The UMBC women's basketball team will finish its first America East Conference regular season on Saturday afternoon when they play at the University of Albany. The Retrievers and Great Danes tip at 1 p.m.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: The Retrievers fell to conference foe Vermont in their latest outing, 70-48. UMBC trailed 27-25 at the end of the first half but a couple of runs in the second half by the Catamounts, including a 14-0 run through the middle of the half allowed Vermont to build a double-digit lead on the Retrievers that held up. UMBC was led by Anastasia Goncharova and Sharri Rohde, each with 11 points in the game, and nine points by Maria Brown. Vermont placed four players in double digits in the game. The loss places the Retrievers in the No. 10 slot for the America East Conference Tournament, as UMBC will play in the No. 7-10 game on Wednesday, March 10.
GREAT DANE UPDATE: Albany has secured one of the top six spots in the America East Tournament with its 8-9 conference record but are still fighting to get the No. 4 seed. The Great Danes are coming off a 73-46 loss to Boston U. this past week despite a double-double performance from Danielle Hutcheson with 14 points and 15 rebounds. Teammate Alicia Learn added 10 points. Hutcheson leads the team averaging 13.2 ppg and 10.0 rpg. Becky Ayers is also averaging double figures at 12.9 ppg.
Who's Up Next: The Retrievers travel to Hartford to play in the America East Friendship Cottage Cheese Tournament as the No. 10 seed. The game will be played on Wednesday, March 10 with tip-off time to be determined.
All-time Series vs. Albany: UMBC and Albany met for the first time ever in the earlier season match-up as the Retrievers lost on their home court to the Great Danes, 75-58. This will be the Retrievers first trip to the Recreation and Convocation Center in Albany.
Round Two...In the first meeting this season between UMBC and Albany, the Retrievers fell behind early to the Great Danes and were never able to fully recover as Albany ran out to a 37-24 lead at the break and outscored the Retrievers 38-34 in the second stanza to take a 75-58 win in the first meeting ever between the two schools. Sarah Sweetland scored a game-high 27 points to lead the Great Danes while Retriever freshman Courtney Doughman had a career night with 22 points.
Retrievers Tie For AE Single-Season Three-Point Field Goals Made Record...Heading into the final game of the regular season, the Retrievers as a team, who average 7.3 three-point field goals per game, are one made treys away from becoming the America East's sole leader in single-season three-point field goals made by a team. The Retrievers tied the record of 188 set by Vermont in 1999-2000 at Vermont on Wednesday, Mar. 2 with five treys in the game. Anastasia Goncharova hit the tying trey at the 12.36 mark of the second half.
Retrievers Become AE Single-Season Three-Point Field Goals Attempted Leader...UMBC with 17 attempts against Vermont eclipsed the America East single-season record for three-point field goals attempted, set by New Hampshire in 2001-02 with 526 attempts. The Retrievers entered their game on Mar. 2 against Vermont with 525 attempts on the season and took 17 shots from outside the arc to set the new mark currently at 543.
Brown Leads Retrievers To Win Column...Maria Brown has been outstanding in games won this season, shooting 69.2 percent from the field on 18-of-26 and averaging 14.0 ppg. Brown in Retriever wins is 14-of-14 from the charity stripe, a majority of which sealed wins for the Retrievers in the closing minutes. Brown is shooting an impressive 66.7 percent (6-of-9) from three-point range in wins and is averaging 5.3 rpg and 3.25 apg.
From Down Town…The Retrievers in the latest NCAA statistics (games as of Mar. 1) rank 10th in the country in three-point field goals per game with an average of 7.3. Anastasia Goncharova ranks 43rd on the charts in 3-pt field-goals made, averaging 2.5 per game.
No Charity Allowed...In the latest NCAA statistics release (games as of Mar. 1), UMBC ranked second in the country in fouls per game at 13.5. UMBC finished fifth in the nation last year in fouls per game at 13.5.
Brown Moving Up Scoring Charts...Sophomore Maria Brown has made strides moving up the conference scoring charts in league games, averaging 12.0 ppg for 11th place in AE standings. Brown in the past five games is averaging 13.6 ppg, shooting 59.1 percent from the field. Brown in conference games is shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 4.58 percent from three-point range.
Retrievers Top Shooting Team In League Play...As of games through 3/1 the Retrievers lead the conference in field-goal percentage during league play. The Retrievers as a squad are shooting 44.2 percent from the floor, going 317-of-718.
Retrievers Lead Conference In Treys...The Retrievers lead the America East (through games 3/1) in made three-point field goals averaging 7.23 per game. The Retrievers are even stronger from outside the arc in league play, averaging 7.65 three-point baskets per game. The Retrievers rank second in three-point percentage in conference games, shooting 38.9 percent, and fifth overall at 34.7.
Doughman Named AE Rookie Of The Week...Freshman Courtney Doughman was named by the America East as Wilson Rookie of the Week for the week ending Jan. 25. Doughman had an outstanding week averaging 14.0 points per game en route to picking up the conference's weekly honors and becoming the first ever UMBC women's basketball player to earn a conference weekly award. Doughman, who came off the bench as a reserve in both games on the week, scored a career-high 17 points against conference leader Maine. Doughman hit 6-of-9 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point range in 24 minutes of work. On the week the 5-8 guard shot 66.7 percent (10-of-15) from the floor and 80.0 percent (8-of-10) from three-point range.
Rookies Coming To Play…The freshman class this season has put together solid numbers for the Retrievers in their debut, averaging 34.2 percent of the Retrievers' total scoring. Sharri Rohde is averaging a team third best 7.1 ppg and hit a career-high night with 17 points against Loyola. Courtney Doughman ranks fourth on the team with 6.7 ppg and recorded a career-high night with 22 against Albany. Heather Luttrell posted a career-high 15 points in the first meeting with Northeastern going 5-of-5 from three-point range and Brittnie Hughes, who opened the season with an injury, saw her first action against Radford and netted her first collegiate points against Loyola with four.
Lending A Helping Hand...The Retrievers have two players in the top-10 for assists per game since entering conference play. Maria Brown and Sharri Rohde have been handing out helpers with 2.94apg and Rohde ranking ninth with 2.88 apg in league games. Brown leads the team with 71 assists on the year.
Santos Cashing In At Charity Stripe...Mariana Santos has been spectacular at the free throw line this season, hitting 41-of-42 attempts for a 97.6 free throw percentage. Against Hartford earlier this season, Santos was a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line as she scored 16 points off the bench for the Retrievers. Santos is 23-of-23 from the free throw line in conference games. Her last miss was her last attempt of the non-conference schedule as she has hit 23 in a row.
Hitting The Airwaves…UMBC will be featured on the airwaves a couple times this season. The Retrievers made a TV appearance on Saturday, Jan. 10 when they played Hartford at 12 p.m. on Comcast Sportsnet. WJFK-AM, THE JOCK will broadcast the first end of a men and women's doubleheader on Wed., Feb. 4 as veteran broadcasters Gary Stein and Paul Mittermeier will handle the play-by-play and analyst duties respectively. The Retrievers' women's hoops team can also be caught on Teamline on six different occasions. Teamline can be accessed through the basketball home page and is a free service provided by UMBC Athletics.
Stern Carries Color Commentary...Head coach Phil Stern carried the color commentary at the UMBC men's basketball game against Princeton University back on Dec. 2 at UMBC RAC Arena. Stern joined play-by-play man Gary Stein on the airwaves. Stern is a master of the famed Princeton-style offense and gave substantial in depth insight into the system of play during WJFK's broadcast.
Retrievers Set Single-Game Team Marks...The Retrievers produced stellar numbers in the first meeting with Northeastern earlier this season as they set a number of new team single-game marks. The Retrievers 14 three-point baskets made against Northeastern ties for second in the America East record books and is a UMBC record. In addition, the Retrievers set school records for field goal percentage at 67.4 percent (31-of-46) and three-point field goal percentage at 63.6 (14-of-22).
Freshman Luttrell Breaks Single-Game Mark, Streak Ends At Six Consecutive...Retriever freshman Heather Luttrell broke UMBC's single-game mark for three-point percentage by going 5-of-5 from behind the arc in the first meeting with Northeastern. Luttrell continued her streak into the next game against New Hampshire making her first trey before her streak was broken with a missed three-point attempt in the remaining seconds of the first stanza. Luttrell scored a career-high 15 points in the game against NU.
Getting The Nod…Head Coach Phil Stern has started freshman Sharri Rohde in all of the team's games thus far, making her and teammate Maria Brown the only two to start every game. Fellow freshman Heather Luttrell broke into the starting lineup for the first time at UNC and against Maryland Courtney Doughman got the start as three rookies opened the game on the floor for UMBC.
Retrievers New Beast In The America East…The Retrievers will make their first appearance in the America East this season as UMBC moves into the conference with all its 20-intercollegiate sports. Prior to this year, UMBC spent five seasons in the Northeast Conference and six in the Big South Conference. At the end of last season, the America East had a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of 23 compared to 31 held by the NEC (second lowest). The America East's current RPI for this season is 16 in the country.
Starting From Scratch…With the departure of all-five starters from last year's squad, Phil Stern will be looking for players to step up into the starting role this year. Out of the six returning players, the Retrievers have a total of 26 starts combined prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign, an average of 4.33 starts per player. Matea Pender returns with the most total starts after earning the nod in 18 games her freshman year in 2001-02 before sitting out last season with a knee injury. Anastasia Goncharova has the most starts under head coach Phil Stern with four last year in 27 games played.
Going Global…The Retrievers' 10-player roster contains three international players. The team's lone senior Mariana Santos is from Brazil while sophomore Matea Pender is a native of Croatia and junior Anastasia Goncharova is from Russia. In addition to players from the around the world, the majority of UMBC's squad is from outside the state lines. Maria Brown (Frederick, Md.) and Tyecia Powell (Baltimore, Md.) are the Retrievers' women's hoops only Maryland natives.
Retrievers Ink Three For 2004-05…UMBC head women's basketball coach Phil Stern announced the signings of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to attend UMBC for the 2004-05 academic year. The list includes Indiana natives Kristin Drabyn (Avon, Ind./Avon) and Jennifer Ferguson (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) along with local talent Morgan Hatten (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill).
