CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Stony Brook University junior forward Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont) and Boston University freshman guard Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross), who have both put up consistently good numbers all season long, take home the America East Player and Rookie of the Week, respectively, for the period ending January 17. Jeter snatched her first career honor, while Alford kept her handle on the award for the third consecutive week.
Jeter picked up her first career America East Player of the Week award with two solid performances last week for the Seawolves, who went 1-1. For the week, the junior forward averaged a double-double of 17 points and 11.5 rebounds as well as 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals in two conference games. Jeter was perfect from the foul line in both games and shot 40.6 percent from the floor.
In a win at Alfond Arena against Maine on Saturday night, Jeter tallied 18 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals while shooting 8-for-18 from the field. She also added a block and collected five offensive rebounds. Earlier in the week against Boston University, Jeter put together her third double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Her night also included two assists and a perfect 6-for-6 effort from the charity stripe.
For the season, the third-team all-conference selection last year is averaging 13.7 ppg and 7.2 rpg, good for seventh and fourth, respectively, in the conference. In conference play, Jeter has improved to 14.2 ppg and 9.0 rpg, good for sixth and second place, respectively.
Alford has impressed for the third straight week, and fourth time this season, with averages of 17.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in two contests last week. She extended her double-digit scoring streak to 12 games, beginning with a 22-point performance last Wednesday at Stony Brook. Against the Seawolves, Alford sunk a career-high nine field goals while shooting 52.9 percent from the floor. She also dished out five assists and swiped four steals.
Alford capped off the week with a 13-point, nine-rebound, five-assist performance at home against Albany. She also added two steals in the game. The rookie is fourth in America East with 14.7 ppg, 10th with 2.7 apg, and second with 2.8 spg.
History in the Polls
University of Vermont earned its first national ranking in 17 years when the Associated Press Division I Poll was released earlier this afternoon. The Catamounts entered the poll ranked 24th, the program's first ranking since March 15, 1993. Vermont is the only America East team to ever be ranked in any of the national polls. Hartford earned three votes in the same AP Poll. The Hawks earned nods in the ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll during the preseason and has continued to do so each week since, including the three votes it received in the most recent poll released on Tuesday, January 11. Vermont took home seven votes in the same poll.
Honor Roll
The best of the rest last week....
Amy Simpson, Sr., G, New Hampshire
18.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.5 spg, 2.0 bpg
Kristin Baker, Sr., G, Maine
13.5 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 5.0 apg, 3.0 spg
Topé Obajolu, So., C, UMBC
16.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 1.5 spg, 3.0 bpg
May Kotsopoulos, Sr., G, Vermont
22 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.0 spg
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 (25) and Hartford (32) 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 144: a jump of 100 spots. Maine (323/236), Vermont (109/25), and Albany (319/237) have all also seen improvements of at least 82 places.
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 9.5 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 2.4 bpg
C. Pilypaitis, UVM 14.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 5.2 apg
M. Kotsopoulos, UVM 18.5 ppg, 44% FG, 1.7 spg
C. Cassidy, UMBC 13.6 ppg, 2.2 3FGM, 2.1 apg
D. Delva, UH 14.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.9 bpg, 65.2% FG
Efficiency Is The Name Of The Game
Hartford senior center Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) is on a torrid shooting pace that doesn't seem to let up anytime soon. Delva ranks first in America East and second in the country in field-goal shooting percentage with a .652 mark, nearly 10 percent more efficient than the second-best percentage. She is challenging the conference single-season record of .649 set by New Hampshire's Pam Brandell during the 1996-97 season. Through 16 games, Delva is 90-for-138 from the floor while averaging 14.2 points per game.
Streaking in America East
After two more wins last week, Boston University has picked up where it left off last season and has now won 24 straight regular season conference games. Only twice in league history have there been longer such streaks. Maine won 39 straight against America East opponents over three seasons, while Vermont won 31 straight spanning four seasons.
# wins Team Started Ended
38 Maine Jan 28, 1995 Jan. 30, 1997
31 Vermont Mar 2, 1991 Jan. 20, 1994
24 Boston U. Feb. 27. 2008 present
Triple the Delight
Vermont's Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) completed her third career triple-double on Sunday, January 10 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 next televised women's game is Albany's visit to Hartford on Saturday, January 24. The game will air live on CTSN beginning at 2 p.m.
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 252-144 (.636) 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 205-119 (.633) record. Boston University's Kelly Greenberg (185 wins) and UMBC's Phil Stern (182) are next up to reach the 200-win mark. Greenberg also just picked up her 100th victory with the Terrier program on Wednesday, January 13 at Stony Brook.
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. Teammate Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn./Waterford) could become the second Wildcat to eclipse 1,000 career points as she now sits at 987 career points. Binghamton's Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) is nipping at her heels with 976 career points and Boston University's Aly Hinton (Richboro, Pa./Council Rock) has 966. 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 5-2, but started out going 5-0 for the first time in their Division I history. Hartford puts its record to the test against Maine tonight, while Albany will try to improve its record at SEFCU when it hosts New Hampshire on Friday, January 22.
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 remains in second place in conference history with 228 career treys made. Cassidy, with 216 long field-goals, also holds still in fifth place, just three 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 2.2 and 2.1 three-pointers per game.
All-Time Three-Point Field Goals Made
1. 245, Melissa Kowalski, Northeastern, 00-04
2. 228, Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 06-
3. 222, MaryLynne Schaefer, Hartford, 05-09
4. 219, Cindy Blodgett, Maine, 94-98
5. 216, 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 eight assists in just a lone game last week to bring her total to 560, fourth all-time after passing recent Boston University graduate Christine Kinneary's 554 career helpers. 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. 560, Courtnay Pilypaitis, Vermont, 06-
5. 554, Christine Kinneary, Boston U., 05-09
6. 487, Cindy Blodgett, Maine, 94-98
7. 475, Andrea Higgins, Boston U., 89-93
ALBANY GREAT DANES (7-9, 0-3 AE)
After beginning the 2009-10 campaign with its best 13-game start (7-6) as a Division I program, UAlbany ended last week on a three-game skid after dropping America East Conference games to UMBC, 62-57, and to Boston University by a 71-56 decision… The Great Danes shot 50 percent from the charity stripe in the five-point loss to the Retrievers, while the Terriers benefited from a 27-0 run in the first half to keep UAlbany winless in league play… UAlbany celebrated Commitment to Education Day in its home game versus UMBC, as 950 students from 10 elementary schools were in attendance to cheer on the Great Danes… Charity Iromuanya (Lincoln, Neb./Lincoln Northeast) accounted for 16.0 points per game in the two losses… She currently scores at a 10.3 clip and ranks third in the league with 2.8 steals per game … UAlbany has used three freshmen and four underclassmen in its starting lineup, and has been the league’s only team to have a starting five consisting of mostly freshmen… The newcomers have accounted for 31.4 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 three of the league’s top four freshmen in rebounds per game… UAlbany will visit Stony Brook on Tuesday, Jan. 19 before returning home to host New Hampshire on Friday, Jan. 22 … Both games are slated to start at 7 p.m.
BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (5-12, 1-3 AE)
Senior guard Erica Carter (Naperville, Ill./Naperville) enters the week with 976 career points. She needs 24 points to become the 12th player in school history, and fifth since the program moved up to the NCAA Division I level nine years ago, to reach the 1,000-point mark for her career. Her 19-point effort against Hartford on Saturday marked the 52nd time in her career that she has reached double figures in scoring… Sophomore point guard Andrea Holmes (Mephis, Tenn./Mitchell) netted a game-high 22 points on Saturday against Hartford, marking the seventh time in her career, and fourth time this season, that she has scored at least 20 points in a game. Holmes continues to lead the America East in assists per game (5.4)… Junior guard Jackie Ward (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford) has reached double figures in scoring 10 times in the last 13 games she has played… Binghamton currently has three players averaging double figures in scoring. Erica Carter is pumping in 12.9 points per game followed by Andrea Holmes (12.6) and Jackie Ward (11.7). The last time Binghamton had three players finish a season averaging double figures in scoring was during the 2005-06 campaign. Laine Kurpniece averaged 12.3 points per game followed by Rachel Laws (11.3) and Jen Blues (10.1).
BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (8-8, 4-0 AE)
The Boston University women's basketball remained unbeaten in league play following a two-win performance last week. The Terriers opened with a 75-61 victory at Stony Brook and they followed it up with a 71-56 win vs. Albany, as they have now won 24- straight in the America East regular season - 19 at home. It is the third-longest streak in conference history. Freshman Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) led the way on the offensive front with an average of 17.5 points per game. Sophomore Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen's) had her third 20+ performance of the season when she drained 25 points at Stony Brook on Jan. 13. The Terriers will continue their homestand this week with a Monday night match-up with rival Vermont at 7 p.m. before hosting Hartford (Jan. 21) and UMBC (Jan. 23) later in the week.
HARTFORD HAWKS (13-3, 4-0 AE)
The Hawks picked up a win in their third-straight road game of the season, a 70-65 victory over the Binghamton Bearcats… With the win, Hartford remains one of three unbeaten teams in the America East with Vermont and Boston University the other two… The Hawks were led by junior Mary Silvia (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) who finished with 16 points all in the second half as she came off the bench to finish the game 6-of-11 form the field, including 4-of-8 from beyond the arc… Silvia also grabbed four rebounds and three steals in her 12th game of the season after returning from an injury… Joining her in double figures was Diana Delva (Stamford, Conn./Westhill) with 11 points and Jackie Smith (Westfield, Mass./Holyoke) and Daphne Elliott (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) who each added 10 points… The Hawks finished the game shooting 41.1 percent from the field (23-of-56) but needed to rely on their free-throw shooting down the stretch to lift them to victory … The Hawks shot 11-of-14 from the line over the final 1:02… Senior center Delva leads the team on the season, averaging 14.2 points-per-game, while she leads the America East and is third in the nation in field-goal percentage at 65.2 percent (90-of-138) … The Hawks will play a three-game schedule in the coming week, beginning with the University of Maine on Monday at Chase Arena… The Hawks and Black Bears are set to tip off the week at 7 p.m.
MAINE BLACK BEARS (5-12, 1-4 AE)
Maine came back from 16 down to win at New Hampshire 65-61, but dropped a 64-59 decision to Stony Brook this week. The Black Bears found itself down 12 points at half but did not quit and pulled off the largest comeback since 2003. Maine rallied from 15-point halftime deficit to defeat Boston U. and remain undefeated in conference play on March 8, 2003. Seniors Kristin Baker (Bingham, Maine/Bingham) and Katia Bratishko (Annandale, Va./Flint Hill) have scored more points this season than they have any other year in their career. Baker currently sits one point shy of 200 and passed her season high of 190 points against Stony Brook. Bratishko has scored more points this season than in her whole career prior to this year.
UMBC RETRIEVERS (8-9, 2-2 AE)
UMBC split a pair of America East Conference games last week, defeating Albany, 62-57, on the road on Wednesday before dropping a 77-67 decision to New Hampshire at home on Saturday… UMBC’s sophomore class of guards Katie Brooks (Maryville, Tenn./Heritage) and Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville), forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) and center Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) combined to score 26 of the team’s 31 second-half points and 51 of the Retrievers’ 62 total points against Albany… Obajolu finished just shy of a double-double, tying her career high with 15 points and adding nine rebounds… Brooks scored a season-high 16 points to lead UMBC… The win was UMBC’s fifth when trailing at halftime… It was also the Retrievers’ fifth road win of the season, their most since 2006-07… Kurowski scored a game-high 22 points and drained four three-pointers to lead UMBC against New Hampshire… Obajolu set a new career best with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and tied her career high with four blocks… She earned America East Player of the Game honors in both contests… Obajolu entered America East play averaging just 5.2 ppg and 3.3 rpg, but she is averaging 12.8 ppg, 6.0 rpg and 2.5 bpg while shooting 56.7 percent from the floor and 94.4 percent from the foul line in four league games… She had made just six of 20 free throws in non-conference play but has made 17 of her last 18… Senior guard Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) now has 216 career three-pointers, a UMBC record and fifth-most ever in league history… She is UMBC’s second all-time leading scorer with 1,460 points, ranking 30th all-time in the America East and third among active players… The Retrievers host America East rivals Binghamton (Jan. 18) and Vermont (Jan. 21) before traveling to league foe Boston University (Jan. 24) this week.
NEW HAMPSHIRE (6-11, 1-4 AE)
Last time out the University of New Hampshire women’s basketball team earned a 77-67 victory over the University of Maryland Baltimore County on Saturday afternoon at the RAC Arena... Senior Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) and Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) led four Wildcats in double figure scoring, each netting 15 points apiece… Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) and Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa.) rounded out UNH's double-digit scorers, notching 14 and 12 points, respectively… For UNH, it was the first time four Wildcats registered in double figures since its last meeting with the Retrievers on Feb. 8, 2009… In that game, Williams (19), Abigail LaRosa (Hampton, N.H.) (17), Wells (12) and Simpson (11) all reached double-digit scoring… Simpson took home America East Player of the Game honors for New Hampshire, finishing the afternoon with five rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals … Simpson knocked down a three-pointer in the contest, giving her a program record 180 3-point field goals for her career … Simpson ranks third in the conference in assists, with an average of 5.1 per game this season… In addition to Beliveau's 14 points, she also ripped down nine rebounds and tallied a pair of assists… Williams finished with seven rebounds and a season-high three assists … Williams leads the team with an impressive 6.6 rebounds per game, which currently ranks ninth in the conference... She now has 1,095 points and 595 rebounds for her career, totals that both rank ninth all-time in program history... Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) has now tallied a block in 11 of the last 12 games... She currently ranks second in the conference in blocks with 36 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 .520 shooting clip... The ‘Cats rank second in the conference in blocked shots with 78 … New Hampshire is shooting an impressive .385 clip from the floor this season, a mark that currently ranks fourth in the conference.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (4-13, 2-3 AE)
Stony Brook split this week’s game by picking up a crucial road victory at Maine on Saturday… The Seawolves came back from down five in the second half to win, 64-59… The victory was Stony Brook’s first road win of the season and the first come-from-behind win of the year… Sophomore Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.) recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds… She also made clutch free throws down the stretch along with junior Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) to help ice the victory… Junior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) scored a game-high 18… Jeter recorded her third double-double of the season in a loss to Boston University earlier in the week… She finished the week averaging 17 ppg and 11.5 rpg… The 16 rebounds she had against Boston U. were a career high and the most by a Seawolf since 2007… Horsey continues to play well in conference games and she finished the week averaging 9.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 5.0 apg and 3.0 spg.
VERMONT CATAMOUNTS (14-3, 4-0 AE)
Vermont posted a 76-43 victory over Binghamton to close out a four-game homestand. The Catamounts dominated the Bearcats, rolling out to a 17-0 lead to start the game. Senior May Kotsopoulos (Waterloo, Ontario/Waterloo) scored a game-high 22 points, including five three-pointers, and added five rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block to lead UVM. Kotsopoulos also went over the 1,500-point plateau in the game. The Catamounts have scored 40 or more points in the first half in the last three games – 47 vs. Maine, 58 vs. Albany, 41 vs. Binghamton. In the last three games, UVM's margin of victory is 36.3 points. The Catamounts are shooting 49 percent from the floor and holding opponents to 26.9 percent shooting. UVM is also shooting 43.5 percent from three-point range. Junior Tonya Young (Canaan, N.H./Mascoma Valley Regional) is shooting 60 percent from beyond the arc in the last seven games. Senior Courtnay Pilypaitis (Ottawa, Ontario/St. Peter) is averaging 13.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.3 assists in three straight games. She handed out eight assists, five in the first four minutes versus Binghamton, to move past former Boston U. standout Christine Kinneary and into fourth among the all-time assist leaders in America East. Pilypaitis, already the all-time three-point shooter in UVM history, is 12 assists shy of becoming the all-time assists leader at Vermont. She is also 18 three's away from becoming the all-time three-point field goal shooter in league history. Vermont hits the road for a pair of games, traveling to Boston U. on Monday (Jan. 18) and is at UMBC on Thursday (Jan. 21).