CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- University at
Albany junior Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) picks
up her first player of the week honor of the season after leading the
Great Danes to a pair of victories to keep the team in contention for the Regular Season Championship. University of Maine freshman forward Danielle Walczak (Lee, N.H./Oyster River) also earned her first weekly honor as Rookie of the Week award winner.
Henry, a forward/guard, averaged 20.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game in wins over New Hampshire and Maine last week. She shot 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from the field and 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from the charity stripe.
During a midday game against New Hampshire on Wednesday, Henry recorded 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three steals on a 6-of-12 shooting day. On Saturday against Maine, the junior racked up a game-high 25 points, one shy of her season high, and collected five rebounds, three steals, an assist and a block. She shot 8-of-18 from the field, 2-of-5 from long distance and a perfect 7-of-7 from the free-throw line.
The 2011 America East Defensive Player of the Year is averaging a league-leading 2.5 steals per game this season. Henry also leads Albany in scoring with 14.2 points per game and averages 7.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
Walczak averaged 9.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game against the league's top two teams in the standings. She finished the week going 5-of-11 (45.5 percent) from the field and 9-of-10 (90 percent) from the foul line.
At home Wednesday night against Boston U., Walczak finished with 11 points, four rebounds and an assist. She shot 3-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-6 at the charity stripe. On the road at Albany on Saturday, the rookie put up eight points and five rebounds. She was perfect at the free-throw line, shooting 4-of-4.
Walczak is averaging 5.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and shooting 40.2 percent from the field this season for the Black Bears.
Progress Report
The conference finished off the non-conference schedule with a 53-64 (.453) mark. The latest RPI Report from RPIratings.com ranks America East 14th out of 33 conferences. Boston U. (73) and Hartford (83) continue to be the top America East teams in the ratings index, with second-place Albany (106) sitting just outside the top-100 after an eight-place jump from last week. The RPIratings.com rankings are the most similar rankings to the ones the NCAA uses for tournament selections and seedings.
Conference Rankings America East Teams
1. Big 12 73. Boston U. (19-6)
2. Big East 83. Hartford (16-10)
3. SEC 106. Albany (17-9)
4. Pac- 12 148. UMBC (13-12)
5. Big Ten 191. New Hampshire (13-11)
6. ACC 237. Binghamton (12-14)
7. Colonial 269. Vermont (9-17)
8. West Coast 308. Maine (6-19)
9. Atlantic 10 309. Stony Brook (4-22)
10. Missouri Valley
11. Conference USA
12. Mid-American
13. Horizon
14. America East
15. Southern
Dog Fight
Entering the second-to-last week of the regular season, there will be major playoff implications on the line. Beginning at the top, first-place Boston U. and second-place Albany play in Boston on Saturday, Feb. 18 with the likelihood of the regular-season championship on the line. The Terriers could clinch a share of the title before then should they win at New Hampshire on Wednesday and Albany falls at Vermont. If the Great Danes defeat the Catamounts or if the Terriers fall to the Wildcats, Albany will still be fighting for a chance at all the glory come Saturday. Boston U. won the first matchup this season 58-54.
A Third-Place Tilt
Next down the standings are Hartford and UMBC both with 7-5 records in America East play. The two teams could still be tied for third, or at least within a game of each other, when they meet on national television Sunday, Feb. 19 in Hartford. The Retrievers defeated the Hawks 71-59 on Jan. 16 and would own the head-to-head tiebreaker for seeding purposes should they finish the sweep on Sunday. The last time these two teams met at Chase Arena, fourth-seeded Hartford knocked top-seeded UMBC out of the 2011 America East Basketball Championship in the semifinal round.
Lights, Camera, Action!
Sunday's matchup between Hartford and UMBC will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network live at noon with Eric Frede and Leah Secondo on the call. The defending America East Tournament Champion Hawks will host the defending America East Regular Season Champion and the coaches' preseason favorite Retrievers at Chase Arena. The game will mark the first-ever America East regular-season conference game to be nationally televised. It will also mark the fourth America East game to be played in front of a national audience this season as three previous tilts aired on ESPN3.com.
Going National
The America East announced a national broadcast package earlier this season that made league history. First, a five-year deal with ESPN includes a minimum of 47 national appearances for the league's men's and women's basketball programs on ESPN platforms, the most in conference history. The package includes seven women's hoops games on ESPN3, including the America East Championship semifinals and final. The league also signed a contract with CBS Sports Network, putting five America East basketball games on national television. A February 19 matchup between UMBC and Hartford at Chase Family Arena will mark the first-ever nationally-televised conference women's basketball game.
America East Women's Basketball
TV Package
Jan. 25 Boston U. at UMBC (ESPN3)
Feb. 1 Vermont at Boston U. (ESPN3)
Feb. 11 Binghamton at Hartford (ESPN3)
Feb. 19 UMBC at Hartford (CBS Sports Network)
Feb. 25 Boston U. at Hartford (ESPN3)
March 4 America East Semifinals (ESPN3)
TBD America East Championship (ESPN3)
TV Guide
One other game this week will also air on regional television. Vermont hosts Maine Sunday, Feb. 19 at 1 p.m. on WCAXtra. The Black Bears won the first matchup of the season against the Catamounts 70-60 in Orono.
Rizzotti's Milestone
With a win over New Hampshire on Feb. 1, Hartford head coach Jennifer Rizzotti picked up her 250th career coaching victory. All of her wins have come during her 12-plus years at Hartford. Rizzotti is the longest actively tenured head coach in the league and holds the America East all-time record for most overall coaching wins. Northeastern's Joy Malchodi is second with 217 wins over 16 seasons (1984-2000).
Anyone's Game
Home courts tend to lend an advantage to teams, but America East road teams have really bucked the trend. Visitors have gone 26-30 (.464) during conference play thus far, virtually eliminating that home court advantage. Each of the nine teams have at least one win on the road, while the top two teams in the league standings, Boston U. and Albany, have gone a combined 12-0 on the road.
Streaking
Boston U. is atop the standings thanks to a twelve-game win streak which began on the first day of the conference season, Jan. 2. Not dropping a contest since a New Year's Eve matchup at St. John's, the Terriers own the longest win streak by an America East team this year and are tied for the sixth longest active winning streak in Division I going into the week. During this streak, Boston U. leads the league with 64.8 points per game, a +17.9 scoring margin and 39.9 field-goal percentage.
Play 4Kay
Again for the 2011-12 season, every America East school has designated one women's basketball game throughout February as a game to promote breast cancer awareness and to "Play 4Kay". Teams will have fundraising promotions, pink uniforms and apparel, and breast cancer survivors on hand to stress the importance of finding a cure for this disease. For a game on your campus, please see the calendar below. If you can't make it to one of the Play 4Kay games, formerly called Pink Zone, but would still like to show your support or donate money, fans can donate to their favorite team's efforts or make a general donation by visiting the Play 4Kay web site at play4kay.org.
2012 America East Play 4Kay Schedule
Sat. Feb. 11 Stony Brook at Boston U., 1 p.m.
Maine at Albany, 2 p.m.
Vermont at UNH (WBIN-TV), 3 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 15 Hartford at Maine, 7 p.m.
Binghamton at UMBC, 7 p.m.
Sun. Feb. 19 UMBC at Hartford (CBS Sports), 12 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 22 Binghamton at Albany, 7 p.m.
Hartford at Stony Brook, 7 p.m.
Sat. Feb. 25 UNH at Binghamton, 2 p.m.
Top Of Their C.L.A.S.S.
On Jan. 25, New Hampshire senior Denise Beliveau (3.51 GPA in Exercise Science) and UMBC senior Michelle Kurowski (3.82 in Psychology) were selected as top-10 finalists for the 2012 Lowe's Senior C.L.A.S.S. Award for women's basketball from a group of 30 candidates. America East and the Pac-12 are the only conferences with multiple finalists on the ballot. Fan voting, conducted on Facebook and at http://www.seniorclassaward.com/vote/ through March 18, counts towards one-third of the selection process. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. Lowe’s, an official Corporate Partner of the NCAA, will announce the women’s Senior CLASS Award® winner during the NCAA Women’s Final Four®, which will be held April 1 and 3 in Denver.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (17-9, 11-2 AE) went 2-0 on the week, defeating New Hampshire 68-59 and Maine 68-55 both at home... Junior guard Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) led the Great Danes, averaging 20.0 points and 6.5 rebounds on the week... Henry, who posted a 46.7 shooting percentage in the two games, scored a game-high 25 points against Maine on Saturday, going 7-of-7 from the free throw line... Senior guard Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) also averaged double-digit scoring, chipping in with 13.5 points in the two games, going 15-of-17 from the charity stripe on the week... Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) continues to lead the Great Danes on the boards, averaging 9.5 rebounds last week... Albany outscored its opponents by 11 points and recorded 28 steals to just 10 by opposing teams... The Great Danes return to action this week, visiting Vermont on Wednesday and Boston U. in a critical America East matchup on Saturday.
Binghamton (12-14, 6-7 AE) senior point guard Andrea Holmes’ (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell is averaging a career-best 14.3 points per game, the highest scoring average by a Binghamton player since Rachel Laws averaged 14.7 points during the 2003-04 season. Holmes now has 1,480 career points and is 20 points away from becoming just the third player in program history to score 1,500 career points... Senior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audantes), meanwhile, has 875 career rebounds and needs 25 more rebounds to become just the second player in school history to record 900 rebounds during their career. Rebane is currently averaging a career-high 8.6 rebounds per contest, which is the highest average by a Binghamton player since current assistant coach Leah Truncale recorded 10.3 rebounds during the 2001-02 campaign.
Boston U. (19-6, 12-0 AE) continued its winning streak, extending it to 12 straight...this marks the program's longest winning streak since going 16-0 in conference play in 2008-09... The Terriers are 10-0 at home... Three players scored in double-digits at Maine with junior Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) leading the way with 18 off a career-high six-made three-pointers... Sophomore Rashidat Agboola (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) added 14 points and eight rebounds while senior Caroline Stewart (Topsfield, Mass./Masaconomet Regional) had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.... Junior Mo Moran (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) tied a career high with 11 assists while senior Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen's) tied the school record for most career-made three-pointers (208)...Boston U. only shot 9-of-36 in the first half, with seven consecutive shots coming from behind the arc... Terriers held Stony Brook to 31 points, a season-low for an opponent...Stewart (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Agboola (15 rebounds, 11 points) both had double-doubles. It was the first time two players had double-doubles in same game since Nov. 17, 2010 against Yale.
Behind two 20-plus performances from juniors Nikkia Smith (Montville, Conn./Montville) and Daphne Elliott (Fairfield, Conn./Fairfield Warde) the Hawks (16-10, 7-5 AE) scored a nine-point victory over the Binghamton Bearcats in their only game last week ... Smith led all scorers in the game with 24 points, one shy of her career high, while Elliott also finished one-point shy of her career best with 20 points... Smith finished the game shooting 8-of-13 overall and was 7-of-9 from the free throw line, while Elliott finished the game shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc, one three-pointer shy of tying the single-game school record for three pointers made... The pair also led the Hawks with four steals a piece, while fellow classmate Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) joined them in double figures with 10 points, her fifth straight game in double figures... Doherty also led the Hawks' rebounding efforts with seven boards, while the Hawks finished with a 34-30 advantage in the battle of the boards... Hartford will play a pair of games in the week ahead, the first on the road at Maine on Wednesday night (7 p.m.) before returning to West Hartford for a noontime Saturday matinee against UMBC that is scheduled to air live on CBS Sports Network.
Maine (6-19, 3-9 AE) dropped its last two games and has now lost three in a row... The Black Bears fell at home to Boston U. 73-50 before dropping a road contest at Albany 68-55... Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J./Lenape Valley Regional) averaged 12 points and nine rebounds on the week as she continues her hot conference play ... Since beginning conference play, Baranowski has raised her points per game from 6.2 to a team-leading 9.5 and her rebounds from 3.8 to a team-high 5.2. Baranowski is averaging 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds in conference action. The senior forward stands just five rebounds from 400 in her career. Once she reaches that mark, she will have over 600 points and 400 rebounds in her career as a Black Bear... The Black Bears continue to shoot the ball at a high percentage as their 37.8 percent mark ranks them third in the conference. Baranowski individually leads the league in percentage from the field at 50.0 percent... The Black Bears will host Hartford on Wednesday in Maine's Play 4Kay game... A win against Hartford will match Maine's home wins from a year ago (3).
UMBC (13-12, 7-5 AE) won its only contest of the week, a 63-51 win at Stony Brook on Wednesday… All three of the Retrievers’ seniors scored in double figures, led by Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) who scored a game-high 21 points… Classmates Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) and Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) each scored 14 points… Freshman Lauren Chase (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist), the America East leader in assists, recorded six assists against the Seawolves… Brown continues to lead the league in scoring, averaging 15.4 points per game, while Chase is the league leader with 4.8 assists per game… Michelle Kurowski is the most accurate free-throw shooter in the America East and ranks second in the NCAA with a .916 free-throw percentage… The Retrievers return to the court on Wednesday when they host Binghamton for a Play 4Kay event at the RAC… Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
UNH (13-11, 6-6 AE) split a pair of games last week, first falling at Albany before taking down Vermont at home by a 58-48 decision... The Wildcats swept the season series over the Catamounts for the first time since the 1998-99 campaign... Senior Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) led the way against Vermont with a game-high 17 points and four steals, including 14 points in the opening half. Senior Kelley Flynn (Hopkinton, N.H.) registered a team-high nine rebounds, while junior Morgan Frame (Waterville, Maine) recorded nine points. Sophomore Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H.) posted a strong all-around game with seven points, four assists and three steals... Beliveau and Frame both recorded double-doubles in the team's losing effort at Albany, led by Beliveau's 19-point, 14-rebound performance for her league-leading ninth double-double of the season. Frame added 18 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth double-double and third in as many games. Junior Cari Reed (Oswego, N.Y.) and Hogan chipped in with eight points and five rebounds apiece, while senior Abigail LaRosa (Hampton, N.H.) added five assists... The Wildcats will play host to first-place Boston U. on Feb. 15 (7 p.m.) before visiting Stony Brook on Feb. 18 (2 p.m.).
The Seawolves (4-22, 1-12 AE) fell at home to UMBC and at Boston U. last week... Senior Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) scored 16 points against UMBC and then had 14 points and seven rebounds at Boston U... She has now scored in double-figures in seven of her last eight games... Junior Jessica Previlon (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a career-high 16 points and added 11 rebounds on Wednesday against UMBC... It was her first career double-double... Senior Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.) had seven of the Seawolves 14 assists against UMBC. The seven assists tied a career best... She also pulled down eight rebounds... The Seawolves will now be off for a week before hosting New Hampshire this Saturday.
Vermont (9-17, 3-10 AE) dropped a pair of games on the road this week... The Catamounts fell 54-43 at Binghamton and also dropped a 58-48 decision at New Hampshire... Freshman Niki Taylor (York, Maine/York) averaged 11 points per game and 4.5 rebounds per contest... She scored a team-high 14 points at Binghamton... Taylor leads all freshmen in the league in rebounding, averaging 6.7 per game and is 10th overall... Junior Shanai Heber (Paterson, N.J./Paterson-Kennedy) led UVM on the boards, averaging 11.0 rebounds per game, and had 15 against UNH... Heber has grabbed double-digit rebounds in seven of the last nine games and is averaging 12.2 rebounds per game in that stretch... She ranks third in rebounding in the league and second in defensive rebounds... Freshmen Kayla Burchill (Portland, Maine/Deering) leads all freshmen in the league in scoring (22nd overall/8.1 ppg), three-point field goal percentage (4th overall/36.7%), and three-point field goals made (2nd overall/54/2.2 pg)... In conference-only stats freshman Tierra Shumpert (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) is the top-scoring rookie, averaging 9.7 points per game and ranks 18th overall... UVM wraps up its home schedule this week hosting Albany on Wednesday (Feb. 15) at 7 p.m. and Maine on Sunday (Feb. 19) at 1 p.m.