HARTFORD, Conn. -- With a wealth of young talent returning for the 2010-11 season, the Boston University Terriers are the team to beat for the 2011 America East Women’s Basketball Championship. The Terriers received all eight possible first-place votes in a poll of the league’s nine head coaches, with head coaches not permitted to vote for their own team. The conference office unveiled the preseason poll today at the 2010 America East Basketball Tip-Off Event at the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, host city of the 2011 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship presented by Newman’s Own.
Perennial powerhouse University of Hartford garnered the remaining first-place vote and received 56 points, eight points behind the Terriers. Binghamton University placed third in the poll with 50 points, followed by Stony Brook University (39), UMBC (37) and University of Vermont (30). University at Albany (18), University of Maine (17) and University of New Hampshire (13) rounded out the nine-team poll.
The 2011 America East Championship first, quarter and semifinal rounds will take place March 3-6 at Hartford’s Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion. The highest remaining seed will host the title game the following week with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament where America East teams have wins in three the last five years.
Boston U. (16-15 overall record in 2009-10, 11-5 in America East) returns all five starters from last season’s squad which exceeded the preseason predicted finish of fifth, finishing third and hosting a postseason WNIT game. The catalyst to this success came in the form of an impressive freshman class. Rookie of the Year and first-team all-conference honoree Chantell Alford (West Haven, Conn./Wilbur Cross) led the team in points, rebounds and steals, while third-team all-conference guard Mo Moran (Hopewell Junction, N.Y./John Jay) successfully ran the point as a rookie with 4.3 assists per game. A breakout sophomore season from shooting guard Alex Young (Hickory, N.C./St. Stephen’s), another third-team pick, added to the winning formula. With 10 returning letterwinners, seventh-year head coach Kelly Greenberg would like to make 2011 the year for her first America East Championship title.
Hartford (27-5, 16-0) always contends for a conference title under Jen Rizzotti’s coaching staff and this year should be no different. The Hawks return two starters in senior point guard Jackie Smith (Westfield, Mass./Holyoke) and sophomore forward Ruthanne Doherty (Richmond, Va./L.C. Bird). Smith, a preseason all-conference selection, will run the team after averaging 6.5 points per game and team-highs of 3.2 assists and 29.1 minutes per game last year. Doherty, an all-rookie choice, will have more responsibilities in the post due to losses caused by graduation. Senior guard Mary Silvia (Reading, Mass./Reading Memorial) and junior guard Ilicia Mathis (Hamden, Conn./Hill Regional Career) have come off the bench to have success on the perimeter with .320 and .264 three-point shooting, respecitvely, last season, which creates depth on this Hartford squad.
Binghamton (11-19, 7-9) returns a solid backcourt combination of Jackie Ward (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford-Mendon) and preseason all-conference guard Andrea Holmes (Memphis, Tenn./Mitchell). Holmes led the team in scoring last season with 13.3 points per game, but also in ball distribution with 4.7 assists per game. Wards adds to the 1-2 punch with 10.9 points and 2.1 assists per game, while junior forward Viive Rebane (Talinn, Estonia/Audentes School) collected 8.2 points and 7.1 rebounds in the paint. With the sour taste of falling in last year’s conference quarterfinals as the fifth seed, the Bearcats will be hungry come conference play.
Stony Brook (10-20, 7-9) features a veteran senior class which has seen gradual improvement in its first three years, and now is ready to compete for a title. Forward Kirsten Jeter (Elmont, N.Y./Elmont) takes the lead in the front court and was tabbed a preseason all-conference choice. Jeter has a way of dominating a game, compiling 14.4 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 steals per game as well as 57 assists and 13 blocks in 2009-10. Classmate Misha Horsey (Wyncote, Pa./Cheltenham) roams the backcourt, dishing out 3.3 assists per game and giving up minimal turnovers for a league-leading assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.58. The Seawolves have one of their deepest teams in recent years which could make for a dangerous squad come March.
UMBC (13-17, 7-9) will have four starters, experienced upperclassmen, and a bevy of underclassmen to work with for the upcoming season. Junior guard Michelle Kurowski (Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville) will likely catch the attention of opposing defenses, especially with the loss of all-conference guard Carlee Cassidy to graduation. Kurowski is the Retrievers’ top returning scorer (12.9 ppg) and rebounder (5.9 rpg), but will have post players Meghan Colabella (Upper Montclair, N.J./Montclair) and Topé Obajolu (Randallstown, Md./Archbishop Carroll) with their combined 14.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game up front to complement her.
Vermont (27-7, 13-3) is coming off the program’s most successful season ever, which included a win over Wisconsin in the NCAA Tournament, but the Catamounts will have to look for continued success with many newcomers. The change begins at the top with first-year head coach Lori Gear McBride. Without any starters returning from last year, Gear McBride will look to seniors Tonya Young (Canaan, N.H./Mascoma Valley Regional) and Kelli Hier (Winooski, Vt./Rice Memorial) for leadership. Young, as the top returning scorer with 7.8 points per game last year, will likely have to fill the scoring void left by graduated seniors.
New Head Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson leads Albany (11-19, 4-12) into the 2010-11 season with 12 returning letterwinners, including four starters. The Great Danes have a ton of potential, which include all-rookie picks Julie Forster (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) and Ebone Henry (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei Catholic). Forster, a sophomore forward, led the league with 9.6 boards per America East contest, while Henry, a guard, will be the go-to scorer after averaging 12.4 points per game as a freshman.
Maine (8-21, 4-12) continues its rebuilding process and has some solid players in place to do so. Junior forward Samantha Wheeler (Derry, N.H./Timberlane Regional) hopes to improve upon her third-team all-conference year in which she led the team in scoring with 10.8 points per game and corraled 7.2 rebounds per game. The Black Bears are excited for their five newcomers, including four freshmen and junior transfer Sheay Longstaff (Topeka, Kan./Coffeyville CC).
New Hampshire (9-22, 3-13) will have a new face on this bench this year as Maureen Magarity took over the program as head coach over the summer. Magarity, the youngest Division I head coach, inherits a pair of talented players in the front court, including preseason all-conference pick Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass./Framingham) who returns as the leading scorer (11.2 ppg) and rebounder (6.1 rpg). Senior center Jill McDonald (Middlebury Union, Vt./Middlebury) has developed into a valuable asset in the paint who averaged 9.9 ppg a year ago.
2010-11 Preseason Poll
Rank Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Boston University (8) 64
2. Hartford (1) 56
3. Binghamton 50
4. Stony Brook 39
5. UMBC 37
6. Vermont 30
7. Albany 18
8. Maine 17
9. New Hampshire 13