BALTIMORE – UMBC women's basketball seeks its season-best fourth straight victory on Saturday, Feb. 23, when it travels to Boston University to take on the Terriers. The Retrievers have won four of their last five games and look to maintain sole possession of fourth place in the America East rankings. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. at Case Gym.
SCOUTING THE RETRIEVERS (10-16, 6-7 AE): UMBC is in the midst of its longest win streak of the season, after snagging its third consecutive victory on Wednesday at Stony Brook, and has taken sole possesion of fourth-place in the conference rankings. The Retrievers' 52-51 victory against the Seawolves marked the black and gold's fifth straight 10-win season under head coach Phil Stern. Senior guard Raven Harris knocked down five-of-seven from beyond the arc and finished with 23 points, seven assists and five steals. Senior forward Kim Browning was a perfect four-for-four from the field and two-for-two from the charity stripe en route to a career-high 10 points.
Harris has four 20-point performances in the last six games, helping her to rank second in the America East in scoring during conference play at 16.1 points per game. Her 89 steals this season places her second on UMBC's single-season steals list and ranks her 12th in the nation in steals per game (3.36). Classmate Brittany Crowell is adding 11.8 points per game on the season and is second the conference in three-point field goals made in AEC action (2.7). Senior guard Kristin Coles is averaging 8.2 points and 6.8 rebounds in her six games of action during league play.
Stern is in his 11th season at the helm of the Retrievers' program, after leading the black and gold to their second America East Championship game appearance last season. Following the graduation of 59.5 percent of the conference's highest scoring offense in 2011-12, UMBC (34 votes) was tabbed to finish sixth in the league behind Albany (61), Boston University (56), Hartford (54), New Hampshire (37) and Vermont (37).
SCOUTING THE TERRIERS (22-5, 12-2 AE): Boston fell for just the second time in conference and the second time in the last 21 games, falling 79-72 to Albany on Thursday night. The Terriers trail the Great Danes by two games in the race for the America East Conference regular-season title. Senior guard Chantell Alford notched her eighth 20-point performance of the season, finishing with a game-high 25 points. Junior forward Rashidat Agboola chipped in 19 points, while senior guard Kristen Sims added 14 points in the loss.
BU features two of top five scorers in the league in Alford and Agboola. Alford's 16.2 points per game ranks first in the conference, while Agboola is averaging 11.9 points and leads the league with 9.0 rebounds per contest in her junior season with the Terriers. Senior point guard Mo Moran is the league-leader in assists, dishing out 6.1 assists per game and marking the third Boston player averaging double-digit points at 10.2 per game.
INSIDE THE SERIES: Boston University holds a 16-7 advantage in the all-time series against the Retrievers, including a regular season sweep last year, but UMBC pulled off the 77-61 upset as the five-seed in the America East Tournament Semifinals. Michelle Kurowski and Tope Obajolu combined for 38 points in the victory over the top-seeded Terriers and earn a spot in the league tournament finals against Albany. BU was able to get back in the win column against UMBC earlier this season, using a 15-0 second-half run to defeat the Retrievers, 63-49, at the RAC Arena. Brittany Crowell finished with a team-high 18 points, while Raven Harris added 15, but Boston's Rashidat Agboola, Chantel Alford and Mo Moran combined for 50 of the Terriers' 63 points.
ON THE HORIZON FOR THE RETRIEVERS: The Retrievers celebrate Senior Night at the RAC Arena against third-place Hartford on Feb. 27 and conclude the regular season at Binghamton on March 2 in an ESPN3 broadcast. UMBC looks to pickup the season split with both teams after falling to each in Jan.
