, Md. – UMBC heads to Maine to take on the three-time America East Regular season champion in a 12 p.m. contest Saturday afternoon at Alfond Sports Arena. Maine is one of two America East programs that the Retrievers are still searching for their first win against. Fans can follow the televised game on a pay-per-view bases at www.watchmainesports.com, listen to the game live on AM 620 WZON at www.zoneradio.com or follow the live stats game tracker. All links are available inside the full story.
RETRIEVER UPDATE: UMBC has hit its longest slide of the season, losing the last four contests, all of which are conference games. The Retrievers head into their match-up with Maine looking for their fist conference victory of the season following a 72-56 loss to Hartford last Saturday. UMBC for the just the second time this season was held below 40.0 percent from the field, despite junior Sharri Rohde going 7-for-7 from the field for 14 points. Rohde used post moves all day on the Hawks as she increased her average to 9.5 ppg. Rohde ranks fourth on the team as Matea Pender, who has been held to her two lowest outputs of the season the last two games, leads UMBC at 14.9 ppg. Pender also leads UMBC on the boards at 5.1 rpg. Brittnie Hughes and Amanda Robinson are each averaging 10.1 ppg.
BLACK BEAR UPDATE: Maine enters the game with a 5-10 mark on the season after playing one of the most difficult non conference schedules in the league. Maine is 1-3 in league play after losing their last two conference games, falling to Vermont 73-60 and New Hampshire, 63-59 in overtime. Ashley Underwood leads the Black Bears at 13.3 ppg, followed by Bracey Barker at 12.1 ppg and Abby Schrader at 11.5 ppg. Schrader and Barker have bee all over the boards this season, averaging 9.5 rpg and 7.2 rpg, respectively.
Who's Up Next: UMBC returns home to host Albany for Mid-Day Madness at 12 p.m. on Thursday, January 26.
RETRIEVER GAMEDAY
Game Notes: UMBC against Maine is the Retrievers 16th game of the season, fifth in the America East Conference and 10th on the road. The game marks the fifth all-time meeting between the two programs with Maine holding a 4-0 all-time advantage. Maine is one of two programs in the America East Conference that UMBC has not beat since entering the league three years ago. Today's game features the Retrievers offense that ranks second in the conference in field goal percentage at 43.9 percent against the stifling defense of Maine that leads the conference in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.5 percent from the field. Maine leads the league at 40.5 rebounds per game while the Retrievers hold the lowest rebounding average in the league at 34.4 rpg.
RETRIEVER QUICK SHOTS
- The Retrievers shooting woes as of late continued against Hartford as the Retrievers shot under 40.0 percent from the field for the second time in the last three games. UMBC was 1-for-9 from the three-point arc, a normal strength for the UMBC offense. Senior Brittnie Hughes continues to struggle from the field having gone 4-for-30 from the field in four conference games while Matea Pender has been held to her two lowest outputs of the year in the last two games. The Retrievers, however, are still shooting 43.9 percent from the field on the year, ranking second in the league, and lead the conference in three-point field goals made per game at 6.13.
- Junior Sharri Rohde was a force inside against Hartford, going a perfect 7-for-7 from the field. Rohde scored 14 points, mostly on inside post moves for layups or short jumpers. UMBC's single-game record for field goal percentage is 100 percent on 10-of-10 shooting by Monica Logan. That record was set on January 4, 1997 against Niagara.
- Senior Matea Pender has recorded double figures in 12 of the Retrievers' 15 games this season. Pender has recorded 20-plus points four times this season, including a season-high 24 points against Boston U. Pender for her career has 40 career double figure games.
- Senior Matea Pender, who last year led the nation in three-point field goal percentage for the majority of the year and finished the year third in the country at 48.3 percent, has climbed into the nations standing to a 15th ranking as of game through Jan. 16, 2006. Pender currently is averaging 47.3 percent from outside the arc, making 35-of-74 three-point field goals. Of Pender's total field goals, 44.9 percent come from outside the arc.
- UMBC in the last released NCAA statistics as of games through Jan. 9, 2006, ranked 10th in the nation with 18.1 apg. The NCAA Statistics are released every Tuesday afternoon.
- UMBC against Maine is the third of three straight road conference games, the middle of four out of five road games to start league play and part of an eight of nine road game stretch. UMBC between Dec. 10 and Jan. 25 will have played eight games away from home, compared to one home game.
News and Notes...
Strong Conference Start...America East women's basketball teams are off to a strong 56-39 (.589) combined start to the 2005-06 non-conference season. As a conference, America East currently ranks 13th in the nation in The Collegiate Basketball News Women's RPI Report, but more importantly, is fourth among I-AA conferences. Only the Colonial (eighth), Missouri Valley (11th) and Atlantic 10 (ninth) are higher ranking I-AA leagues. America East boasts three teams with RPIs in the top 100. Due in large part to the Seawolves win over ranked Temple, Stony Brook leads the conference teams with an RPI of 28, followed by Hartford (66) and Boston University (91).
Lending a helping hand...UMBC leads the America East Conference for the second consecutive season in assists per game and ranks 10th in the NCAA Statistics through games Jan. 16, 2006. The Retrievers to date have recorded 18.1 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 4.8 apg through 15 games this season. The junior point guard has 72 assists on the year.
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 842 career points, 16th 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.
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 10 treys to reach fourth on UMBC's all-time three-point baskets made chart.
Rohde's Start Streak...Junior Sharri Rohde extended her streak to 71 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.
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 199 career assists, 11th all-time and 55 career blocks, ranking 11th all-time.
Hughes Joins All-Time Assists Chart...Junior Brittnie Hughes recorded three assists against Boston U. to joining UMBC's all-time top-15 for career assists. The Retriever point guard currently has 173 career assists, ranking tied for 14th all-time.
UMBC Featured on AE TV...The second installment of "America East On Campus" showcased a feature on the UMBC women's basketball team. The second show debuted on New England Sports Network (NESN) January 16 at 6:30 p.m. in a 30-minute window between two Atlantic Coast Conference basketball games, followed by a broadcast on Cox Sports Television at 9 p.m. NESN re-aired the show on January 17 at 6:30 p.m. and again on January 29 at 2:30 p.m. Time Warner Cable in Albany and Time Warner Cable in Binghamton will also broadcast the show in the month January with programming times and dates to be announced. Please check America East's online schedule for the latest programming information. A streaming video will also be available through the internet via America East All Access, provided by CSTV.
Indiana Trio Make Most Of Trip To Hoosier State...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.
Hughes Earns America East Conference Co-Player of the Week (12-4-05)...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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
