Baltimore, Md. - UMBC travels to Washington D.C., native American University on Thursday night for the 11th all-time meeting between the Retrievers and Eagles. UMBC the last two games has placed four players in double-digits in each game and is looking for its first 4-1 start since the 1989-90 season after jumping out to a 3-1 start for the second consecutive season. Fans can check out American University's broadcast of the game by clicking on the link at the top of the page.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC is off to a 3-1 record for the second consecutive season after posting a 1-1 mark at the South Florida Tournament last weekend. Junior point guard Brittnie Hughes earned a spot on the All-Tournament team after scoring 15.5 ppg and handing out 4.5 apg in the two-game event. Hughes on the season is tied with Matea Pender for the team lead in points per game at 13.8. Hughes and Pender lead the America East Conference with consecutive double-digit performances. Hughes has five dating back to last season and Pender with double-digits in all four games this season. The Retrievers as a team have three players averaging double-figures as Amanda Robinson is averaging 10.3 ppg on the year.
EAGLES' UPDATE: American University earned its first win of the season with a 76-74 overtime win over Western Michigan in the Florida International Tournament last weekend. Tala Hadavi leads three Eagles in double-digit scoring on the season with 13.0 ppg. Abby Lipkis is averaging 10.5 ppg and 8.3 rpg on the year while Tara Williams is averaging 10.3 ppg.
Who's Up Next: UMBC returns home to host Longwood at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at UMBC RAC Arena. The game will mark the first time UMBC has met Longwood since the 1990 season.
RETRIEVER GAMEDAY
Game Notes: UMBC against American is the Retrievers' fifth game of the season as UMBC is out to a 3-1 start for the second consecutive season. UMBC is looking to go 4-1 for the first time since 1989-90 when the Retrievers opened 3-0 and became a 4-1 team on Dec. 4 with a win over Rider. The Retrievers travel to American for the first time since the 2002-03 season, having played the last two games at UMBC. The Retrievers are 1-3 against the Eagles at American's home court. Last season UMBC defeated American by af inal of 67-49 as Matea Pender scored 25 points against the Eagles. That win propelled UMBC to five wins the fastest in the Retreivers' D-I history.
RETRIEVER QUICK SHOTS
- Brittnie Hughes has the longest streak of double-digit performances entering the week with five-straight games dating back to last season with double-digit scoring. Hughes scored 15 points in the America East Tournament in the Retrievers' final game of the season last year. This year Hughes has tallied 10-plus points in all four games and earned spots on the All-Tournament teams the last two weekends. Matea Pender has the second longest streak at four games, on in each this season. Amanda Robinson has six double-digit games in her last seven dating back to last season.
- UMBC has used a very deep bench the first four games of the season with 11 players seeing significant minutes and all 13 available players seeing action in each game on the season. UMBC in four games is averaging 17.0 bench points per game. Sophomore guard Kristin Drabyn leads UMBC off the bench with 4.3 ppg. The Retrievers balanced attack has kept players fresh as no player is averaging 30 minutes per game. In 14 out of the final 18 games last season, at least one player on the Retriever squad played all-40 minutes. Sharri Rohde leads UMBC with 11 40-minute nights in her career while Brittnie Hughes has logged all the minutes on the court on seven occasions.
- UMBC has been very efficient from the field to date this season with the Retrievers shooting 43.4 percent. UMBC has yet to shoot under 40.0 percent in a game this season.
- In all three of UMBC's wins Matea Pender has led or tied for the team lead in scoring. Pender in UMBC wins this season is averaging 15.0 ppg and shooting 46.9 percent from the field and 53.3 percent from three-point range.
- In the last two games UMBC has place four players in double digits in each game.
- Junior Sharri Rohde extended her streak to 60 consecutive starts and has not missed a start in her entire collegiate career, starting all 28 games as a freshman and sophomore and every one this year.
News and Notes...
UMBC Places Third At South Florida Tournament...UMBC drew the short straw of facing BIG EAST opponent and host school South Florida in the opening round of the Best Western Round Ball Classic. Despite being tied 53-53 with five minutes remaining the Retrievers came up short and moved to the consolation game against Loyola (Ill.). UMBC returned to the winning track with a 67-55 win over Loyola (Ill.) behind Brittnie Hughes and Matea Pender's 16 points each.
Hughes Named To Second All-Tournament Team...When it comes to tournaments, UMBC junior point guard Brittnie Hughes has stepped up to the challenge, earning a spot on both all-tournament teams this season. Hughes won a spot on the Retriever Tip-Off Tournament team after leading the Retrievers to the title. At South Florida, Hughes averaged 15.5 ppg and 4.25 apg to lead the Retrievers to a 1-1 mark. Last year Hughes was named to the 2004 Retriever Tip-Off Tournament team.
Lending a helping hand...UMBC lead the America East Conference for the second consecutive season in assists per game. The Retrievers to date have recorded 20.00 apg. UMBC has two games with 20-plus assists this season, including 26 against Fairleigh Dickinson as the Retrievers came one assist away from their single-season mark of 27, set in 1985 against Shippensburg. Brittnie Hughes dished out a career-high eight assists against Fairleigh Dickinson and is averaging 5.25 apg through four games of the season. The junior point guard led UMBC with 99 assists on the year last season and ranked among the conference leaders in the category.
Block Party...Amanda Robinson's six blocks against Morgan State tied Eunice French for the most blocks recorded in a single game by a Retriever. Robinson had three blocks in the first five minutes against Morgan State. UMBC as a team blocked nine shots against Morgan State, Robinson's six, Nicole Dixon recording two and Mackenzie Butler one. UMBC on the season is averaging 3.0 bpg
Pender Named MVP Of Retriever Tip-Off Tournament....Senior Matea Pender was named Retriever Tip-Off Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 14.5 ppg in the two games. Pender shot .500 from outside the arc, making 5-for-10 while shooting 47.6 percent from the field on 10-of-21. Pender added 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in the two-day event.
Double-Double...UMBC Amanda Robinson recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson. Dating back to last season, Robinson has double-digit scoring in six of her last seven games.
UMBC Captures Tip-Off Tournament Title...UMBC for the first time in the three-year history of the Retriever Tip-Off Tournament captured the title, defeating Morgan State, 72-50, in the opening round to advance the championship game against Fairleigh Dickinson. UMBC went on to beat FDU, 76-58, to win the title as Matea Pender earned tournament most valuable player honors and Brittnie Hughes made the all-tournament team.
UMBC Adds Two Non-Conference Games In 2005-06...With Northeastern having moved to the Colonial Athletic Conference, UMBC will play two less conference games and added two non-conference games to the 2005-06 schedule. UMBC will play 16 conference games, eight home and eight away, and face 11 non-conference opponents, leading up to the America East Tournament.
Hitting the Airwaves...UMBC will hit the airwaves with six games broadcasted live on WLG-1370 AM, all home games and some away games via www.umbcretrievers.com and a televised game against Vermont on Feb. 12 at RAC Arena. All WLG broadcast games will also run live via the website for fans outside the broadcasting network. UMBC will also broadcast live stats via the web for all home games at RAC Arena.
America East Tournament Returns To Hartford...For the third consecutive season the America East Conference Championships will return to Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on the campus of the University of Hartford. Hartford has hosted the conference tournament the past two seasons, including winning the league tournament last season.
Pender Looking For Repeat Season...Matea Pender is looking for a repeat season in which she finished third in the nation in three-point field goal percentage and ranked as one of the most improved point scorers, going from a 1.5 ppg average to previous year to 13.3 last season.
International Students...UMBC has developed a reputation for having international students on its roster, including two in 2005-06. UMBC has graduated two international students the last two years and will graduate senior Matea Pender at the conclusion of the upcoming season.
UMBC Inks Two for 2006-07...UMBC head women's basketball coach Phil Stern announced the signings of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to attend UMBC for the 2006-07 academic year. Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and Leanne Crockett (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) are both slated to become freshman at UMBC in the fall of 2006.
Retrievers Picked Ninth In Preseason Conference Poll...The UMBC women's basketball team was picked to finish ninth in the America East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. Hartford was the league's pick to win the conference after taking the league tournament title last year. Boston U. and Maine were selected to tie for second.
