the career points milestone. Nipping at her heels is another Wildcat, Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn./Waterford), with 951 and Boston University's Aly Hinton (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) with 942. Hartford center Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) was the first America East player to make the milestone this season, doing so on November 28 at home against Temple.
Home Cookin'
Home courts have been kind to both Hartford and Albany this year. The Hawks own an unblemished 7-0 mark at home this season, while the Great Danes are 5-1. 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 made program history, going 5-0 at SEFCU Arena for the first time in its Division I history, before dropping their first home game to Rhode Island. Hartford will have to wait until January 18th to put its record to the test against Maine, while Albany will try to improve its record at SEFCU when it hosts UMBC on January 13.
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 leap-frogged two former players to land into second place in conference history with 227 career tryes made. Cassidy, with 214 long field-goals, moved into fifth place, just four behind current Maine Head Coach Cindy Blodgett who finished with 219. Cassidy and Pilypaitis, already the all-time leaders at their respective schools, are second and third in the league rankings this year with 2.4 and 2.2 three-pointers per game.
All-Time Three-Point Field Goals Made
1. 245, Melissa Kowalski, Northeastern, 00-04
2. 227, Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 06-
3. 222, MaryLynne Schaefer, Hartford, 05-09
4. 219, Cindy Blodgett, Maine, 94-98
5. 214, Carlee Cassidy, UMBC, 06-
6. 210, Ashley Underwood, Maine, 03-07
7. 208, Kristi Dini, Boston U., 05-09
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 17 assists last week to bring her total to 552, 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. 552, Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 06-
6. 487, Cindy Blodgett, Maine, 94-98
7. 475, Andrea Higgins, Boston U., 89-93
ALBANY GREAT DANES (7-7, 0-1 AE)
UAlbany wrapped up its non-conference slate with a 64-55 road victory over Brown to post its best 13-game record as a Division I program before dropping its America East Conference opener to Vermont by a 92-47 score... Sophomore transfer Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne/Daytona State), who missed the first eight contests with a heel injury, posted career highs in each game… The guard had six points and two steals in the win over Brown as well as 10 points and five rebounds in the loss to Vermont… She also became the sixth Great Dane to lead the team in scoring this season against the Catamounts… Sophomore Felicia Johnson (Newport News, Va./Woodside) is currently the team’s top scorer (9.8 ppg)… The point guard also ranks sixth in the conference in assists (3.4 pg) and fifth with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.2… UAlbany has used three freshmen and a sophomore in its starting lineup over the past three games… The newcomers, who are members of the top-ranked America East recruiting class by All-Star Girls Report, have accounted for 32.4 of the team’s 57.1 points per contest… Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington), Keyana Williams (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) and Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) are the league’s top three freshmen in rebounds per game… UAlbany will celebrate Commitment to Education Day when it hosts UMBC on Wednesday, Jan. 13 at 12 p.m… The Great Danes close out the week when they visit Boston University on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 2 p.m.
BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (5-10, 1-1 AE)
Binghamton has won two of its past three games … Sophomore forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audentes School) has recorded two consecutive double-doubles and has three in the last five games. During that stretch, she has averaged 12.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. Rebane tied a career high with 15 rebounds against Boston on Jan. 7… Senior guard Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) has 954 career points heading into the week. She is 46 points away from becoming the 12th player in school history and fifth in the program’s nine-year Division I history, to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career… In her last 11 games, junior guard Jackie Ward (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford) has reached double figures in scoring 10 times… Binghamton’s game against Hartford on Jan. 16 will be aired live on NESN and Time Warner starting at noon… The Bearcats had five players reach double figures in scoring against Stony Brook on Jan. 9, marking the first time that has happened since they defeated UMBC 83-66 on Feb. 16, 2008.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (6-8, 2-0 AE)
The Boston University women's basketball team opened its conference slate in a familiar fashion as it won its first two league games in 2010. The Terriers opened the week with a victory at Maine, as freshman Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) netted a career-high 26 points, which included four treys and a 6-for-7 free-throw showing. Senior Aly Hinton (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) contributed 15 points and sophomore Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen's) added 12. Two days later, the Terriers traveled to Binghamton, where they defeated the Bearcats, 68-57. In that game, Young surpassed 20 points for the second time this season, as she went 7-for-13 from the field and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. Boston U. will look to extend its winning streak to three when it heads to Stony Brook on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tip-off, before hosting its first conference opponent of 2010 at Case Gym when Albany comes to town on Saturday at 2 p.m.
HARTFORD HAWKS (12-3, 3-0 AE)
The Hawks picked up a pair of victories in their first two conference road games of the season, defeating UMBC, 69-66, in a mid-week match up and then soaring past the New Hampshire Wildcats, 72-45, in a Saturday afternoon matinee… Against the Retrievers, the Hawks finished with four players in double figures, led by senior Diana Delva who finished with 17 points, missing just two of her seven field-goal attempts, while finishing 7-of-9 from the free throw line… She also added a team best seven rebounds… Against the Wildcats, the Hawks opened up a huge first-half lead, using a 17-0 run and never looked back after taking a 34-11 advantage into the locker room at the break … Senior Erica Beverly led the Hawks against New Hampshire with a season-best 17 points… She was joined in double figures by fellow classmate Jenna Peterson who finished with 11 points, a career high, while going a perfect 4-of-4 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc… Beverly finished the week leading the Hawks, putting up double figures in both games, finished with 10 against UMBC, averaging 13.5 ppg… Hartford will take on the Binghamton Bearcats, in their third-straight conference road game, in the only game of the week… The Hawks and Bearcats are set to tangle on Saturday, January 16 at 12 p.m. on NESN.
MAINE BLACK BEARS (4-11, 0-3 AE)
Maine had a tough opening week of America East play and will face New Hampshire Tuesday… Maine and New Hampshire will meet for the 69th time Tuesday… The series is the second oldest for the Black Bears… Sophomore Samantha Wheeler and senior Kristin Baker averaged double-digit scoring for the three contests last week… Wheeler is putting up 12.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per America East contest, while Baker averages 10.3 points and 3.7 assists per game… Senior Katia Bratishko has improved both her rebounding and scoring productions for conference play… She is averaging 8.7 points and 5.3 rebounds in America East play… Her season average is 5.7 points and 4.1 rebounds.
UMBC RETRIEVERS (7-8, 1-1 AE)
UMBC split its first two America East Conference games last week… The Retrievers dropped a 69-66 heartbreaker at home to Hartford on Wednesday… UMBC fought back from a 16-point first-half deficit and took a lead in the second period, but a potential game-tying three-pointer by senior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) hit the rim at the buzzer… Cassidy led all scorers with 21 points and made three triples… Sophomore center Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) tied her season high with 12 points and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line after entering the game just 6-of-20 on the season… Cassidy posted her first career double-double with 19 points and a career-high 11 rebounds to lead UMBC to its first America East victory of the season, 61-52 at Maine on Sunday… It was the Retrievers’ fourth straight win over the Black Bears after taking just one of the first nine meetings between the two teams… Sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) tallied 17 points and sophomore forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) added 15… The trio combined to score 29 of UMBC’s 31 first-half points… They were 21-for-40 in the game and made all seven of UMBC’s three’s, while the rest of the team was just 2-for-13… It was Brown’s first double-digit scoring performance since Dec. 12… She made six-of-11 attempts from the floor, including three triples… Cassidy now has 214 three-pointers in her career, a UMBC record and fifth-most ever by an America East player… She also ranks 32nd in league history with 1,439 points, second-most ever at UMBC… The Retrievers next travel to America East rival Albany for a Wednesday matinee before returning home to host league foe New Hampshire on Saturday.
NEW HAMPSHIRE (5-10, 0-3 AE)
Last time out the University of New Hampshire women’s basketball team fell to the University of Hartford, 72-45, on Saturday afternoon at Lundholm Gymnasium… Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) and Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) scored 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the contest... Williams leads the team with an impressive 6.8 rebounds per game, which currently ranks eighth in the conference... She now has 1,068 points and 585 rebounds for her career, totals that rank 11th and ninth, respectively, all-time in program history... Senior Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) added eight points, three assists and two steals for UNH… Simpson ranks second in the conference in assists, with an average of 5.3 per game this season… Junior Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) chipped in with four points and three rebounds.... McDonald has tallied a block in 10 of the last 11 games... She currently ranks second in the conference in blocks with 34 this season, which is good for an average of 2.3 per game... She also has the third-best field-goal percentage in the conference with a .516 shooting clip… The ‘Cats rank second in the conference in blocked shots with 70 ... New Hampshire is shooting an impressive .376 clip from the floor this season, a mark that currently ranks fourth in the conference... The Wildcats currently have three players averaging in double figure scoring, with Williams leading the way with 12.6 points per game, while Beliveau and McDonald are averaging 12.1 and 10.4 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... In the game prior, the ‘Cats fell short against Stony Brook 69-57 on Wednesday night… Williams scored a team-high 17 points, while also tallying seven rebounds and a block, earning America East Player of the Game honors for New Hampshire… Sophomore Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa.) finished the night with eight points, five rebounds and a steal ... McDonald added nine points, five blocks and three boards.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (3-12, 1-2 AE)
Stony Brook picked up its first America East Conference victory this week, beating New Hampshire at home, 69-57… Junior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) led the Seawolves with a double-double, scoring 21 while grabbing 10 rebounds… Junior Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) joined Jeter in double-figures, scoring a season-best 16 on 50 percent shooting… Sophomore Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.) also scored a season-high with nine… Stony Brook connected on six three’s which were a team best for the season… SBU committed just nine turnovers against the Wildcats which was a team low for the season… The Seawolves dropped their second game of the week, 74-58, to Binghamton… SBU started the game hot, jumping out to an 11-point lead before Binghamton fought its way back into it… Senior Crystal Rushin (Valley Stream, N.Y.) scored a game-high 14 while playing a career-high 31 minutes… Horsey reached double-figures for the second time, scoring 12 points on four three pointers.... Stony Brook will host Boston University this week before taking to the road to face Maine on Saturday.
VERMONT CATAMOUNTS (13-3, 3-0 AE)
Vermont went 2-1 last week with the lone loss to No. 12 Nebraska at Patrick Gymnasium. The Huskers were the second Big 12 team to visit Burlington this year, joining Oklahoma State. Freshman Kendra Seto (Oshawa, Ontario/Eastdale C.V.I.) led the Catamounts against Nebraska with 18 points and six rebounds. She also chipped in 17 points in UVM's victory over Albany. In league play, the Catamounts cruised to back-to-back victories over Maine and Albany. Against the Black Bears, May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo Collegiate) and Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) combined for 46 points to lead Vermont. Kotsopoulos led all scorers with 24 points, while Pilypaitis chipped in 22 and was one rebound shy of a double-double with nine boards. Pilypaitis went 4-for-5 from three-point range to move into second place among the league's all-time three-point field goal leaders. Vermont has won 10 straight over the Black Bears. Vermont Head Coach Sharon Dawley picked up her 250th career win with the victory over Maine. She is 251-144 in 16 seasons as a head coach. Against Albany, Pilypaitis posted her third career triple-double and the program's third triple-double with 12 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. She matched her career high in rebounds (17) for the second time in four games. Pilypaitis shot 72.7 percent for the week from three-point range (8-11) and nearly averaged a triple-double for the week with 14 points, 11 rebounds and 5.6 assists. Junior Tonya Young (Canaan, N.H./Mascoma Valley Regional) also recorded a double-double in the win over Albany with 24 points and 10 rebounds. It was her second career double-double. Her first came at Albany a year ago with the identical numbers. Vermont scored 58 points in the first half against the Great Danes, one shy of tying the school record for most points in a half (59 vs. Boston U. on 1/18/92). UVM's 58 points were the most in a half in league play since Maine poured in 60 over Drexel in the 1997 conference championship. Kotsopoulos finished the week averaging 19.3 points and shot 50 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three-point range. Vermont is 4-2 at Patrick Gym this season and leads the country in road wins with nine. The Catamounts close out a four-game homestand hosting Binghamton on Wednesday (Jan. 13) at 7 p.m.