BALTIMORE - After nearly two weeks off from competition, UMBC women's basketball travels to D.C. to take on American on Sunday afternoon.
UMBC has won the past two meetings, but American leads the all-time series 15-8. Last November at CEI, UMBC held off a late rally from American to pull out a 50-45 victory.
Tiara Bellamy scored 10 points off the bench while fellow returners Carmen Yanez (2 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl),
Lauren Thompson (3 pts, 2 reb), and
Alaina Williams (2 pts, 5 reb) also saw action. Yanez scored eight points against American in the 2023 matchup as Trinity Palacio scored with a second left to lift UMBC over American.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Retrievers led Loyola (Md.) by 13 in the third quarter, but a rapid fourth-quarter comeback from the Greyhounds propelled them to a 60-57 victory over the Retrievers.
- Jade Tillman led the way for UMBC, scoring 15 points, grabbing four rebounds, handing out three assists, and nabbing two steals. Tillman was extremely efficient, shooting 4-6 from the field and going a perfect 6-6 from the line. Kennedy Austin finished with 10 points and three steals while Alaina Williams added seven points and six rebounds.
- American dropped a 69-63 contest to VCU on Tuesday night, falling to 1-9 this season. Looking for its first victory in two months, the Eagles led VCU by three entering the fourth quarter on Tuesday night, but the Rams outscored the Eagles 24-15 in the final 10 minutes to secure a 69-63 win. Molly Driscoll led the way for American with 24 points and five rebounds while Madisyn Moore-Nicholson (14) and Anna Rescifina (10) also scored in double figures for the Eagles.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES
- American opened the season with a 66-63 victory over Delaware State, earning Kelly Killion her first victory as the program's head coach. American has dropped contests to Clemson, Delaware, LIU, La Salle, Yale, Drexel, William & Mary, George Washington and VCU.
- The Eagles are averaging 54.6 points per game, being outscored by 13.4 points per contest.
- Molly Driscoll is the lone player averaging double digit points this season for American at 14.1 points per contest. Driscoll has reached double figures in seven of 10 games this season, topping out at 29 points vs. La Salle on November 26. She went three straight games to start December without reaching double figures, but bounced back with 24 versus VCU.
- Charlotte Tuhy has dominated the glass, pulling down 10.6 per game and adding 9.1 points per game. Tuhy has five double-doubles this season, including a 12-point, 15-rebound effort versus Drexel. Tuhy ranks 11th in Division 1 with her five double-doubles while ranking 20th in rebounds per game.
- Madisyn Moore-Nicholson is second on the team at 9.2 points per game, knocking down 11 threes this season. Moore-Nicholson scored a season-high 20 points vs. Delaware on Nov. 17.
- The Eagles have been extremely foul-averse in 2025, ranking fourth in the country with just 12.1 fouls per contest.
- Not afraid to let it fly from deep, the Eagles rank 62nd in three-point attempts per game at 24.2.
- Hired in April, Kelly Killion is in year one at American. Killion spent 11 seasons at the University of Pennsylvania, including the past three seasons as the program's Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator. Prior to Penn, Killion also coached at Sacred Heart and William & Mary. As a player, she was a two-time Central Atlantic Collegiate Player of the Year at Holy Family University. She was named to the Holy Family Athletics Hall of Fame in 2021.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- Austin and Tillman continue to propel UMBC offensively, with Austin averaging 13.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game followed by Tillman at 12.1 points and 5.8 boards per contest.
- UMBC holds victories over Stevenson, Virginia, Presbyterian, and Morgan State. The Retrievers dropped contests to Maryland, Brown, UMES, Towson, FIU, and Loyola.
- The UMBC bench has provided a great boost to start the season, ranking 62nd nationally in bench points at 26.4 per game. The Retrievers have scored more than 40 points off the bench twice; 42 vs. Stevenson, and 41 at Brown. UMBC has scored at least 16 bench points in every game this season.
- UMBC ranks 33rd in the nation in free throws made per game at 15.8, getting to the line at will and leading the America East in the category.
- Working hard on the offensive glass, the Dawgs rank 39th in Division I with 15.0 offensive boards per game. UMBC pulled down a season-high 27 of its own misses in the win over Morgan State.
- Speaking of getting to the free-throw line at will, Austin ranks 23rd in Division I in free throws made with 52. She ranks 27th in Division I in free throws attempted with 65.
- The most experienced Retriever, Carmen Yanez became the 16th player in UMBC history to hand out 200 assists for her career. She is off to a strong start in 2025-26, handing out four assists per game. Yanez is 12 assists away from etching her name into the UMBC record books for career assists.
BACK-2-BACK
- Austin was named America East Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week, making her the first Retriever since 2017 to secure the honor in back-to-back weeks. Austin is the eighth player in program history to earn AE Rookie of the Week honors in consecutive weeks.
- Austin needed just one game to get the job done this week, putting forth a stellar effort in a 66-48 win for the Retrievers at Morgan State on Saturday afternoon. In the starting lineup for the fourth straight game, Austin scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds, added a steal, and handed out an assist in 25 minutes of action. The Waldorf, Md. native shot 6-13 from the floor, knocked down all seven of her free throws, and pulled down five offensive rebounds in the win. The freshman scored 14 of her 19 points in the first half as UMBC entered halftime with a six-point advantage.
- After going five years without an America East Rookie of the Week, UMBC has had two players earn the honor a total of three times thus far in 2025.
- Heidi Williams became UMBC's first America East Weekly Award winner for the 2025-26 season after an impressive week for the Dawgs. Williams averaged 10.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game. Williams is the first Retriever to be named Rookie of the Week since Lyric Swann in January, 2020. In Thursday's historic victory over Virginia, Williams scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in 20 minutes. She also hit four free throws in the final six seconds of the game to ice away the victory for UMBC. Williams made seven of eight free throws in the game. She added six points, six rebounds, and three blocks on Sunday afternoon in a 56-54 loss to Brown.
NOTHING BUT NET
- As of Monday, Dec. 15, UMBC ranks 202nd in the NCAA's NET rankings. In the NET era, UMBC had never reached higher than 269 in the rankings prior to the 2025-26 season.
- UMBC has reached as high as 187th in the NET rankings so far this season, the program's highest-ever.
- UMBC is 1-1 in Quadrant 1 with a win over Virginia and a loss to Maryland. The Retrievers have yet to play a Quad 2 or 3 games.
HISTORY MADE
- Last Thursday's victory on the road at Virginia was a historic one for the Retrievers. UMBC never trailed, allowing Virginia to tie the contest once in the fourth before fighting off the Cavalier rally for a 61-56 victory.
- The win on Thursday was the first Power 4 (ACC, SEC, Big 10, Big 12) victory in UMBC program history, snapping a streak of 38 straight losses against such programs. UMBC was previously 0-4 all-time against Virginia and 0-15 against the ACC.
- The 64 percent UMBC shot from three in the win proved to be its best showing from distance since shooting 66.7 percent from deep at George Mason in December 2024.
- Candice Hill's program shocked the Cavaliers from the jump, building an 11-2 lead in the first four minutes of the contest. The lead grew to 14 midway through the second quarter as Yánez drilled a three to make it 33-19 Retrievers. UMBC took an eight-point lead into the break and led by 12 at the 7:40 mark of the third as Williams connected from deep, but UVA was able to trim the deficit to one with 37 ticks left on the third quarter clock. Kennedy Austin found Scott open for three with 11 seconds remaining in the third to put the Retrievers up by four entering the final quarter of play. Virginia tied the game at 54 with 3:13 to play, but the Cavaliers never took the lead as the Retrievers held on to win on the road. Tiara Bellamy went baseline, converting a reverse layup with 28 seconds left to put UMBC up by three. Virginia once again pulled within one, but Williams made four free throws in the final six seconds to ice the game.
GETTING TO KNOW THE DAWGS
- Hill's program features five returners and eight newcomers in 2025-26. Carmen Yánez is the lone returning starter for UMBC, while fellow captain Tiara Bellamy is expected to fill a larger role. Also back are junior Alaina Williams, and sophomores Lauren Thompson and Kenya Ramsey.
- UMBC's eight newcomers are split between four transfers and four freshmen.
- The 2025-26 Retrievers represent three countries and six states.
- Maryland (5) -> Austin, Scott, Tillman, H. Williams, Yarborough
- New Jersey (2) -> Bellamy, Slomack
- Connecticut (1) -> Thompson
- Florida (1) -> A. Williams
- Virginia (1) -> Ramsey
- West Virginia (1) -> Jones
- Spain (1) -> Yánez
- England (1) -> Crowley
- Yánez, Bellamy, and Yarborough will captain the program in 2025-26. Yánez started 28 games last season and handed out five or more assists in seven different games. Bellamy averaged just under four points per game off the bench in year one as a Retriever after transferring from Saint Peter's. Yarborough, the veteran transfer from NC A&T, posted five games with at least five rebounds and put forth her best performance of the season (9 pts, 6 reb) against her former school, Stony Brook.
2024-25 IN REWIND
- The 2024-25 Retrievers posted a record of 14-15 in year one under Candice Hill, matching the 2022-23 record for the most wins since 2016-17 for UMBC women's hoops.
- UMBC reached the America East Conference Tournament as the #7 seed before falling to #2 Vermont, 70-39. The Retrievers held a two-point lead after the opening 10 minutes before the Catamounts pulled away.
- The name of the game for the Retrievers in 2024-25 was defense as UMBC ranked in the top-65 in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 59.1 points per game. The Retrievers defended the three-point line extremely well, finishing the season 37th in Division I and second in the America East as teams shot just 28.1 percent from deep.
- UMBC was also stellar at the charity stripe last season, knocking down its free throws at a 74.7 percent clip, ranking in the top-80 in Division I and recording the third-best mark in program history.
- Under Hill's guidance, the Retrievers improved offensively from behind the three-point line (29.5% -> 30.4 %) and the free-throw line (67.8% -> 74.7%). The Retrievers also handed out 10.4 assists per game compared to 9.9 the season prior and turned the ball over 1.3 fewer times per game in 2024-25.
AMERICA EAST PRESEASON POLL
1. Vermont 63 (7)
2. Maine 55 (2)
3. Bryant 46
4. UAlbany 42
5. NJIT 37
6. Binghamton 26
7. New Hampshire 24
8. UMBC 23
9. UMass Lowell 8
WHAT'S NEXT
