BALTIMORE - After a historic 104-22 victory over Notre Dame of Maryland on Tuesday night, UMBC opens America East play on New Year's Day as NJIT comes to Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
UMBC will play host to NJIT for the 11th all-time meeting between the programs. The series is tied at 5-5, dating back to 2006. The Highlanders have won three straight meetings after four consecutive victories for UMBC from Jan. 2023 to Jan. 2024. NJIT defeated UMBC 83-65 in New Jersey on February 22, 2024 in the most recent meeting.
Jaden Walker had 22 points, 11 rebounds, and four assists in the loss for UMBC. Three current Retrievers (Carmen Yanez,
Tiara Bellamy,
Lauren Thompson) saw action in the contest. Bellamy had four points in 12 minutes off the bench.
LAST TIME OUT
- UMBC set is Division I-era points record, scoring 104 in an 82-point victory over Notre Dame of Maryland on Tuesday night. The Retrievers also set a program record for defensive field goal percentage, allowing the Gators to shoot just 7-49 (14.3%) from the floor.
- Jade Tillman scored a career-high 23 points, while Heidi Williams had her first career double-double with 15 points and a career-best 11 rebounds, while adding five steals, two assists and a block.
- Carmen Yánez and Delaney Yarborough also had double-doubles, as Yánez tallied 11 points and a career-high tying 10 assists, and Yarborough had18 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Maisie Crowley picked up a career-high 11 points and seven rebounds, while Lauren Thompson scored eight, and Tiara Bellamy, Alaina Williams and Kennedy Austin each scored six.
- On Monday, NJIT defeated Delaware State 75-62 thanks to a dominant second half. Four Highlanders reached double digits, with Marissa Gingrich and Alejandra Zuniga each scoring 17. Olivia Kulyk recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Allison Cannon chipped in 12 points.
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
- NJIT enters America East play with a 9-4 record on the season. The Highlanders are 5-2 inside Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness and Events Center and 4-2 on the road in 2025. NJIT boasts non-conference victories over Sacred Heart, Fordham, Wagner, St. Thomas, Saint Peter's, Drexel, Lafayette, Manhattan, and Delaware State. The losses have come to Minnesota, FDU, Monmouth, and Dartmouth.
- NJIT is outscoring its opponents by an average of 3.9 points per game, totaling 67.2 points per contest. The Highlanders are shooting 45.3 percent from the floor while making nearly 35 percent of their triples. NJIT is losing the rebounding battle by 0.8 per game and the turnover battle by 1.9.
- Kulyk, Gingrich, and Zuniga all average at least 14.7 points with Kulyk leading the way at 15.5 per game. Zuniga missed some time earlier in the season after suffering an injury vs. Wagner, but has scored 12 or more points in all six games in which she has completed.
- Gingirch has three games this season in which she has scored at least 21 points and the junior guard has 12 or more points in nine of the 11 contests she's played in.
- Kulyk has played in 12 of 13 games, scoring 20 or more four times, including a 30-point effort against Lafayette on November 30. She scored 25 and grabbed six rebounds versus Fordham on November 7.
- On November 30 against Lafayette, Cannon scored 14 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and handed out 11 assists, recording one of just 17 triple-doubles at the Division I level this season.
- Kulyk ranks 11th in the country in three-pointers per game (3.17), 22nd in three-pointers made (38), and 27th in minutes per game (34.9).
- Gingrich ranks 66th in the country and third in the America East in field goal percentage at 52.1 percent.
- NJIT is the top team in the America East at rejecting shots, blocking 4.5 per game which ranks them 52nd in Division I.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- After Tuesday's win, UMBC enters America East play at 5-7 overall.
- UMBC holds victories over Stevenson, Virginia, Presbyterian, Morgan State, and Notre Dame of Maryland. The Retrievers dropped contests to Maryland, Brown, UMES, Towson, FIU, Loyola, and American.
- After Tuesday night's outburst, UMBC averages 67.4 points per contest and is outscoring opponents by 7.8 per game. The Retrievers win the rebounding battle by 4.1 per game and the turnover battle by 2.9.
- Tillman leads the UMBC offense at 13.1 points per game. The East Carolina transfer has scored 12 or more points in five straight games after her career-high performance of 23 on Tuesday night. Tillman also leads the team in rebounding (5.9), and steals (2.25).
- Austin is the other Retriever averaging double-digit points per game at 12.0. Her current pace would rank her eighth in UMBC freshman history. Austin leads the team in free throws made (56) and is second in assists (21) and third in steals (19).
- The UMBC bench has provided a great boost to start the season, ranking 45th nationally in bench points at 27.7 per game. The Retrievers have scored more than 40 points off the bench three times; 43 vs. NDMU, 42 vs. Stevenson, and 41 at Brown. UMBC has scored at least 16 bench points in every game this season.
- UMBC ranks 54th in the nation in free throws made per game at 14.6, getting to the line at will and leading the America East in the category.
- Working hard on the offensive glass, the Dawgs rank 47th in Division I with 14.9 offensive boards per game. UMBC pulled down a season-high 27 of its own misses in the win over Morgan State and added 21 against Notre Dame of Maryland.
- Defensively, the Retrievers make life difficult for opponents, ranking first in the America East in turnovers forced and steals per game. UMBC ranks 43rd nationally in turnovers forced at 21.3 and 55th in steals at 10.9.
- Speaking of getting to the free-throw line at will, Austin ranks 43rd in Division I in free throws made with 56.
- The most experienced Retriever, Carmen Yanez moved into 15th on the UMBC all-time assists leaderboard with 214. She had her second career 10-assist game versus Notre Dame of Maryland on Tuesday. She is 20 assists behind Te'ylah Oliver for 14th all-time.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK x4
- Williams earned her second America East Rookie of the Week honor on Wednesday, after a double-double against Notre Dame of Maryland on Tuesday night. Williams finished with 15 points, 11 rebounds, and five steals in the victory. Both Williams and Austin have earned America East Rookie of the Week honors twice this season.
- 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. 29, UMBC ranks 227th 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
- UMBC'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
