Cambridge, Mass.-- University of Hartford junior forward Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird), who picks up the America East Player of the Week Award, has been a consistent threat during the Hawks' recent surge, while Rookie of the Week recipient UMBC's Lauren Chase (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist) led the Retrievers in scoring in both games last week.
Doherty led the Hawks to two wins to extend the team's winning streak to seven games en route to the player of the week award. Doherty averaged 17.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 steals, and 2.0 assists per game last week, going 12-of-22 (54.5 percent) from the field and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from the free throw line.
In the first game of the week at Maine, Doherty led Hartford with 19 points on a 6-of-14 effort from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. She also compiled four rebounds and a career-high six steals. In front of a national audience Sunday at home against UMBC, Doherty finished with her fourth double-double of the season, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. The junior went 6-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from the foul line, and added three assists and a steal. The win over the Retrievers gave the Hawks the edge for the number three seed in the America East Championship entering the final week of the regular season.
Over Hartford's seven-game win streak, Doherty has scored in double-digits in every game. She leads the team and ranks among league leaders in scoring and rebounding with 12.7 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Chase, a freshman point guard, picks up her fourth honor this season. The rookie averaged 15.5 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 rebounds per game last week in two games, while also chipping in a steal per game. She shot 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) from the field and went 10-of-14 (71.4 percent) from the free-throw line.
On Wednesday against Binghamton, Chase scored 12 of her 16 points in the second half to lead the Retrievers to a comeback win after trailing at the half. She also dished out five assists and brought down three rebounds. On the road at Hartford on national television, Chase again paced UMBC in scoring with 15 points while also contributing three assists, two rebounds and a theft.
Chase is averaging 33 minutes per game and 8.3 points per game in her freshman campaign, more than any other rookie in the league, and leads America East with 4.7 assists per game.
Dog Fight
The second-place Albany Great Danes did what no other team in the conference had been able to do this season until Saturday by handing the Boston University Terriers their first America East loss and snapping their 13-game win streak. With Albany's 48-41 victory on Saturday, the Terriers suffered their first loss at home all season. The Great Danes pulled to within half a game of first place and the program's first-ever America East Regular Season Championship, while the Terriers lost an opportunity to clinch the number one seed.
Dog Fight Part 2
Boston U.'s regular-season title fate still rests in its own hands but the Terriers will face another critical game at home on Wednesday when it welcomes UMBC into Case Gym. With a win against the Retrievers and an Albany loss against Binghamton, the Terriers would clinch the regular-season title and number one seed. If the Terriers lose or the Great Danes win, the order of the top two seeds would not be determined until the final day of the regular season when Boston U. travels to Hartford and Albany sits idle with a bye.
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 15th out of 33 conferences. Boston U. (77) and Hartford (81) continue to be the top America East teams in the ratings index, but Albany's 19-point jump to 87 gives the conference three teams in the top-100 for the first time all year. 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 77. Boston U. (20-7)
2. Big East 81. Hartford (18-10)
3. SEC 87. Albany (19-9)
4. Pac- 12 153. UMBC (14-13)
5. Big Ten 187. New Hampshire (14-12)
6. ACC 234. Binghamton (12-15)
7. Colonial 271. Vermont (10-18)
8. West Coast 315. Stony Brook (4-23)
9. Atlantic 10 317. Maine (6-21)
10. Missouri Valley
11. Conference USA
12. Mid-American
13. Horizon
14. Southern
15. America East
Tie-Breaking Procedure
With potential ties in the standings looming, the conference will break ties for seeding purposes using the following criteria in order:
a. Winning percentage in conference games versus the other teams with which it is tied (i.e. head-to-head-competition.)
b. Winning percentage in conference games versus the other conference opponents in descending rank order. In the event of arriving at another group of tied teams when comparing records, each team’s record (winning percentage) versus the tied teams is used rather than the performance versus the individual tied teams.
c. Winning percentage in conference road games. In the event a conference game was played on a neutral court, the team awarded the home game by the conference office when the schedule was issued is considered the home team.
d. RPI ranking as determined by the College RPI Report through the end of regular-season
conference games.
e. Draw conducted by the Commissioner or his/her designee.
Once a tie is broken among two of more teams, immediately return to (a) to break the tie between the remaining teams. A tie at the top of the standings will results in Co-Champions.
What's On The Line
Boston U. is trying to lock up its third-ever Regular Season Championship and first since the 2008-09 season when the Terriers went undefeated in league play... Albany has already guaranteed itself the program's best-ever regular-season finish in America East. The Great Danes have never been higher than the four seed, but are still in the mix this year for the top overall seed for the America East Championship.... Hartford currently sits alone in third place but can still dip to fourth. The Hawks haven't finished lower than third place or been seeded lower than fourth since 2003-04... UMBC can be seeded anywhere between third and sixth... UNH could finish as high as fourth or as low as sixth. The Wildcats haven't been seeded higher than sixth entering the league tournament since they were the three seed in 2005... Binghamton can't fall lower than its current position of sixth, but could finish as high as fourth. The Bearcats would have the tiebreaker over the Retrievers should they tie, and still have a head-to-head matchup with UNH who sits one game above them... Vermont has a bye on Wednesday, but could clinch the seven seed if Maine falls to UNH. The Catamounts can also clinch seventh should it win at UMBC on Saturday... Maine needs to win its final two games against New Hampshire and Stony Brook to earn a first-round tournament bye... Stony Brook still has a head-to-head matchup with Maine, the only team above it that it could catch, on Saturday.
On Top At The End
The America East Women's Basketball Champion has been either the one or two seed in the conference tournament 20 times in the 27 year-history of the event. Additionally, in 24 out of the 27 years of the tournament, the champion has been one of the top three seeds, making regular-season play crucial for championship hopes. Providing even further motivation, the highest seeded team remaining will host the America East Championship final in 2012 for the third straight year.
Lights, Camera, Action!
The final game of the America East regular season on Sat., Feb. 25 will air on ESPN3.com pitting together Boston U. and Hartford at the Hawks' Chase Arena. A lot could be on the line for both teams as they fight for position entering the America East Championship later that same week in Hartford. The Terriers took the first meeting with the Hawks this year in Boston 53-46 despite trailing by nine at halftime. Eric Frede will have the call and Leah Secondo will provide the color analysis.
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)
March 10 America East Championship (ESPN3)
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 31-33 (.484) during conference play thus far, including 5-3 last week, 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 15-0 on the road.
Streak Snapped
Boston U. catapulted to the top of the league standings on the strength of a 13-game win streak beginning on Jan. 4. The Terriers' streak, the longest win streak by an America East team this year, came to an end on Feb. 18 when Albany defeated Boston U. 48-41 in Boston. During that streak, Boston U. led the league with 64.6 points per game, a +17.4 scoring margin and 39.7 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.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (19-9, 13-2 AE) won two games last week, including a critical 48-41 win over league-leading Boston U. on the road that put the Great Danes just a half-game back from first place... Albany has posted its best-ever Division I record heading into the last week of play, and with a win in the final game of the regular season, could hit the 20-win plateau for the first time in Division I history, and just the third time in program history... Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic) led the team in the two wins, averaging 15.0 points and grabbing 5.5 rebounds... Henry recorded her seventh double-double of the season at Boston U., scoring 12 points and pulling down 11 boards... Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) continued to control the majority of the rebounds in both games, averaging 12.5 boards... She also recorded nine steals and six blocks in the two contests... Lindsey Lowrie (Bay Village, Ohio/Bay) averaged 9.5 points in two starts at guard for the Great Danes... Albany held its opponents to 28.8-percent shooting from the floor and recorded 25 steals in the two games... The Great Danes will close out the regular season on Wednesday, hosting Binghamton at 7 p.m.
Binghamton (12-15, 6-8 AE) senior point guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) enters the final week of the regular season averaging 14.7 points per game. That represents the highest scoring average by a Binghamton player since Rachel Laws also averaged 14.7 points during the 2003-04 season. Holmes currently has 1,505 career points and continues to rank third all-time in program history. In addition, her career 13.0 points per game average is tied with Sonny Mehring (1978-92) for the seventh-highest total in program history... Senior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia) currently has 1,148 career points, which ranks 11th alltime in program history. She is two points away from tying Erica Carter (2006-10) for 10th place all time with 1,150 career points. In ninth place is Laine Kurpniece (2004-08) with 1,188 career points. Rebane also ranks second all-time in program history with 886 career rebounds and sixth all-time with 7.4 rebounds per game. Furthermore, Rebane is third all-time with 105 blocks and seventh with 199 steals. She is one steal away from tying Kate Townley (2000-04) for sixth place all-time with 200 career steals.
Boston U. (20-7, 13-1 AE) saw its 13-game winning streak snapped on Saturday as the Terriers fell to Albany 48-41... The 41 points by Boston U. was the lowest point total for the Terriers in conference play this season...Senior Caroline Stewart (Topsfield, Mass./Masaconomet Regional) led the Terriers with 14 points and added nine rebounds and a steal. Sophomore Rashidat Agboola (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) also collected nine boards to go with four points, two blocks and two assists. Senior Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen's) and rookie Troi Melton (Bronx, N.Y./Cardinal Spellman) chipped in six points each.... Last Wednesday, Boston U. defeated New Hampshire 63-52 after being tied with the Wildcats at halftime... Agboola posted a double-double for the second-straight game with 17 points and 14 rebounds while junior Mo Moran (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) added 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Classmate Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) netted 12 points and six rebounds... Young finished with nine points and three rebounds. The guard connected on two three-pointers early in the game to give her 210 treys in her career, which sets the new all-time Boston U. record in made-three pointers... The Terriers remain in contention to win the AE regular season title and will host UMBC on Wednesday before concluding the season at Hartford on Saturday.
Hartford (18-10, 9-5 AE) continued its hot streak with its sixth and seventh straight victories defeating Maine (59-40) on the road and UMBC (66-54) at home in the first-ever nationally televised America East Conference women's basketball game on Sunday afternoon on CBS Sports Network... In the opener, junior Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va.,/L.C. Bird) led three Hawks in double figures with 19 points, while also grabbing a career-high six steals... Against the Retrievers, rookie Amber Bepko (Guilford, Conn./Mercy) stepped up with a career-high 18 points, including four three-pointers... Doherty also shined against the Retrievers with her fourth double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds... Her 16 points marks the seventh straight game the junior post has scored in double figures... For the week, Doherty led the Hawks with an average of 17.5 points-per-game and 7.5 rebounds-per-contest. She finished the week shooting 12-of-22 (54.5) and 11-of-13 from the free throw line (84.6)... As a team, the Hawks forced an average of 22.5 turnovers, while averaging 12.5 steals on the week including seven from Doherty and five from Bepko... The Hawks also outscored their opponents by an average of 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds over the two games... Hartford closes out the regular season with a pair of games at Stony Brook on Wednesday (7 p.m.) and at home against Boston U. for the regular season finale on Saturday at 4 p.m. on ESPN3.
Maine (6-21, 3-11 AE) dropped a pair of games over the past week... The Black Bears lost 59-40 at home to Hartford before failing to sweep Vermont and falling in Burlington 71-54... Junior Corinne Wellington (Rochester, N.Y.) led the way for Maine over the weekend as she averaged 9.0 points including a 14-point performance at Vermont, a season high for her... Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J.) grabbed six boards at Vermont and now has 600+ points and 400+ rebounds in her career at Maine... Rebecca Knight (Alfred, Maine) also reached a milestone in rebounds at Vermont as she tallied her 100th rebound in her 25th career game... Danielle Walczak (Lee, N.H.) totaled 11 points against Hartford, matching her career high in conference action... The Feb. 15 game against Hartford was Maine's Play 4Kay game. Coach Barron challenged the Black Bear community to raise $10,000 before the end of that game, and if it did, he would shave his head at midcourt. The community answered, raising over $10,200 for the wonderful cause and Coach Barron stuck to his word, shaving his head bald following the game... The Black Bears close out the regular season with a trip to UNH on Wednesday before hosting Stony Brook on Saturday on Senior Day for three Black Bears.
UMBC (14-13, 8-6 AE) split its two games this week, beating Binghamton at home 63-50 on Wednesday, before falling to Hartford 66-54 on the road… Against the Bearcats, freshman Lauren Chase (Bowie, Md/Riverdale Baptist) and senior Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) each scored 16 points to lead the Retrievers… Junior Raven Harris (Virginia Beach, Va./Princess Anne/America) was also in double figures with 10 points… In the first-ever nationally televised America East women’s basketball contest, Chase was in double figures again, leading UMBC with 15 points against the Hawks… Kurowski and fellow senior Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Caroll) also scored double digits, netting 12 points and 10 points, respectively… Kurowski has now scored in double figures in 13 straight games and in 22 of the Retrievers’ 27 games this season… Senior Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) continues to lead the league in scoring, averaging 14.8 points per game… Chase is the America East leader in assists this season, dishing out 4.7 assists per game as a freshman… The Retrievers return to the court on Wednesday when they travel north to face league-leading Boston U.… Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Case Gymnasium.
UNH (14-12, 7-7 AE) split a pair of contests on the week, first falling to Boston U. at home before sweeping the season series over Stony Brook with a 63-46 win on Saturday... Junior Morgan Frame (Waterville, Maine) netted a game-high 18 points against the Seawolves, including 15 in the second half, and added six rebounds... Junior Cari Reed (Oswego, N.Y.) recorded 12 points, including four three-pointers, while sophomore Bridgette McKnight (Norristown, Pa.) posted 10 points and seven rebounds... As a team, the Wildcats shot 42.3 percent from the floor and 40 percent from beyond the arc... UNH also outrebounded the Seawolves by a 44-27 margin... Frame also led the way against Boston with 18 points and 11 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season... Senior Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) recorded 14 points to go along with eight boards and three steals, while sophomore Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H.) chipped in with 12 points and a game-high five assists... UNH trailed by 20 points at halftime in January's meeting between the two teams, but held Boston U. to 22 percent (6 of 27) shooting in the opening stanza this time around to forge a 23-23 tie at the break... The Wildcats wrap up the regular season by hosting Maine in the home-finale before ending with a road trip at Binghamton.
Stony Brook (4-23, 1-13 AE) lost to visiting New Hampshire 63-46 in its only game of the week... Junior Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) led the Seawolves with 10 points... Stony Brook trailed by just six at halftime but New Hampshire opened the second half on a 10-0 run and SBU got no closer than nine the rest of the way... Stony Brook held the Wildcats to 36 percent shooting in the first half but New Hampshire shot 48 percent in the second half... Stony Brook plays its final home game of the season on Wednesday against Hartford... SBU will honor its four seniors - Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.), Destiny Jacobs (Glen Burnie, Md.), Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) and Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.J.) - prior to the game... Wednesday's game will also be Stony Brook's Play 4Kay Breast Cancer Awareness game... SBU then wraps up the regular season at Maine on Saturday.
Vermont (10-18, 4-11 AE) went 1-1 on the week... The Catamounts nearly tripped up Albany, falling 59-56... UVM had three chances to win or tie the game in the closing seconds, but Kayla Burchill's (Portland, Maine/Deering) final three-point attempt from the right corner hit the front of the rim and bounced out... Freshman Tierra Shumpert (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) came off the bench to match her career high with 17 points against the Great Danes... She also added 13 points in a win over Maine and averaged 15 points per game on the week... Senior Ashley Hoyt (Arlington, Vt./Arlington) posted her second career double-double with 13 points and a game-high 15 rebounds in her first start of the season against Albany... Hoyt followed up with 13 points and nine rebounds in her second straight start on "Senior Day" to help lead UVM to a win over Maine. Hoyt averaged 13 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and 2.5 steals on the week... Over the past four games Hoyt is averaging 10.2 points and 8.8 rebounds per game... Freshman Niki Taylor (York, Maine/York) also averaged 12 points and 8.5 rebounds on the week for the Catamounts. She scored a game-high 16 points, 13 in the second half, against the Black Bears... Vermont held an opponent to under 60 points for the fourth straight game with the 71-54 win over Maine… UVM improved to 12-3 under Lori Gear McBride when holding teams under 60 points.