, Md. – UMBC will play its final non-conference game of the 2005-06 season when the Retriever go for win number eight on Friday night at Navy. The game marks the seventh straight year UMBC and Navy have met, with the Retrievers snapping a three-game win streak by the Mids last year. Game time is 7:30 p.m. and fans planning to attend the game are reminded of Navy's access policies to the Yard. Fans should check www.navysports.com for all the information on where to park and what is needed for access to Alumni Hall.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC's looked poised to tie last year's total wins mark after building a 17-point lead on Butler in their last game out. The Retrievers, however, saw the Bulldogs chip away at their lead and finally complete the rally with a 72-66 win over UMBC. The Retrievers in the game were led by 19 points from Amanda Robinson, one of three Retrievers averaging double figures on the year. UMBC now stands at 7-3 on the year, but have lost two of their last three contests. Matea Pender leads UMBC at 14.6 ppg followed by Brittnie Hughes at 12.5 ppg and Robinson with 10.9 ppg. Sharri Rohde leads the Retrievers on the boards with 5.2 rpg. Rohde tallied a career-high 11 rebounds against Butler.
MIDS UPDATE: Navy enters the game with a 6-4 mark including a 71-65 defeat of Radford on Wednesday, Dec. 28. The Mids are led by Carly Meyer with 14.6 ppg and 7.8 rpg. Meyer leads three players in double figures on the season with Ashley Pelzek averaging 13.1 ppg and Betsy Burnett 10.7 ppg. Pelzek is coming off a strong performance against Radford, scoring a game-high 24 points, going 5-for-6 from outside the arc and 8-for-11 from the field.
Who's Up Next: UMBC enters conference play at New Hampshire on Wednesday January, 4 at 7:00 p.m. The game will be the Retrievers fifth-straight road game.
RETRIEVER GAMEDAY
Game Notes: UMBC against Navy is the Retrievers 11th game of the season and sixth on the road. The game marks the seventh consecutive season the two teams have met with Navy holding a 4-2 advantage over that span. UMBC broke a three-game win streak by the Mids with a 59-46 win at home over Navy. The Retrievers this season has won two games against the Patriot league (Lafayette and American) and the last five, sweeping Lafayette, American and Navy last year. Navy has won eight of the last 10 games played in Annapolis and leads the series 13-7 all-time.
RETRIEVER QUICK SHOTS
- UMBC's Indiana girls put on a show in front of some family and friends against IPFW and Butler. The Indiana trio combined for 31 points against IPFW. Kristin Drabyn scored a career-high 14 points, all in the second half. Sharri Rohde tallied 10 points while Heather Luttrell dropped seven points in the game. The trio shot a combined 63.1 percent from the field, making 12-of-19 shots. Against Butler, Rohde tallied a career-high 11 rebounds while Drabyn finished with her second double-digit performance, scoring 10 points.
- UMBC continues to shot well outside the arc, shooting above 40.0 percent the last four games and above 47.0 percent the last three games. UMBC leads the league through Dec. 28 with 6.4 treys per game. Senior Matea Pender leads UMBC as the Retriever guard is shooting 66.7 percent over the last four games, making 14-of-21 attempts from three-point range. Over that same span Kristin Drabyn is 7-of-10 from the three-point land.
- Brittnie Hughes' as of games through Dec. 19 ranked 30th in the nation at 5.62 assists per game. NCAA national statistics are released every Tuesday afternoon and will release again the on Jan. 3. Hughes recorded one assist her last time out and is averaging 5.2 apg, second in the AE standings.
- UMBC also in the last released NCAA statistics ranked sixth in the nation with 19.6 apg and 28th in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.0 percent from the field. UMBC enters this game at 19.9 apg and holding opponents to 36.5 percent shooting from the field.
- UMBC has been very efficient from the field to date this season with the Retrievers shooting 45.8 percent. UMBC has yet to shoot below 40.0 percent in a game this season, including shooting a season-high 54.5 percent against IPFW, making 30-of-55 attempts from the field.
- UMBC in the final five minutes of its nine games this season has turned over the ball a 13 times, averaging 1.3 turnovers per game in the final five minutes. During that same span of time, UMBC has handed out 22 assists and holds a 1.7 assist to turnover ratio.
News and Notes...
UMBC In Midst of Five Game Swing...UMBC is in the middle of a stretch of five games on the road and eight of nine away from home. UMBC played three games in six days to start the road swing, traveling to Drexel and 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.
UMBC Faces Third of Three Patriot League Schools...UMBC takes on three Patriot League schools this season in American, Lafayette and Navy. The Retrievers faced the same three schools last season with wins in all-three contests. UMBC currently has a five-game win streak against the conference, dating back to the 2003-04 season with a loss to American.
Lending a helping hand...UMBC leads the America East Conference for the second consecutive season in assists per game and ranks sixth in the NCAA Statistics through games Dec. 19, 2005. The Retrievers to date have recorded 19.9 apg. UMBC has six 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 5.2 apg through 10 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.
Pender Reaches All-Time Top-20 Scoring Chart...Senior Matea Pender joined UMBC's all-time top-20 chart for points scored after recording 13 points against IPFW. Pender currently has 764 career points, 19th all-time. 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.
Rohde's Start Streak...Junior Sharri Rohde extended her streak to 66 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 Becomes Fifth Retriever To Reach 100 Treys For Her Career...Senior Matea Pender recorded five treys against Drexel to become the fifth player in UMBC history to reach 100 career three-point baskets. Pender needs 20 treys to reach fourth on UMBC's all-time three-point baskets made chart.
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 189 career assists, 11th all-time and 49 career blocks, ranking 12th all-time. With 153 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 3.1 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.
