Kurowski And Hogan Land Weekly Women's Hoops Awards

1/17/2011 5:14:00 PM

America East Communications

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- UMBC junior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) picked up her second America East Player of the Week award of the season while leading the Retrievers to two wins last week. University of New Hampshire guard Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North) also picked up her second award of the season as she's been named the rookie of the week for the second time in three weeks.

Kurowski averaged 29.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg last week while shooting .676 from the field, .500 from three-point range and perfect from the charity stripe. The conference's scoring leader began the week with a 30-point performance against Binghamton, who was previously unbeaten in league play. Kurowski led the Retrievers to the victory with 12-of-19 shooting, including 3-for-7 from long-distance. She followed that up on Saturday in a win against Vermont with 28 points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kurowski went 11-for-15 against the Catamounts and drained 2-of-3 treys.

The junior guard leads America East with 16.2 ppg and 22.8 ppg in four league contests. She's been named the America East Player of the Game in all four conference contests and now ranks 10th all-time at UMBC with 1,072 career points.

Hogan finished with weekly averages of 12.5 ppg, 5.0 apg and 3.5 rpg. She also finished the week with a 2.0 assist-to-turnover ratio, .643 (9-for-14) field goal shooting and 1.0 spg. In a win against Stony Brook on Saturday, Hogan scored a season-high 16 points to go along with six assists, five boards and one steal. Earlier in the week against Hartford, the redshirt-freshman tallied nine points, four helpers, two rebounds, one steal and 4-for-5 shooting from the field.

Hogan leads the team and the conference with 4.6 assists per game, tallying 78 helpers this season. She's also among league leaders in three-point field goal percentage (.410 - 2nd), three-pointers made (1.5 pg - 10th) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2 - 4th).

Upcoming Action

Monday, January 17
*UMBC at Boston U. 3 p.m. l Live Stats l Live Video l WTBU Radio l

This match up features two hot squads as the Terriers have won four in a row and the Retrievers have been victors in seven of their last 10. UMBC swept last year's regular season series before Boston U. took the America East Quarterfinal game.
Boston U. (.438) and UMBC (.410) are first and second, respectively, in field goal percentages during league play.
UMBC junior Michelle Kurowski has averaged 22.8 ppg against America East foes this year, while Boston U. sophomore Chantell Alford has poured in 16.8 ppg. The two guards rank first and fourth, respectively.

*Vermont at New Hampshire 7 p.m. l Live Stats l Live Video l UNH Radio l WVMT Radio l

Entering the 65th all-time meeting between the Catamounts and Wildcats, Vermont has won 11 straight in the series and is 18-2 in the last 20 meetings.
Vermont senior Tonya Young has four 20-point games on the season, including two last week. She sits second in league games averaging 17.8 ppg.
Both teams have had success on the boards in conference games. The Catamounts have posted a +5.0 rebounding margin while the Wildcats have a +2.6 margin. UNH junior forward Denise Beliveau leads America East in rebounding during the league slate with 9.8 rpg.

*Binghamton at Hartford 7 p.m. l Live Stats l Live Video l WWUH Radio l Live Chat l

The Hawks are riding a 12-game winning streak against the Bearcats. Binghamton's last win against Hartford came in Vestal on Feb. 23, 2005.
Despite missing a game, Hartford senior guard Mary Silvia is the Hawks' leading scorer against America East foes, averaging 11.7 ppg. She is one of three Hawks averaging double figures since league play started.
In its four league games, Binghamton is second with 62.8 ppg. The Bearcats top the conference in rebounding offense (46.2 rpg), rebounding margin (+8.8), assists (14.0 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2) in league games.

* America East Conference Game

Preseason Picks Looking Good

Boston U., who was the preseason favorite of the coaches, has so far proved the head coaches right. The Terriers are the only undefeated team remaining after two full weeks of league games. During its 4-0 start, Boston U. is plowing through league foes by a +21.0 scoring margin and are averaging a league-best 67.2 ppg while limiting opponents to just 46.2 ppg. The Terriers also have a +8.8 turnover margin through four games, forcing 20.8 turnovers per game while only turning the ball over 12 times per game themselves.

Tune In

Fans can tune into two televised games this week. Thursday's Maine at Vermont tilt will be broadcast live from Patrick Gym on WCAXtra at 7p. Sunday's game between the Terriers and Hawks at Case Gym in Boston marks the first women's AETV game of the year as the teams picked to finish first and second in the preseason poll square off. Tip between Boston U. and Hartford is at 2p and will be live on Comcast Sports Net New England.

Greenberg's Got 200

Boston U. Head Coach Kelly Greenberg earned her 200th career victory in the Terriers' 72-59 win over Albany on Saturday, January 15. It was her 116th win while at Boston U. Greenberg's other 84 wins came in the five seasons while she was head coach at Penn from 1999-2004. The only other active coach in America East with as many wins is Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti with 225 under her belt, while UMBC Head Coach Phil Stern is just four away from the 200-win milestone with 196.

Long Time Coming

The conference saw a few surprises during the first full week of America East play as a couple of teams snapped droughts in the all-time series with other conference squads. Albany hadn't defeated league foe Hartford since 2005 until Saturday when the Great Danes upended the Hawks in West Hartford, 46-43. During that period, Hartford won 13-straight games against Albany. The Great Danes had also been held winless against the Hawks at Chase Arena since March 2004 in the quarterfinals of the America East Championship. On Sunday, another streak fell as Maine snapped a five-game skid against UMBC with a buzzer beater. The Black Bears' 60-57 win in Orono was their first win over the Retrievers since January 5, 2008.

New Member Of 1,000-Point Club

UMBC junior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) became the next member of the 1,000 career point club with a 19-point performance in the Retrievers' win at Stony Brook on January 3. Despite the feat coming on the road, it was just 30 miles away from Kurowski's hometown on Long Island and was in front of family and friends. The Retriever becomes just the second active America East player to top 1,000 points, joining Stony Brook's Kirsten Jeter. Kurowski was the 100th America East player all-time to score her 1,000th career point.

Who's Next?

Four more juniors are next in line to follow Kurowski into the 1,000 point club. The closest is Binghamton junior guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) who has 956 points.

Triple The Fun

After a pair of one-point losses earlier in the week, University of New Hampshire finally pulled out a close win at home on January 1 over Rhode Island. However, it was even closer than the Wildcats could have imagined. The Wildcats and Rams went into triple overtime to decide the game, where UNH outscored the visitors 18-4 in the final five minutes to win the game, 88-74. Four UNH players played over 50 minutes, with junior Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) playing 53 out of a possible 55 minutes. It was the longest game an America East squad has played since Vermont also went into triple overtime on November 23, 2008 against Dartmouth, and the first triple overtime game in Wildcat program history.

Scheduling Strong

According to Collegiate Basketball News' RPIratings.com, America East squads have played the 12th-toughest non-conference schedule out of the 33 conferences. University of Vermont has had the most grueling schedule, ranked the 45th toughest in the country with eight meetings with top-100 teams. Hartford's non-league schedule is ranked 46th in strength.

Reporting In

Collegiate Basketball News ranked America East 28th out of 33 conferences in the weekly RPI Report, holding steady from the previous week. Albany remains the highest-ranked team at 181 while Hartford is also in the top-200 as it remained at 196. UMBC, with wins over Binghamton and Vermont last week, jumped up 26 spots to 205. League-leading Boston U. made a 22-spot leap to 213, with Binghamton sandwiched between the Retrievers and Terriers at 208 to complete America East's top five teams in the RPI.

Black History Month

This February, America East will celebrate Black History Month by profiling distinguished African-American alumni and prominent figures from all nine member institutions. Coverage will begin next month and can be found on the official web site of the America East Conference, www.AmericaEast.com.

Grand Great Danes

University at Albany began its season with one of its best starts in program history. The Great Danes won their first five games of the season for the first time since 1986-87, and began 6-1 for the first time in its Division I history. The 1986-87 team, which competed at the Division III level, went 5-0 to open the season and finished with a 19-5 overall record.

Poll Position... Mid-Major Edition

CollegeInsider.com debuted its first-ever Women's Mid-Major Top-25 poll this year. Three teams (Hartford, Vermont, Boston U.) were either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason poll. Albany has also been ranked this season as high as 23rd and is currently receiving seven votes in the latest poll.

Jeter's A Keeper

Stony Brook senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont), a unanimous preseason all-conference pick, is poised to finish her career with spectacular numbers. She is currently the league's active leader in points (1,271), rebounds (656) and steals (210), and has led the Seawolves to improvement in every season since her freshman year in 2007-08.

Triple Up

Boston U. sophomore guard Moran tallied a triple-double of 15 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists on November 17 at home against Yale, one of only 12 players in the country this year, and the first Terrier to accomplish the feat since 2004. It is also the third straight season America East has had a player notch a triple-double, as former America East Player of the Year Courtnay Pilypaitis ('10) from University of Vermont picked up a triple-double in each of the previous two seasons.

ALBANY GREAT DANES (10-7, 3-1 AE)

Albany split two conference matches last week, defeating Maine on the road, before falling to Boston U. at home... The Great Danes recorded a 65-50 win over the Black Bears to improve to 3-0 in league play for the first time since joining the America East in 2000... Albany then dropped a 72-59 decision to Boston U. in a battle to decide first place in the league standings... Sophomore guard Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) led the Great Danes, averaging 18.0 points over the two games... Henry scored a game-high 17 points against Maine, while netting a team-best 19 points en route to being named America East Player of the Game versus the Terriers... Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) averaged 13.5 points per game, and led the team with a 45.0 (9-20) shooting percentage... Point guard Felicia Johnson (Newport News, Va./Woodside) chipped in 9.0 points, handing out 5.5 assists in the two games... The Great Danes return to action with two road games this week, visiting Stony Brook on Tuesday and Binghamton on Thursday.

BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (10-7, 3-1 AE)

Binghamton has won four out of its five games since the New Year and has reached the 10-win mark faster than any Bearcat squad since the 2005-06 team... Junior point guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell), who continues to lead the Bearcats in scoring with 14.5 points per game, averaged 16.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.5 assists in Binghamton's two games last week. Against Maine on Saturday, she finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and a season-high nine assists. Holmes remains on track to record the highest team scoring average since Rachel Laws finished with 14.7 points per game during the 2003-04 campain. Furthermore, she now has 956 career points and ranks 13th all time in program history. In the win against Maine, she surpassed Alicia Kopenhoefer (1994-98), who scored 954 career points... Senior guard Jackie Ward (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford-Mendon), who missed the first part of the season with an ankle injury, has reached double figures in four of the last five games. She had 12 points in the win over Maine... Junior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audentes) continues to have her best season statistically. She is averaging a career-high 11.1 points per game to go along with 7.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Like Ward, she too has reached double figures in scoring four times in the past five games... The Bearcats are in the middle of a stretch in which they play five out of six games on the road.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (7-9, 4-0 AE)

The Boston University women's basketball team took over sole possession of first place in the America East standings with a 72-59 victory over Albany on Saturday afternoon... Sophomore Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) poured in 20 points on 7-for-11 shooting, while senior Kerry Cashman (Newfields, N.H./Exeter) turned in a double-double with 11 points and a career-high 14 rebounds... Sophomore Mo Moran (Hopewell, Junction, N.Y./John Jay) chipped in 12 points, and junior Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen's) added 11... This week the Terriers will have three games as they host UMBC on Monday (Jan. 17), before traveling to Stony Brook on Thursday (Jan. 20) and welcome Hartford on Sunday (Jan. 23) for a game televised on Comcast at 2 p.m.

HARTFORD HAWKS (6-11, 3-1 AE)

The Hawks scored a 57-50 road victory when they traveled to Durham, N.H. for a match-up with the Wildcats in the season's first blizzard... Junior Ilicia Mathis (Hamden, Conn./Hill Regional Career) finished with 15 points, all of which came in the second half, and grabbed a career-high nine rebounds as she was named the Hawks' America East Player of the Game... After going 0-for-3 in the first half, Mathis came out hot in the second half, shooting 6-of-8 in the second period, including making 3-of-4 from beyond the arc... Senior guard Mary Silvia (Reading, Mass./Reading) led all Hawks in the game with 16 points... Rounding out the leading scorers at New Hampshire was sophomore Daphne Elliott (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) who finished with 13 points... Overall the Hawks were outshot in the game, finishing the 40 minutes with a 33 percent effort (19-of-58), while the Wildcats shot 41 percent on 20-of-49... Hartford did lead the battle of the boards with a 37-35 advantage, led by Mathis' nine boards... The Hawks will play three games in the next seven days... They begin by welcoming the Binghamton Bearcats to West Hartford on Monday for a 7 p.m. tip... They then travel to UMBC (Wednesday @ noon) and end the week at Boston U. (Sunday @ 2 p.m.) for the first of three games to be televised on Comcast Sports Net New England.

MAINE BLACK BEARS (3-14, 1-4 AE)

Maine dropped a pair of America East games this past week... The Black Bears lost to Albany, 65-50, before losing to Binghamton, 78-52... It was the third straight home game for the Black Bears... Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) had 11 points against Albany and 10 against Binghamton and now has scored in double-figures in nine straight games... Tanna Ross (Newburgh, Maine) had three points against Binghamton which gave her 600 points in her career as a Black Bear... Freshman Jaymie Druding (Orchard Park, N.Y.) had a career high 10 points against Albany as she provided great minutes off the bench... The Black Bears head out on the road as their three game homestand has ended and will face Vermont on Thursday at 7 p.m. before returning home to battle Stony Brook on Sunday at 1 p.m.

UMBC RETRIEVERS (9-8, 3-1 AE)

UMBC has won eight of its last 11 games after picking up two America East home victories last week… The Retrievers are 3-1 in America East play for the first time ever in eight seasons in the league… The Retrievers defeated Binghamton, 55-38, on Wednesday… Junior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) matched her career best with 30 points on 12-of-19 shooting. She is the fourth player in school history to score 30 points more than once in her career… Senior forward Meghan Colabella (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) became the 14th Retriever ever to record 500 rebounds, and senior guard Michele Brokans (Lansdale, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) became the ninth Retriever ever to tally 300 assists… It was the first time UMBC has allowed less than 40 points in a game since Feb. 1, 2006, also against Binghamton… The Retrievers posted another dominating performance in a 69-54 victory over Vermont on Saturday… Kurowski scored 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, while junior forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) tallied 21 points and made a career-high five of nine 3-point attempts… It was the first time two Retrievers scored 20 points in the same game since March 4, 2009… Kurowski moved into 10th place on UMBC’s all-time scoring list with 1,072 career points… UMBC’s trio of juniors – Kurowski, Brown and center Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) – has accounted for 68.5 percent of the team’s scoring this season… Kurowski is the America East’s leading scorer (16.2 ppg), and she is averaging a league-best 22.8 ppg in four conference contests… The Retrievers visit preseason America East favorite Boston University on Monday, then return home to host league rivals Hartford on Thursday and New Hampshire on Sunday.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (4-13, 1-4 AE)

The University of New Hampshire women's basketball team finished its most recent week of action 1-1... The Wildcats earned their first conference win of the season against Stony Brook (Jan. 15) in a 75-68 decision at Lundholm Gymnasium... In the game prior, UNH fell to Hartford (Jan. 12), 57-50... Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) scored 20 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, and Cari Reed (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) matched career highs with 21 points and nine boards, propelling the 'Cats to victory over the Seawolves... Reed earned America East Player of the Game honors for New Hampshire, rounding out the afternoon with three assists and one steal... It was Beliveau's second straight double-double and her fourth in the last six games. She has registered six double-doubles this season, a mark that stands as a career best. In the previous contest against Hartford she registered 19 points and 10 rebounds. She took home America East Player of the Game honors for the Wildcats in the game, rounding out the evening with three assists and two steals... Freshman guard Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North) finished with a season-high 16 points, six assists, and five boards against SBU. It was the fourth time this season she has recorded double-digit points... UNH concludes a three-game homestand on January 17 (7 p.m.) when the University of Vermont visits Lundholm Gymnasium.

STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (3-13, 0-4 AE)

The Seawolves dropped a pair of road games last week, falling to Vermont, 57-49, and New Hampshire, 75-68 ... senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) scored a career-best 27 points against New Hampshire ... sophomore Dani Klupenger (Aurora, Ore.) added a career-high 14 points including four three-pointers ... Stony Brook scored over 60 points for the first time since Dec. 5 against Iona ... the Seawolves trailed New Hampshire by as many as 11 in the second half and cut its deficit to two before falling ... Stony Brook used its 10th different starting lineup of the season against New Hampshire ... junior Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) set career-bests with 19 points and six rebounds against Vermont ... the Seawolves had 15 steals against Vermont ... it was its most steals in a game since recording 15 at Albany last season ... SBU forced UNH into 22 turnovers after forcing Vermont in 29 turnovers ... the Seawolves have forced their opponents into 20 or more turnovers nine times this season ... SBU held Vermont to 30 percent shooting ... it was its opponents lowest shooting percentage of the season ... after playing eight of its last nine games on the road the Seawolves will return home for games against Boston University and Albany this week.

VERMONT CATAMOUNTS (1-16, 1-3 AE)

Vermont picked up its first win of the year with a 57-49 victory over Stony Brook... Senior Tonya Young recorded a double-double against the Seawolves with 20 points and 10 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench. Young, who made her first start since Dec. 8, added 25 points and five rebound in a loss to UMBC. She finished the week averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and shooting 80 percent (16-for-20) from the foul line. Young has increased her offensive output in league games, averaging 17.8 points per game in America East contests, as opposed to 10.9 points per game overall... Young is one of four Catamounts to have an increased points per game effort in league games... Vermont will play three games in seven days this week. UVM travels to New Hampshire on Monday, hosts Maine on Thursday and faces Binghamton at Patrick Gymnasium on Sunday.

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