CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- The final weekly women's basketball awards of the 2010-11 season go to familiar faces. Boston U. sophomore guard Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross), the reigning America East Rookie of the Year, secured her second Player of the Week award of the season, while freshman Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North), a candidate for Rookie of the Year in 2011, earned Rookie of the Week honors for the fourth time this season.
Alford moved atop the America East scoring list with a week where she averaged 21.0 points per game en route to her second Player of the Week award. She also averaged 6.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 assists per game and shot .556 (15-for-27) from the field, .800 (4-for-5) from three-point range and .800 (8-for-10) from the charity stripe.
The sophomore guard reached a career high with 29 points against Vermont on Saturday afternoon, while adding six rebounds, three steals, a block and an assist with a 9-for-14 shooting performance. Earlier in the week, in a loss at Binghamton, Alford tallied 13 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.
With a 1-1 week, the Terriers, led by Alford, did enough to secure the two seed for the upcoming America East Basketball Championship. Alford is averaging 15.0 points per game to top the conference. She is also among the league's top-10 in six other categories.
Receiving her fourth Rookie of the Week award of the season, Hogan averaged 7.0 points, 5.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game. She also shot .385 (5-for-13) from the floor and .429 (3-for-7) from beyond the three-point arc.
In a win against Maine, Hogan dished out seven assists while also contributing four points, three rebounds and two steals for the Wildcats. At Hartford, she reached double digits with 10 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field, all three field goals coming from long-distance. Hogan added to her assists total for the week with four more against the Hawks.
The freshman is second in America East with 4.2 assists per game this season and leads all players with .429 three-point field-goal shooting.
Upcoming Action
2011 America East Championship Presented by Newman's Own
All games at Chase Arena, West Hartford, Conn.
Thursday, March 3 - First Round
#8 Stony Brook vs. #9 Maine, 6:05 p.m.
Friday, March 4 - Quarterfinals
#2 Boston U. vs. #7 Vermont, 12:05 p.m.
#3 Binghamton vs. #6 New Hampshire, 2:15 p.m.
#1 UMBC vs. Winner of Stony Brook/Maine, 6:05 p.m.
#4 Hartford vs. #5 Albany, 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, March 6 - Semifinals (AETV)
Winner of Boston U./Vermont vs. Winner of Binghamton/UNH, 11:04 a.m.
Winner of UMBC/Stony Brook or Maine vs. Winner of Hartford/Albany, 1:34 p.m.
Saturday, March 12 - Title Game (AETV)
Teams and time, TBD
at the site of the highest remaining seed
Recent Results
Saturday, February 26
*at Boston U. 75, Vermont 52
- Sophomore guard Chantell Alford netted a career-high 29 points to lead Boston U. With the win and the Binghamton loss, the Terriers clinched the two seed for the tournament.
- Alford shot 9-of-14 from the field and also pulled down six rebounds in 33 minutes of action. Junior Alex Young added 13 points, while senior Kat Briggs contributed 10 points, three assists and three steals.
- Vermont received a strong performance from senior center Tonya Young, who scored a team-high 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Sophomore forward/center Lauren Buschmann added 18 points and 13 boards.
*at Albany 66, Maine 60
- Albany jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead and held on for a 66-60 win over Maine on the final day of the regular season.
- Sophomore forward Julie Forster scored 10 points and grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season.
- The Great Danes also received 14 points and nine boards from sophomore guard Ebone Henry. Junior guard Cassandra Calloway added a team-high 15 points.
- Junior guard Brittany Williams led the Black Bears with a game-high 16 points. Sophomore guard Katelyn Vanderhoff scored six points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished out a game-high seven assists.
*at Stony Brook 54, Binghamton 37
- Stony Brook sophomore center Juanita Cochran shot 7-of-14 from the field and also pulled down eight rebounds playing 32 minutes off the bench. Stony Brook junior guard Tamiel Murray grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds and dished out a game-high six assists in 40 minutes.
- The Seawolves won the battle on the glass, 47-38, while grabbing 19 offensive boards.
- Senior guard Jackie Ward led the way for the Bearcats, scoring a team-high 16 points in the loss. Junior forward Viive Rebane secured a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with seven points, two assists and two steals.
*at Hartford 62, New Hampshire 52
- Sophomore forward Ruthanne Doherty scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Hartford to a 62-52 win over New Hampshire.
- The Hawks dominated in the paint, outrebounding the Wildcats, 42-33.
- Senior guard Mary Silvia scored 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting to help lead Hartford to the win. Junior Ilicia Mathis also reached twin figures with 11.
- New Hampshire junior forward Denise Beliveau scored 14 points and pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds for her 11th double-double. Freshman Kelsey Hogan and sophomore Cari Reed combined for eight of the team's 11 assists.
* America East Conference Game
Setting The Scene
With the regular season complete, all nine teams are set to compete at the 2011 America East Men's and Women's Basketbal Championship presented by Newman's Own beginning Thursday at the University of Hartford's Chase Arena. Six of the nine seeds had to be determined on the final day of the regular season. The two hottest teams coming into the tournament are UMBC, the number one seed and winner of its last six games, and fourth-seeded Hartford, the host team for the championship and victors in eight of its last nine games. Defending champion Vermont enters the league championship as the seven seed.
Retrievers Crowned
With the 62-55 win over Albany last Wednesday, UMBC clinched the top seed for the tournament as well as the program's first-ever America East regular-season title. The Retrievers, who finished with a 13-3 mark in America East play, were fifth in the coaches' preseason poll last October. By finishing in first, UMBC is guaranteed a berth into the postseason WNIT should they not earn a bid in the NCAA Championship.
Terrier Terrorizing
Boston U. sophomore guard Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) ended the regular season on top of the league's scoring chart with 15.0 ppg, helped by a career-high 29-point performance on Saturday against Vermont. She has scored twenty or more points six times, tied for the best in the conference. It has been nearly a decade since a Terrier has led America East in scoring as Katie Terhune was the last to do so in 2001-02.
On The Mark
If the 2010-11 season ended today, two players this year would have single-season free-throw percentages amongst the top five all-time in America East. UMBC's Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) owns an .888 (103-of-116) free-throw percentage, which currently ranks third behind Black Bears Ashley Underwood (.925) and Bracey Barker (.920). Albany's Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) isn't far behind with a mark .883, which would put the sophomore guard in a tie for fourth with Terrier Katie Terhune and Black Bear Liz Coffin.
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 (1,467), rebounds (739) and steals (246). There have been only 18 America East women's basketball players to ever achieve at least 1,400 points and 700 rebounds in their careers, while Jeter is four steals away from becoming just the fifth America East player all time to accumulate at least 1,400 points, 700 rebounds and 250 steals.
Academic Studs
Earlier this season, three women's basketball student-athletes were tabbed Capital One Academic All-District honorees by CoSIDA. Albany sophomore Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington), Hartford senior Mary Silvia (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) and UMBC junior Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) all received first-team distinction.
Historic Seasons
UMBC, Binghamton and Albany have all made sharp turnarounds since last season, and all three are having historic seasons. The Retrievers have never finished higher than fourth in the America East standings until this year and have set program-best marks for the most America East wins and most wins in their Division I history. The Bearcats are having their best season since their first in the league (2001-02) when they went 19-9 overall and 10-6 in league play, while Albany has set a program standard for most wins in its Division I history (16).
2009-10 2010-11
UMBC 13-17 (7-9) 19-10 (13-3)
Binghamton 11-19 (7-9) 18-11 (11-5)
Albany 11-19 (4-12) 16-13 (9-7)
Block Party
With 39 blocked shots this season, University of New Hampshire's Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury) now has 156 for her career. She has already surpassed former Great Dane Gia Sanders (2004-08) for eighth place all-time in America East. McDonald ranks third in America East this season with 1.4 blocks per game.
Long Time Coming
The conference has seen some surprises this season as well as some long losing streaks against other league opponents snapped. Below is a list of losing streaks one team has had against another league foe and snapped this year. The longest wait for any team who snapped a skid this year was Albany who until this year hadn't defeated Hartford since 2005, a period that spanned 13 games. The Great Danes had also been held winless against the Hawks at Chase Arena even longer, since March 2004 in the quarterfinals of the America East Championship.
Team Opponent # of Games
Albany Hartford 13
Binghamton Hartford 12
Maine Vermont 12
New Hampshire Vermont 11
Albany Vermont 8
UMBC Vermont 6
UMBC Hartford 6
Maine UMBC 5
Binghamton Vermont 5
200 Strong
UMBC's Phil Stern coached his 200th career victory in the Retrievers' 65-57 win over Stony Brook on Saturday, January 29. He joins Boston U. Head Coach Kelly Greenberg as the two America East coaches to reach that milestone this year. Greenberg earned her 200th career victory in the Terriers' 72-59 win over Albany on January 15. They are joined by Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti as the trio of 200-win coaches in America East.
New Members Of 1,000-Point Club
Binghamton junior guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) and UMBC junior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) have both reached the 1,000 career point milestone, with Holmes achieving the mark most recently as part of a 26-point performance in the Bearcats' overtime win over Vermont on January 23. Kurowski accomplished the feat with a 19-point performance in the Retrievers' win at Stony Brook on January 3. The two guards join Stony Brook's Kirsten Jeter as the only three active members of the elite group of 101 America East 1,000-point scorers.
Who's Next?
Two more juniors are next in line to follow Kurowski and Holmes into the 1,000 point club. New Hampshire forward Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) and Boston U. guard Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen's) have 935 and 920 points, respectively.
Scheduling Strong
According to Collegiate Basketball News' RPIratings.com, America East squads have played the 13th-toughest non-conference schedule out of the 33 conferences. Hartford has had the most grueling schedule, ranked the 29th toughest in the country, while Vermont's non-league schedule is ranked 73rd in strength with seven meetings against top-100 foes.
Reporting In
Collegiate Basketball News ranked America East 29th out of 33 conferences in the weekly RPI Report, staying steady from the previous week. UMBC remains the highest-rated team and moved up seven spots to 147. Stony Brook also made a seven-spot leap from 335 to 328. Despite dropping over the course of the last week, Hartford (183) and Binghamton (199) round out America East's top three teams in the RPI.
ALBANY GREAT DANES (16-13, 9-7 AE)
Albany has won the most games in a season since 1996-97... Sophomore Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) averaged 17.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in two games last week. Henry went 11-of-16 from the free throw line at UMBC, draining the most free throws by a single player since Becky Ayers hit 10 from the charity stripe against Pepperdine in 2003. Henry added 14 points against Maine, increasing her double-digit scoring streak to 14 straight games... Junior Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) averaged 12 points in the two games, scoring 15 versus Maine to go along with three assists and three steals... Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 rebounds against the Black Bears... Senior Kim Clements (Waterbury, Conn./Holy Cross) closed out her career in a Great Dane uniform with nine points and six rebounds, going 7-of-10 from the free throw line, with two steals and an assist versus Maine... Albany will take on Hartford as the fifth seed of the America East Conference Tournament on Friday at 8:15 p.m.
BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (18-11, 11-5 AE)
Binghamton has already recorded its highest win total since the 2001-02 season, when it finished 19-9. In addition, the 11 conference wins represent its highest conference win total in a 16-game season. In 2001-02, the Bearcats finished 10-6. In 2003-04, Binghamton had an 18-game conference schedule and finished 12-6... Binghamton will be a top-three seed in the America East Tournament for the first time since the 2003-04 season, when it was a No. 2 seed. The last time the Bearcats were a No. 3 seed was in the 2001-02 season... Junior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audentes) has averaged 13.2 points and 11.0 rebounds in the Bearcats' last nine games. With 11 rebounds against Stony Brook on Saturday, she now moves into seventh place in program history with 637 rebounds, passing Reagan Stevens (1993-97), who had 632 rebounds, and Jen Gaeta, who had 630 rebounds. Furthermore, Rebane's total is the highest mark for a Binghamton player who has competed solely at the Division I level... The 2010-11 season marks the first time since it joined the America East Conference that the Bearcats have beaten every team in the conference at least once.
BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (15-13, 12-4 AE)
Boston U. secured the second seed for the 2011 America East Women's Basketball Championship with its 75-52 victory over Vermont on Saturday afternoon. The Terriers will see the Catamounts again as the two squads will face off in the quarterfinals on Friday, March 4 at 12:05 p.m... Sophomore Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) was Boston U.'s top performer last week as she averaged 21.0 ppg, including a career-high 29 points vs. UVM on Saturday... Boston U.'s 23-point triumph was its second largest of the season .. On Senior Day, the Terriers came out with a lot of energy with seniors Kat Briggs (Georgetown, Texas/Georgetown) and Krystyn McIntyre (Waverly, Pa./Scranton Prep) scoring 11 of the team's first 20 points. Briggs and McIntyre ended up finishing the game with career highs of 10 and five points, respectively.
HARTFORD HAWKS (14-15, 11-5 AE)
Hartford completed the second half of the conference season with a 7-1 record, matching just one other team through the second half (UMBC), to finish tied for third place overall... The Hawks will enter the 2011 America East Championship presented by Newman's Own as the #4 seed and will take on Albany in the quarterfinals on Friday at 8:00 p.m... This past week the Hawks scored a pair of victories, the first coming courtesy of some late free throws from Jackie Smith (Westfield, Mass./Holyoke) and Daphne Elliott (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield) to lift the Hawks to a 67-63 road win at Stony Brook... The Hawks returned home to close out the regular season against New Hampshire scoring a 62-52 victory. With those two victories the Hawks have now won eight of their last nine games... For the week, senior Mary Silvia (Reading, Mass./Reading) led the team with back-to-back double figure games scoring 11 against Stony Brook and 14 against New Hampshire. The senior finished the week 5-of-8 from beyond the arc to finish the regular season with 56 three pointers, seven shy of tying the individual season record for three pointers made... Joining her in averaging double figures on the week was Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) who recorded her fourth double-double of the season to lead the Hawks with 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win over UNH on Senior Day.
MAINE BLACK BEARS (4-24, 2-14 AE)
Maine closed out the season with a pair of road loses against UNH and Albany... Katelyn Vanderhoff (Lititz, Pa.) was named Maine's America East Player of the Game at UNH as she led Maine with 12 points, four rebounds and three steals, including the 100th swipe of her career... Brittany Williams (Rochester, N.Y.) led the Black Bears at Albany with 16 points, a new career high for the junior guard... Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) also scored in double-figures with 11 and now sits just one point away from 300 in her rookie season with the Black Bears. It was the 20th time this season Roberts has scored in double-figures... Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J.) pulled down a team-high nine boards against Albany, matching a previous career high set against Central Conn. State in 2009 and also recorded the 250th board of her career in the contest... Senior guard/forward Tanna Ross (Newburgh, Maine) currently sits just 23 points away from 700 for her career... Maine returns to action in the first round of the America East Championship where it will face Stony Brook on Thursday, March 3.
UMBC RETRIEVERS (19-10, 13-3 AE)
UMBC defeated America East rival Albany, 62-55, on Wednesday to claim its first-ever America East regular-season title… The Retrievers will be the top seed in next weekend’s America East Championship and will face the winner of Thursday’s first-round game between No. 8 Stony Brook and No. 9 Maine on Friday… Senior forward Meghan Colabella (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) scored a season-high 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting, including 3-of-4 from three-point range… Junior forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) posted her third double-double of the season with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds… UMBC shot 50 percent in the first half and drained five three-pointers, but made just seven of 21 attempts in the second period… The Retrievers’ 19 wins are a school Division I record and one shy of the overall mark of 20, set in the 1985-86 season… UMBC has won six straight for the first time since Jan. 26-Feb. 12, 2006… The Retrievers are 12-1 at the RAC, a school record for home victories in a season, with 11 straight wins, matching the most ever… After starting the season 1-5, the Retrievers have won 18 of their last 23 contests… UMBC’s three juniors – Brown, Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) and center Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) have accounted for 69.1 percent of the Retrievers’ offense this season. All three rank among the America East’s top 15 scoring leaders–the only school that can make that claim–led by Kurowski’s 14.6 ppg, which ranks second. Brown ranks fifth in the league with 14.2 ppg, but she is averaging 20.0 ppg during UMBC’s six-game winning streak.
NEW HAMPSHIRE (9-19, 6-10 AE)
New Hampshire finished its final week of regular season play with a record of 1-1... The Wildcats fell to Hartford, 62-52, at Chase Arena on Feb. 26... Junior forward Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) notched 14 points and a career-best 16 rebounds in the loss. She was named the America East Player of the Game for the 'Cats, earning her conference-best 11th double-double of the season. She has earned a double-double in four of the last six games and has snared double-digit rebounds in five of the last six games... Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North) chipped in with 10 points, four assists and two boards... In the previous outing, UNH claimed a 57-40 triumph over Maine on Feb. 23... Seniors Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury Union) and Kate Early (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) combined for 19 points on 9-of-18 shooting in their final collegiate home game. McDonald shot 5-for-9 from the floor, notching a team-high 10 points, adding three rebounds, while Early buried 4-of-9 field goal attempts, tallying nine points and six rebounds... The Wildcats' balanced offense included 10 points from Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) on 4-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-7 from 3-point range, and a near double-double from Beliveau, who tallied nine points and ripped down a game-high 12 rebounds.. The sixth-seeded Wildcats return to action Friday, March 4 (2:15 p.m.) when they take on third-seeded Binghamton in the quarterfinals of the America East Women's Basketball Championships at Hartford's Chase Arena.
STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (6-22, 3-13 AE)
The Seawolves split a pair of home games to close the regular season, falling to Hartford, 67-63 on Wednesday, before defeating Binghamton, 54-37, in the season finale on Saturday... sophomore Juanita Cochran (Saginaw, Mich.) had a career-high 22 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Her previous career high was 11 in the season opener against Troy. Cochran went 7-for-14 from the field and 8-for-14 from the foul line... The Seawolves held Binghamton to .292 shooting, an opponent's lowest shooting percentage of the season... The Bearcats scored just 16 second-half points and the Seawolves held Binghamton without a field goal for 10 minutes at one stretch... Junior Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.) did not score but had a career-high 14 rebounds. She also tied a career best with six assists... Stony Brook shot a season-high .543 against Hartford on Wednesday... the Seawolves led by as many as eight in the second half.
VERMONT CATAMOUNTS (5-23, 5-10 AE)
Vermont finished the regular season with a 75-52 loss at Boston U.... Lauren Buschmann (St. Catharines, Ontario/Governor Simcoe) and Tonya Young (Canaan, N.H./Mascoma Valley Regional) each posted a double-double against the Terriers. Young and Bushmann posted double-doubles in the same game for the second time in three games for Vermont... Young finished the game with a team-high 20 points and added 13 rebounds... Buschmann added 18 points and 13 boards, nine on the offensive glass, for her third consecutive double-double...The Catamounts will meet the Terriers again for the second time in six days in the America East Quarterfinals on Friday (March 4)... UVM is the No. 7 seed, while the Terriers are the No. 2 seed... Buschmann enters the tournament averaging 16.3 points per game and 10 rebounds per game in the last five outings... Young is chipping in 15.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game, while shooting .500 from the field and .857 from the free throw line going into the tournament.