CAMBRIDGE, Mass.-- Boston University junior guard Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) continued to pace the undefeated Terriers last week to pick up the America East Player of the Week accolades. The University of Vermont freshmen hauled in their sixth Rookie of the Week honor this season with forward Niki Taylor (York, Maine/York) earning the nod for the period ending Feb. 5.
Alford picks up her third weekly honor of the season. She led the Terriers to two more wins last week to extend the team's winning streak to 10 games. Alford averaged 20 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game, shot 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from the field and 70 percent (7-of-10) from three-point distance.
In front of a national audience on ESPN3, Alford scored 19 of her season-high 28 points in the second half Wednesday against Vermont after the Terriers found themselves down by five at halftime. The junior guard also collected four rebounds, four steals and three assists, and drained 5-of-6 three-pointers to tie her career high of five made three-point field goals. Alford finished Saturday's win at Binghamton with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, one steal and two more treys.
Alford ranks among America East leaders in 10 of the 13 statistical categories, including scoring (13.0 ppg), assists (2.7 apg), steals (2.1 spg) and three-point shooting percentage (38.7 percent). She has scored in double-digits in 16 of 23 games.
Taylor is now a three-time Rookie of the Week recipient after another impressive week. The freshman averaged a double-double of 10.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game while adding 2.0 steals and 1.0 blocks per game.
On Sunday against Hartford, Taylor recorded her third double-double of the season with 13 points and 13 rebounds. She added three steals and two blocks while going 4-of-9 from the field. Taylor put together an eight-point, 12-rebound performance earlier in the week on the road at Boston U. The rookie also chipped in an assist and a steal against the Terriers.
In America East games, Taylor is averaging 8.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. She is the top freshman rebounder in the league with 6.8 boards per game overall.
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. The top three America East teams all made positive movement this week after each recorded two wins last week. Boston U. improved eight spots for the second-straight week to 70, while Hartford climbed 12 spots to 88. Albany move up six spots to 114.
Conference Rankings America East Teams
1. Big 12 70. Boston U. (17-6)
2. Big East 88. Hartford (15-10)
3. SEC 114. Albany (15-9)
4. Big Ten 150. UMBC (12-12)
5. Pac-12 192. New Hampshire (12-10)
6. ACC 234. Binghamton (11-13)
7. Colonial 256. Vermont (9-15)
8. West Coast 305. Stony Brook (4-20)
9. Atlantic 10 316. Maine (6-17)
10. Missouri Valley
11. Conference USA
12. Mid-American
13. Horizon
14. Big Sky
15. America East
Lights, Camera, Action!
The third nationally-broadcasted America East women's basketball game is slated for this week when Binghamton travels to Hartford for a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday, Feb. 11. The game will be shown live on ESPN3 and will feature Eric Frede on play-by-play and Leah Secondo on the color analysis. In the first meeting of the year between the Bearcats and Hawks, Hartford picked up the 63-41 win.
TV Guide
Aside from the America East television game in Hartford on Saturday, three more women's hoops games will be televised this week. The UMBC at Stony Brook matchup Wednesday at 7 p.m. will be on local Long Island Cablevision 118, while Vermont at Binghamton the same night will be live on Time Warner Cable Sports. Fans can tune into Vermont at New Hampshire Saturday at 3 p.m. on WBIN-TV in greater Manchester.
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)
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 active 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 24-24 (.500) during conference play thus far, eliminating that home court advantage. Each of the nine teams have at least one win on the road, while the top two teams Boston U. (5-0) and Albany (6-0) have combined to go 11-0 on the road in conference play.
Streaking
Boston U. is atop the standings thanks to a ten-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 11th for the 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 +16.7 scoring margin and 40.5 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.
Vermont at UNH (WBIN-TV), 3 p.m.
Wed. Feb. 15 Hartford at Maine, 7 p.m.
Binghamton at UMBC, 7 p.m.
Albany at Vermont, 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.
Overachievers
With five or six games left in the regular season, three America East teams have already surpassed last year's win totals. New Hampshire under second-year head coach Maureen Magarity is 12-10 after finishing the 2010-11 season with nine wins. Vermont, also under a second-year head coach in Lori Gear McBride, surpassed last year's five-win total in just the first seven games of the season and is now 9-15. Led by first-year head coach Richard Barron, Maine picked up its fifth and sixth wins of the season over the last couple of weeks to guarantee a better finish than last year's 4-25 mark.
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.
It Takes Two
Look around the league and you'll find a lot of veteran duos, upperclassmen who carry a lot of the load for their teams. The highest-scoring tandem belongs to New Hampshire as senior Denise Beliveau and junior Morgan Frame together average 30.3 points per game, more than half of the team's average output. UMBC seniors Erin Brown and Michelle Kurowski also combine to score the majority of the Retrievers' points, checking in at 28.3 ppg. Check out some of the other prominent upperclassmen pairs around America East.
Denise Beliveau/Morgan Frame, UNH 30.3 ppg
Erin Brown/Michelle Kurowski, UMBC 28.3 ppg
Andrea Holmes/Orla O'Reilly, Binghamton 26.2 ppg
Ebone Henry/Cassandra Callaway Albany 24.8 ppg
Chantell Alford/Alex Young, BU 24.3 ppg
Ruthanne Doherty/Daphne Elliott, UH 23.1 ppg
D-D-Defense!
Through all games of Feb. 5, five America East teams rank among the top 60 teams in Division I for scoring defense. Albany's league-leading 53.0 points allowed per game ranks 21st and Boston U.'s 54.4 sits 30th. Hartford (55.7; 48th), Stony Brook (56.1; 55th) and Binghamton (56.3; 56th) also rank in that group.
Board Games
Seven America East players are averaging at least 8.0 rebounds per game led by Albany junior Julie Forster with 9.6 rpg which ranks 34th in the country. The conference hasn't had six players finish with season averages of 8.0 rpg or higher since the 1999-2000 season.
Team Notebooks:
Albany (15-9, 9-2 AE) completed season sweeps of UMBC and Stony Brook last week... The Great Danes posted a come-from-behind, 65-63 win on the road at UMBC before defeating Stony Brook 57-47 at the 15th Annual Big Purple Growl... Junior forward Keyana Williams (Kingston, N.Y./Kingston) averaged 11.0 points and 5.0 rebounds, becoming a key factor in both games... Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) averaged 10.0 points and 11.0 rebounds, including grabbing 17 boards in the win against Stony Brook, helping Albany outrebound the Seawolves 46-24 in the game... Senior guard Cassandra Callaway (Bayonne, N.J./Bayonne) led the Great Danes to victory at UMBC... With Albany down by six points with under a minute left to go, Callaway nailed two three-pointers to tie the game, while freshman guard Sarah Royals (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) converted a lay up with just six seconds on the clock to seal the win... Albany will return to action on Wednesday, hosting New Hampshire in the annual Commitment to Education Day with a noontime start... The Great Danes will also host Maine on Saturday at 2 p.m.
Binghamton (11-13, 5-6 AE) will have both of its games televised this week. On Wednesday, Time Warner Sports will air the Bearcats' game against Vermont. Three days later, America East Television will broadcast Binghamton's game at Hartford live on ESPN3... Senior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audantes) has averaged 10.8 rebounds in the past four games. Last week, she averaged 10.5 rebounds per contest... Senior point guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell) currently has 1,452 career points, which continues to rank third all-time in program history. Against Boston University this past Saturday, she netted a game-high 23 points, marking the 20th time in her career that she has reached the 20-point mark... Rebane continues to rank 11th all time in program history with 1,116 career points. Erica Carter (2006-10) is in 10th place with 1,150 points and Laine Kurpniece is ninth with 1,188 points. With 860 rebounds, Rebane is in second place all-time, trailing only current Binghamton assistant coach Leah Truncale (1998-02), who finished her career with a program-best 978 rebounds.
Boston U. (17-6, 10-0 AE) has started 10-0 in conference for the second-straight season for the best start to the conference slate since going 16-0 in 2008-09... The Terriers completed season sweeps of Vermont and Binghamton with a 72-64 win against the Catamounts Wednesday in Agganis Arena and a 62-49 victory at Binghamton on Sunday... The Terriers are 9-0 at home (8-0 at Case, 1-0 at Agganis Arena)... Junior Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) scored a season-high 28 points against Vermont while sophomore Rashidat Agboola (Methuen, Mass./Methuen) added 14 points and nine rebounds... The Terriers had 19 assists on 25 made field goals against the Catamounts... Three players scored in double-digits at Binghamton, with Mo Moran (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) matching her season high with 19 points... Alford added 12 points and Agboola netted 14... Terriers have held six America East opponents to under 50 points and eight opponents to under 60... Vermont is the only team to score more than 60 points on the Terriers.
The Hawks (15-10, 6-5 AE) finished a two-game week with a pair of victories, defeating New Hampshire at home (64-46) on Wednesday before defeating the Catamounts 63-52 on the road on Super Bowl Sunday... In the opening game of the week junior Alex Hall (Pembroke, N.H./Pembroke Acad.) set a career high with 22 points, one of three major milestones as the Hawks topped New Hampshire for head coach Jennifer Rizzotti's 250th career victory... Freshman Amber Bepko (Guilford, Conn./Mercy) recorded the third milestone in the game as she grabbed eight steals, tying the school record for steals in a single game... In the road win at Vermont, Bepko matched her performance from the New Hampshire game as she grabbed eight steals for the second-straight game... Junior Nikkia Smith (Montville, Conn./Montville) led the Hawks with 18 points, one of three players to finish in double figures... For the week, Hall and Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird) led the team in scoring averaging 13.0 points over the two games... Doherty finished with double figures in both games adding 14 points against New Hampshire and 12 at Vermont. She also led the team's rebounding efforts with 8.0 rebounds-per-contest... The Hawks will play a single game in the week ahead with Binghamton visiting West Hartford on Saturday afternoon. The Hawks and Bearcats are scheduled for a 2 p.m. tip on ESPN3, the first of three-straight home games that are scheduled to air on national television.
Maine (6-17, 3-7 AE) dropped its only contest of the week 66-44 at UMBC on Saturday afternoon... The Black Bears have now failed to win at UMBC in their last five trips to Baltimore as the last win on the road against UMBC came on Jan. 25, 2007, a 74-66 victory for Maine... Samantha Baranowski (Stanhope, N.J.) pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds in the game including 12 in the first half alone. Baranowski totaled nine points, snapping her consecutive games of scoring in double-figures which was at six-straight... Despite going 2-for-9 from the floor, Baranowski's field-goal percentage of 50.6 percent is still tops in the league... Freshman point guard Courtney Anderson (Greene, Maine) continues to dish out the assists as she led the Black Bears in that category for the 11th time this season and ranks eighth in the league in assists per game (2.9)... The Black Bears continue to shine on the boards as they outrebounded the Retrievers on Saturday, the 12th time this season Maine has outrebounded its opponent... Maine returns to action as it welcomes first-place Boston University to Orono on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
UMBC (12-12, 6-5 AE) split its two games this week against Albany and Maine… The Retrievers lost to the Great Danes on Wednesday 65-63 but beat the Black Bears 66-44 on Saturday… Senior Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) led the Retrievers against Albany with a team-high 17 points, and scored 15 points against Maine… Classmate Erin Brown (Bethesda, Md./Walt Whitman) scored a game-high 18 points in the win over the Black Bears… Freshman Lauren Chase (Bowie, Md./Riverdale Baptist) continues her strong rookie campaign as she recorded six assists in both contests… Four Retrievers scored in double figures on Saturday as Brown (18 pts.), Kurowski (15 pts.), Chase (12 pts.) and senior Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) (10 pts.) each accomplished the feat… Brown continues to lead the America East in scoring with 15.2 points per game… Chase is the league leader with 4.7 assists per game… The Retrievers continue America East play on Wednesday, when they head to Long Island to take on Stony Brook… Tip-off at Pritchard Gymnasium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
New Hampshire (12-10, 5-5 AE) dropped its lone contest of the week as the Wildcats fell to Hartford on the road 64-46, splitting the season series with the Hawks... Junior Morgan Frame (Waterville, Maine) netted 13 points and 12 rebounds for her second-straight double-double... Senior Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) posted 11 points, while sophomore Kelsey Hogan (Nashua, N.H.) chipped in with seven points and three assists... The Wildcats shot 31 percent form the floor and outrebounded the Hawks by a 43-39 margin, but committed 22 turnovers... The Hawks scored 24 points off the 22 Wildcat miscues... Beliveau has recorded double-digit scoring performances in seven-straight contests... The Wildcats have three players averaging double-digit scoring, led by Frame with 16.4 points per contest... UNH returns to action on Feb. 8 for a noon matchup at Albany before playing host to Vermont on Feb. 11 at 3 p.m.
The Seawolves (4-20, 1-10 AE) dropped road games to Binghamton and Albany last week... Junior Sam Landers (Springfield, Va.) tied a season high with 13 points against Binghamton as she led three Seawolves in double-figures... Senior Whitney Davis (Muskegon, Mich.) tallied 12 points and a career-high 10 rebounds as she earned her first career double-double... Freshman Kellie Krueger (Wilsonville, Ore.) chipped in with 10 points... Stony Brook shot 41 percent from the field... It was the first time in four games this season that the Seawolves lost when shooting a higher percentage than their opponents... Davis then scored 16 points against Albany on Saturday... Junior Dani Klupenger (Aurora, Ore.) scored 12 points on four three-pointers... Senior Tamiel Murray (Teaneck, N.Y.) dished out a season-high seven assists and senior Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa.) had six assists... Stony Brook had an assist on each of its 10 first-half field goals... SBU turned the ball over a season-low eight times.
Vermont (9-15, 3-8 AE) went 0-2 on the week, falling at Boston U. 72-64 and dropping a 62-52 decision to Hartford... The Catamounts drew a season-high 2,068 fans to Patrick Gym for the Hartford game. It was the largest crowd since senior day of the 2009-10 season (2/21/10 vs. UMBC)... Junior Shanai Heber (Paterson, N.J./Paterson-Kennedy) and freshman Niki Taylor (York, Maine/York) each averaged a double-double for the week... Heber averaged 12.5 points and 12.5 rebounds in the two games... Against Boston U. she posted a double-double in the first half and finished the game with 13 points and 15 rebounds. She added another double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Hartford... Heber has reached double figures in the rebounding column in six of the last seven games and is averaging over 12 rebounds per game in that stretch... Heber also averaged 5.0 assists for the week... Taylor nearly posted back-to-back double-doubles with eight points and 12 rebounds against Boston U. and led UVM with 13 points and 13 rebounds versus Hartford... Freshman Tierra Shumpert (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) averaged 11 points on the week and classmate Kayla Burchill (Portland, Maine/Deering) shot 57.1 percent from three-point range last week, going 4-for-7 from beyond the arc... UVM travels to Binghamton on Wednesday (Feb. 8) and New Hampshire on Saturday (Feb. 11).