Bearcats Sweep Week 13 Awards After 2-0 Week

2/7/2011 9:00:00 PM

America East Communications

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Continuing their best start since joining the America East Conference, the Binghamton University Bearcats have swept this week's women's basketball awards. Junior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audantes) picks up her second Player of the Week recognition of the season, while teammate Jasbriell Swain (Memphis, Tenn./Horn Lake) receives her fourth Rookie of the Week award of the season.

Rebane led the Bearcats to two wins and sole possession of second place in the league standings. The junior forward averaged a double-double last week with 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds per game to go with 1.5 apg, 1.0 bpg and .536 (15-for-28) field-goal shooting. Rebane came up just one board shy of a double double in the second-place showdown with UMBC on Wednesday night, finishing with 16 points, nine rebounds and two blocks. She didn't fall short on Sunday at New Hampshire, completing the double double with a career-high 22 points and 11 rebounds to go with two assists, a steal and 10-of-19 shooting from the floor.

Rebane is in the conference's top 10 in both scoring and rebounding with 11.3 ppg (10th) and 7.8 rpg (6th). She also leads America East with a field-goal shooting percentage of .504 and has four double-doubles on the season.

Swain had a strong presence on the boards last week in addition to a strong effort on the defensive end. Swain averaged weekly totals of 14.0 rpg, 6.0 ppg, 2.5 apg, and 2.0 spg in a 2-0 week for Binghamton. The rookie began the week with her best performance in a televised game Wednesday night against UMBC. Swain earned her sixth double double of the season with 10 points and 17 rebounds, the highest rebounding total achieved in the conference this season. She also recorded two assists and three steals while helping the Bearcats limit the Retrievers to just .273 shooting for the game.

On Sunday at New Hampshire, Swain hauled in another 11 rebounds and dished out three more assists in another defensive effort which held the Wildcats to .300 shooting for the afternoon. For the season, Swain is averaging 8.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game while making all 24 starts.

Upcoming Action

Tuesday, February 8
*Hartford at Maine 7 p.m.

Back on January 5, the Hawks were victorious over the Black Bears in Chase Arena, 73-43. Maine freshman Ashleigh Roberts scored a game-high 18 points in the first meeting this season.
The Black Bears are averaging the second-most rebounds per game in league contests, collecting 41.5 boards per match. They have five players averaging 3.9 rebounds or better, led by Roberts' 6.0 rpg.
Hartford sophomore Ruthanne Doherty has picked up the pace, averaging 10.9 ppg and 6.2 rpg in league games compared to 7.1 ppg and 5.0 rpg overall this year.

Wednesday, February 9
*New Hampshire at Stony Brook    7 p.m.
*Albany at Boston U.    7 p.m.
*UMBC at Vermont    7 p.m.

* America East Conference Game

Defending Home Court

The top three teams in the America East standings--Boston U., Binghamton and UMBC--are a combined 16-0 at home this year during league play. Overall, America East teams are 27-19 (.587) on their own home courts.

Academic Studs

Last week, three women's basketball student-athletes were tabbed Capital One Academic All-District First Team 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) are now all eligible to receive Academic All-America distinction later this month. l Full Release l

(Winning) More With Less (Games)

Nearing the end of the conference season, several teams have already matched or exceeded last year's overall and conference win totals. Binghamton and UMBC are both in the midst of their best starts since joining America East, while Albany has matched its best start.

                         2009-10    2010-11
Binghamton    11-19 (7-9)    16-8 (9-2)
UMBC             13-17 (7-9)    14-10 (8-3)
Albany            11-19 (4-12)    12-11 (5-5)

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 with a 10-0 record. Boston U. is plowing through league foes by a +15.6 scoring margin and is averaging a league-best 67.6 ppg while limiting opponents to just 52.0 ppg. The last two America East regular season champions, Hartford in 2010 and Boston U. in 2009, have gone 16-0 in league play.

Tune In

Two games will be televised this week, including the third of four regular-season America East-produced women's basketball games. On Wednesday night, UMBC's trip to Vermont will be shown live on WCAXtra beginning at 7p. America East Television will be in West Hartford on Sunday, February 13 to cover the rematch between league-leading Boston U. and Hartford. Tip-off at 1p can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet in New England, ESPN Full Court, ESPN3.com and AmericaEast.com.

Block Party

With 32 blocked shots this season, University of New Hampshire's Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt./Middlebury) now has 149 for her career. McDonald surpassed Boston U.'s Kasey Devine (2004-08) for sole possession of ninth all time in America East history. She needs three more rejections to pass former Great Dane Gia Sanders (2004-08) who totaled 151 career blocks for eighth place. 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
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. She now has 205 career victories. The only other active coach in America East with as many wins is Hartford Head Coach Jennifer Rizzotti with 226 under her belt.

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 milesone, 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) are neck and neck with 879 and 866 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 20th toughest in the country, while Vermont's non-league schedule is ranked 51st in strength with seven meetings against top-100 foes.

Reporting In

Collegiate Basketball News ranked America East 28th out of 33 conferences in the weekly RPI Report, holding steady from the previous week. Boston U. moved up eight spots from last week's standing and remains the conference's top-ranked team at 165. UMBC, Binghamton and Hartford all also improved and round out the conference's top four RPI-rated teams.

ALBANY GREAT DANES (12-11, 5-5 AE)

Albany lost two conference games last week, falling on the road to New Hampshire, 60-46, and dropping a 61-56 decision to Hartford at home on Saturday... Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) led the team, scoring a team-high 16 points at UNH and a game-best 17 points versus Hartford. Henry also recorded six steals and four assists in the two games... Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) continues to be a force for the Great Danes, averaging 9.0 points and 6.0 rebounds in the two contests, while also tallying three steals and three assists. Callaway went 6-for-6 from the free throw line in the two games... Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) recorded her league-leading ninth double-double of the season with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance against Hartford. Forster went 7-of-11 from the floor against the Hawks, and continues to lead the team on the season with a 46.7 field goal percentage... Albany has only one game on the docket this week, visiting Boston U. on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

BINGHAMTON BEARCATS (16-8, 9-2 AE)

Binghamton has won its past three games and remains off to its best conference start since joining the America East in 2001. In addition, the Bearcats have won all nine home games at the Events Center this season ... Junior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audantes) averaged a team-best 19.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in leading Binghamton to a pair of wins last week. After posting 16 points and nine rebounds against UMBC on Wednesday, she poured in a career-high 22 points and had 11 rebounds at New Hampshire on Sunday. It marked her 10th career double-double. Rebane is now averaging a career-high 11.8 points per game and continues to lead the conference with a .504 field goal percentage... Freshman guard Jasbriell Swain (Memphis, Tenn./Horn Lake) dominated the boards in the Bearcats two wins this past week. She had 10 points and a career-high 17 rebounds against UMBC on Wednesday and followed up with 11 rebounds against New Hampshire on Sunday. In the game against UMBC, Swain recorded the highest rebound total by a Binghamton player since current assistant coach Leah Truncale snagged 19 rebounds against Cornell on Dec. 21, 2001. Swain continues to rank fifth in the conference with 7.8 rebounds per game and is tied for eighth with 1.8 steals per contest.

BOSTON UNIVERSITY TERRIERS (13-9, 10-0 AE)

The Boston University women’s basketball team defeated Maine, 71-59, on Tuesday night at Alfond Arena in Orono, Maine… Sophomore Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) poured in 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting and reached 20+ points for the fifth time this season to match a career high… With 5:48 remaining, Maine came storming back to make it a three-point game, 54-51, however, Boston U.'s solid three-point shooting distanced it from the surging home side... Alford nailed a three and junior Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen’s) hit two more long-range shots down the stretch to put Boston U. back up by 10, 67-57, and secure the win… Boston U. finished the game with a season-high 12 treys. It hit eight in the first half alone as the Black Bears came out in a zone defense and even after they adjusted at halftime, the Terriers hit four more in the second stanza… Young poured in 22 points, with 18 coming from long range. Her six three-pointers set a career high and was just one shy of a single-game school record... Senior Kerry Cashman (Newfields, N.H./Exeter) hauled in 13 boards, while sophomore Mo Moran (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) had a strong game at the point with nine points, eight assists, and four steals.

HARTFORD HAWKS (9-14, 6-4 AE)

The Hawks scored a pair of wins in the past week, with a home victory over Vermont (68-43) on Wednesday night and a road victory over Albany (61-56) on Saturday afternoon in the Great Danes Big Purple Growl... A pair of sophomores led the Hawks in each game with Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C.Bird) leading the way with 13 points and eight rebounds in the win over Vermont and Nikkia Smith (Montville, Conn./Montville) leading the team with 13 points and eight rebounds against Albany... Doherty, who earned America East Player of the Game honors against the Catamounts, finished the game shooting 5-of-9 from the field, while also adding four assists, a block and two steals to her line... Smith, who earned Player of the Game honors against Albany, was impressive from the field, missing just one of her seven field goal attempts... The pair finished in double figures in both games with Smith adding 12 points in the win over Vermont and Doherty adding 10 in the win over Albany... The Hawks will play a pair of games in the coming week, the first on the road at Maine on Tuesday at 7 p.m. before returning home to host Boston University for the annual National Girls and Women in Sports Day celebration on Sunday at 1 p.m.

MAINE BLACK BEARS (3-20, 1-10 AE)

Maine dropped a pair of league games over the past week... Maine lost to Boston University in Orono, 71-59, and then dropped a game on the road to UMBC on Saturday, 56-49... Ashleigh Roberts (Wilmington, Del.) scored in double-figures in both games with 13 against Boston University and just narrowly missed out on her second career double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds at UMBC. Roberts continues to lead all rookies in scoring in America East with 10.7 points per game and 12.6 in conference play... Amber Smith (Ipswich, Mass.) had a career day at UMBC with her first career double-double when she tallied 12 points and a career high 11 rebounds against the Retrievers. Smith eclipsed 225 points for her career with her performance at UMBC and stands just one rebound shy of 100 in her career... Maine continues to crash the boards as it stands second in the league in rebounding, pulling down 38.5 boards per game and the team continues to lead the league in blocks at 3.8 per game... Maine continues rolling through league play as it hosts Hartford on Tuesday before traveling to battle Stony Brook on Saturday.

UMBC RETRIEVERS (14-10, 8-3 AE)

UMBC split a pair of America East games last week… The Retrievers’ four-game winning streak was snapped in a 47-40 loss at Binghamton on Wednesday… Junior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) posted her third double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds… UMBC held the Bearcats to just 24 percent shooting in the game… The Retrievers bounced back for a 56-49 victory over Maine on Saturday. It was UMBC’s ninth straight home win… Junior forward Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) notched her first double-double of the season with a career-high 26 points and 11 rebounds… Kurowski scored all 15 of her points in the second half… UMBC’s three juniors – Brown, Kurowski and center Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) – combined to score 56 of the team’s 59 points in the game and have accounted for 70 percent of the Retrievers’ offense this season… Obajolu has rejected 46 shots this season, one shy of the school record. She ranks fourth all-time at UMBC with 110 career blocks… The Retrievers’ eight America East wins are their most ever in eight seasons in the conference. In addition, with 14 overall victories, UMBC has now surpassed its entire win total from last season… Kurowski ranks ninth all-time at UMBC with 1,176 career points. She is the America East’s leading scorer with 15.8 ppg, including 17.7 ppg against league opponents… Kurowski was selected to the Capital One Academic All-District II First Team on Thursday, becoming the first UMBC women’s basketball player to earn the honor since 1988 and just the third ever… The Retrievers hit the road for pair of America East games this week, visiting Vermont on Wednesday and New Hampshire on Sunday.

NEW HAMPSHIRE (7-16, 4-7 AE)

Last time out the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team was defeated by Binghamton University, 59-50, on Feb. 6 at Lundholm Gymnasium... Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) scored a team-high 11 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for her eighth double-double of the season. Beliveau was selected as the America East Player of the Game for New Hampshire, notching double-digit points for the second time in the last three games. She has registered 11 double-doubles in her career, including a season-best eight this year... Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H./Nashua North), Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa./Archbishop Carroll) and Cari Reed (Oswego, N.Y./Oswego) all finished with nine points, while Kate Early (Corning, N.Y./Corning East) scored seven points and tallied a season-high nine rebounds in the loss... In UNH's previous outing, the 'Cats erased a 12-point first half deficit to register a 60-46 win over the University at Albany at Lundholm Gymnasium on Feb. 3... Reed scored 16 of her game-high 19 points after halftime to lead the Wildcats to victory. She was named the America East Player of the Game for her performance, finishing the night 7-for-13 from the floor and 5-for-10 from deep. Reed also tallied five boards, two assists, one block, and one steal in the win... Hogan also scored in double-digits for the 'Cats, notching 13 points, a season-high six rebounds and three assists... UNH takes to the road with a game against Stony Brook University on Wednesday, Feb. 9, beginning at 7 p.m.

STONY BROOK SEAWOLVES (4-18, 1-9 AE)

Stony Brook fell to visiting Vermont, 68-50, in its only game of the week... Senior Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y.) and sophomore Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) led Stony Brook with 13 points each... It was the Seawolves' third-straight loss... Jeter added eight rebounds and tied a career high with six steals... Stony Brook led 44-41 with 7:52 left but Vermont went on a 14-0 run over the next three and a half minutes to put the game away... The Seawolves held Vermont to 33.3 percent shooting in the first half but the Catamounts shot 54.8 percent in the second half... Stony Brook scored 19 points off 21 Vermont turnovers... Stony Brook had 11 steals... It was the 13th time this season that Stony Brook has recorded 10 or more steals... The Seawolves conclude their three-game homestand this week with games against New Hampshire and Maine.

VERMONT CATAMOUNTS (3-20, 3-7 AE)

Vermont went 1-1 on the week, falling at Hartford (68-43), but bouncing back to pick up its first road win of the year with a 68-50 victory at Stony Brook... The Catamounts were down nine in the second half, but used a 38-11 run over the final 11 minutes of the game to earn the victory... Tonya Young (Canaan, N.H./Mascoma Valley Regional) scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to lead UVM... It was her second double-double versus the Seawolves this season and second in three games... Freshman Sam Simononis (Perkasie, Pa./Pennridge), who earned her first career start, responded with 11 points, all in the second half, and was a perfect 3-for-3 from three-point range... Vermont's 68 points were the most by the Catamounts this season... UVM hosts UMBC on Wednesday (Feb. 9) and travels to Binghamton (Feb. 12).

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