- UMBC begins the first of three games in six days and the start of five-consecutive games on the road as the Retrievers take their 6-1 record to Drexel on Saturday at 1 p.m. Last year UMBC held a 5-2 record before falling to Drexel, 67-53, at home.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC is off to a 6-1 start for the first time since 1985-86 when the Retrievers started 10-1 on the year. The Retrievers are 4-0 at home, 1-1 on the road and 1-0 at a neutral site. UMBC is coming off a 60-46 win over Lafayette after senior Matea Pender tallied 20-plus points for the first time this season and ninth of her career. Pender shot 4-of-6 from outside the arc for 22 points in the game. Morgan Hatten tallied 10 points off the bench while Brittnie Hughes, who had a seven-game streak of double figure scoring snapped with two points in the game, handed out a career-high 10 assists. Pender leads UMBC with 14.7 ppg.
DRAGON UPDATE: Drexel has started the 2005-06 season with a 3-4 record with one of the losses coming in Colonial Athletic Conference play. Drexel has won three of its last five games and is coming off a 53-48 victory over LaSalle. Catherine Scanlon has led the team in scoring in four games this season and is averaging a team-best 14.6 ppg. Narissa Suber is scoring 11.4 ppg followed by Nicole Hester at 9.5 ppg. Scanlon and Hester are both averaging 6.3 rpg as well. Drexel as a team is shooting 36.3 percent from the field on the year.
Who's Up Next: UMBC is in the midst of three games in six days and a five-game road swing. The Retrievers next travel to play IPFW and Butler for games in Indiana on Tuesday and Thursday at 7 p.m., respectively.
RETRIEVER GAMEDAY
Game Notes: UMBC against Drexel is the Retrievers eighth game of the season and third on the road. UMBC is on a four-game win streak for the first time since the 2001-02 season. UMBC and Drexel have met seven times, the latest coming last year. In that game UMBC carried a 5-2 start, resembling the beginning to this season, but was stopped by the Dragons in a 67-53 defeat at home. Drexel holds the all-time series 4-3 after snapping a three-game series win streak last year. The game will feature UMBC's Matea Pender, 14.7 ppg, versus Drexel's Catherine Scanlon, 14.6 ppg, on the offensive end. Drexel, a member of the Colonial Athletic Conference, is UMBC's only CAA opponent this season.
RETRIEVER QUICK SHOTS
- Brittnie Hughes' streak of seven-consecutive games with double-digits scored dating back to last season was snapped with two points in her last time out. Hughes, however, stayed within the Retriever offense, dishing out a career-high 10 assists. Entering the week Hughes ranked 11th in the nation and first in the conference in assists per game at 6.3.
- UMBC entering the week ranks seventh in the nation with 20.1 apg and ninth in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 33.1 percent from the field.
- UMBC has used a very deep bench the first seven games of the season with 10 players seeing significant minutes and all 13 available players seeing action in six of seven games on the season. UMBC in four games is averaging 16.6 bench points per game. Sophomore guard Morgan Hatten leads UMBC off the bench with 4.7 ppg. UMBC's bench is shooting 40.7 percent from the field and averaging 17.4 rpg. Nicole Dixon leads the UMBC bench on the boards at 4.1 rpg. The Retrievers balanced attack has kept players fresh as no player is averaging 30 minutes per game.
- UMBC has been very efficient from the field to date this season with the Retrievers shooting 45.3 percent. UMBC has yet to shoot below 40.0 percent in a game this season, including shooting 50.0 percent on 25-of-50 against American and 49.1 on 27-of-55 against Longwood in back-to-back games.
- Brittnie Hughes is a perfect 13-for-13 in the last three games at the charity stripe, going 9-for-9 against American and 4-for-4 against Longwood. Hughes did not have a free throw attempt against Lafayette. Hughes has hit her last 17 free throws, dating back to the Retrievers win over Loyola (Ill.) where she hit her final four in the game.
- UMBC down the stretch has taken care of the ball leading to its 6-1 mark. In the final five minutes of games this season, UMBC has committed just five turnovers. UMBC during those final five minutes hold an assist to turnover ratio of 3.8 with 19 assists. UMBC is also shooting 82.1 percent from the free throw line making 23-of-28.
News and Notes...
UMBC Prepares For Long Road Ahead...UMBC will begin a stretch of five games on the road and eight of nine away from home with three games in the next six days. UMBC travels to Drexel followed by Indiana native programs IPFW and Butler. UMBC after Christmas will play at Navy and New Hampshire before returning home on Jan. 7 against Boston U.
Lending a helping hand...UMBC leads the America East Conference for the second consecutive season in assists per game and ranks seventh in the NCAA Statistics through games Dec. 12, 2005. The Retrievers to date have recorded 20.1 apg. UMBC has four 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 10 assists against Lafayette and is averaging 6.3 apg through seven games this season. The junior point guard led UMBC with 99 assists on the year last season and ranked among the conference leaders in the category.
Rohde's Start Streak...Junior Sharri Rohde extended her streak to 63 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.
Pender Passes 700-Points Mark, Eyes All-Time Top-20 Scoring Chart...Senior Matea Pender passed the 700-career points mark last week and currently has 721 career points, needing 26 to reach UMBC's all-time top-20 for points scored. The last time UMBC had an active member on the top-20 scoring list was during the 2002-03 season. Pender is currently on pace to reach 1,000 career points and become the 15th Retriever to ever break the 1,000 point plateau.
Pender Five Treys From 100 for her career...Senior Matea Pender is five trays from 100 career three-point baskets. Only four other Retrievers have recorded 100 three-pointers in their careers. Pender currently has 95 treys, fifth all-time.
Rohde Moving Up Assists and Blocks All-Time Charts...Junior Sharri Rohde, who is UMBC's active leader in assists, blocks and steals, is moving up the Retrievers all-time charts in the assist and blocks category. Rohde currently has 177 career assists, ranking 13th all-time and 48 career blocks, tied for 12th all-time. With 145 career assists, junior Brittnie Hughes is closing in on an all-time top-10 ranking.
Hughes Earns America East Conference Co-Player of the Week...Brittnie Hughes was named America East Conference Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 4, 2005. Hughes led UMBC to back-to-back wins as the junior point guard averaged 18.0 ppg and 6.5 apg in two contests. Hughes opened the week at American, scoring a career-high 19 points with nine assists and a 9-of-9 performance at the free throw line.
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.
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 3.4 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
