Baltimore, Md. - UMBC host Longwood on Saturday night at UMBC RAC Arena as the Retriever women's basketball team looks to move to 5-1 for the first time since the 1985-86 season. UMBC is on a two-game win streak while Longwood is looking to stop a two-game skid. All the action can by caught on www.umbcretrievers.com audio broadcast as play-by-play announce Troy Green will bring the action live. Fans can also follow the live stats with both links inside the Retrievers schedule page.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC is off to a 4-1 record for the first time since the 1989-90 season and has a chance to earn five wins the fastest in the Retrievers' D-I history, surpassing last year's mark of five wins in seven games. UMBC in the last outing shot 59.3 percent in the second half to break a 24-24 halftime tie with American University. The Retrievers went on to win 68-56 for their second consecutive victory. Brittnie Hughes tallied career highs of 19 points and nine assists in the game while Matea Pender scored 17 points and Sharri Rohde tallied 16 points. UMBC has three players on the season in double-figures and is averaging a conference best plus 10.8 ppg scoring margin.
LANCERS' UPDATE: The Lancers are entering the third year of their four-year reclassification period toward official certification in September 2007 operating under all NCAA rules and regulations, including the scheduling requirements. Currently this season the Lancers are 2-4 and looking to snap a two-game losing streak. The Lancers are led by Ashley Mason who is averaging a double-double at 18.7 ppg and 10.0 rpg on the season. In their last outing, Mason scored team-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 82-58 loss to Williams & Mary.
Who's Up Next: UMBC returns to action at home versus Lafayette at 5 p.m. in UMBC RAC Arena. The game will be UMBC's last home game until Jan. 7, a span of five games.
RETRIEVER GAMEDAY
Game Notes: UMBC against Longwood is the Retrievers sixth game of the season and third at home. UMBC has won two straight games while Longwood is looking to break a two-game skid. Longwood, who is in the process of transitioning into D-I, last played UMBC in the Retrievers' fourth year of their move to D-I, with the Lancers winning 95-93 in RAC Arena. Longwood is 3-1 lifetime at UMBC and holds a two-game win streak over the Retrievers. UMBC with a win will move to 5-1, the fastest in the Retrievers D-1 history and the best start since the 1985-86 season when UMBC started 10-1.
RETRIEVER QUICK SHOTS
- Brittnie Hughes has a streak of six-consecutive games with double-digits scored dating back to last season. 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 five games and earned spots on the All-Tournament teams the last two weekends. In the Retrievers last outing Hughes tallied 19 points for a career-high. Matea Pender has the second longest streak at five games while Sharri Rohde as three-consecutive double-figure games. Amanda Robinson has six double-digit games in her last eight dating back to last season.
- UMBC has used a very deep bench the first five 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 14.6 bench points per game. Freshman forward Mackenzie Butler leads UMBC off the bench with 3.8 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 44.9 percent, the second best field goal percentage in the league. UMBC has yet to shoot under 40.0 percent in a game this season, including shooting 50.0 percent on 25-of-50 against American.
- In three-of-four of UMBC's wins Matea Pender has led or tied for the team lead in scoring. Pender in UMBC wins this season is averaging 15.5 ppg and shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 47.8 percent from three-point range.
- Junior Sharri Rohde is shooting 56.8 percent from the field this season, averaging 10.6 ppg on 21-of-37. In the last outing against American, Rohde scored 14 second half points to fuel UMBC's 44-point second half in their win over the Eagles.
News and Notes...
UMBC Prepares For Long Road Ahead...UMBC will soak up the next two home games as the Retrievers' hit the road for the next five games and are on the road for eight of the next nine games. After non-conference play ends with four straight road games, UMBC will stare league play on the road in four of the first five games.
Lending a helping hand...UMBC leads the America East Conference for the second consecutive season in assists per game. The Retrievers to date have recorded 20.22 apg. UMBC has three games with 20-plus assists this season, including 22 assists the last time out against American and 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 nine assists against American and is averaging 6.00 apg through five 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 61 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.
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.
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 2.6 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.
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.
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.
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.
