BALTIMORE - UMBC welcomes Bryant to Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena on Thursday afternoon for its Midday Madness contest. The Retrievers enter the game at 6-9 after winning their first America East contest on Saturday at New Hampshire. Bryant comes into the game at 14-3 and 4-0 in conference play.
Thursday is the seventh all-time meeting between Bryant and UMBC, all coming since Bryant joined the America East from the NEC ahead of the 2022-23 season. UMBC has won all six previous meetings with all six games decided by less than 10 points. In the last meeting between these two programs, on February 15th of last year, the Retrievers won 75-67 inside Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena.
Jaden Walker and
Jordon Lewis combined for 40 points while Carmen Yanez added 10 points, four rebounds, and four assists in 31 minutes off the bench. The contest remains the last time UMBC hit 10 or more threes in a single game. Mancini finished with 22 points, seven assists, and five rebounds for Bryant.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Retrievers picked up their first America East victory of the 2025-26 season on Saturday at New Hampshire, defeating the Wildcats 58-47 thanks to a dominant final quarter. UMBC outscored New Hampshire 19-5 over the final 10 minutes to come away victorious.
- Jade Tillman (17) and Heidi Williams (15) combined for 32 points in the victory. Over the past two games, the duo has scored 61 points, more than 60 percent of the team's scoring output over the past two games. Both Tillman and Williams grabbed six rebounds in the win on Saturday.
- Bryant improved to 4-0 in America East play on Saturday, defeating UAlbany 62-55. Bryant held just a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter before pulling away for a seven-point win. Nia Scott recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds in the win.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
- The Bulldogs enter the game with a record of 14-3, currently riding a seven-game winning streak. Over the course of the win streak, Bryant has defeated Boston College, Georgian Court, and Franklin Pierce before winning its first four league games against UNH, Maine, UMass Lowell, and UAlbany.
- Bryant currently ranks 114th in the current NET rankings, one of three America East teams inside the top-150.
- Bryant averages 69.4 points per game, outscoring its opponents by 16.8 points per contest. Bryant has scored 70 or more games 10 times this season.
- Four Bulldogs score in double figures and have started every game this season; Mia Mancini, Nia Scott, Mimi Rubino, and Maranda Nyborg. Mancini is the team's leading scorer at 14.3 points per game. Mancini averages 34.1 minutes per game and has knocked down 40 threes. Scott is averaging 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. She has recorded eight double-doubles this season. Another markswoman, Rubino has hit 34 threes and averages 11.4 points per game. Last, but not least, Nyborg averages 10.7 points per game and recorded her first double-double against New Hampshire (12 points, 10 rebounds).
- The Bulldogs have been dominant defensively, ranking fifth in the country in scoring defense, allowing just 52.5 points per game. Bryant has done it in part due to their ability to prevent the three-ball, ranking sixth nationally with an opponent's three-point percentage of 23.5.
- Nia Scott ranks 21st in the country in double-doubles with seven and 29th in total rebounds with 157. She also ranks in the top-60 in rebounds per game (42nd) and field goal percentage (56th).
- Now in her third season with Bryant, Lynne-Ann Kokoski is already one win shy of winning 15 or more games in each of her first three seasons. The 2008 graduate of Bryant sits in the top 10 all-time in assists, steals, minutes played and free throws made. She previously spent time as an assistant at UMass and William & Mary.
SCOUTING THE DAWGS
- UMBC comes in at 6-9 overall with victories over Stevenson, Virginia, Presbyterian, Morgan State, Notre Dame (Md.), and New Hampshire. The Retrievers dropped contests to Maryland, Brown, UMES, Towson, FIU, Loyola, American, NJIT, and Maine.
- Tillman, the team's leading scorer at 14.1 per game, has really come on over the last month-plus, averaging 17.1 points per game over her last eight contests dating back to November 30. In the five games prior to November 30, Tillman scored 11 or fewer points in each, but has responded with 12 or more points in each of the last six, scoring career-highs of 23 and 25 in back-to-back contests. Tillman is the first Retriever to score 10 or more points in eight straight games since KK White during the 2022-23 season. Shooting 87 percent from the foul line, Tillman ranks 41st in the country in free-throw percentage.
- Heidi Williams has seen an uptick in performance over the past two weeks, earning a pair of America East Rookie of the Week honors and scoring 15 or more points in three of the last four games. Williams is averaging 12.5 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.5 steals per game. She recorded her first career double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. Notre Dame (Md.) on Dec. 30.
- Recently, Carmen Yanez, the most experienced Retriever, moved into 15th all-time on the program's list in career assists. She has 222 career assists, leaving her 12 shy of Te'ylah Oliver for 14th in program history.
- UMBC ranks 55th in the country in offensive rebounds per game with 14.4 per contest. The Retrievers top the America East in the stat and have four players (Alaina Williams, Austin, Tillman, and Delaney Yarborough) with 25 or more offensive boards.
- The Retrievers rank 46th in Division I with 25.9 bench points per contest. The UMBC bench has scored 40 or more points three times and have scored at least 16 points in every game this season.
- Topping the America East in turnovers forced per game at 20.53, UMBC also lands inside the top-50 nationally in the stat.
ROOKIES RUNNING WILD
- After a five-year stretch without an America East Rookie of the Week, UMBC has had two players combine for five honors this season.
- Heidi Williams was the first Retriever in five seasons to earn the honor on November 17 before garnering two more recognitions on Dec. 31 and Jan. 12. Williams is the fifth player in program history to receive three or more America East Rookie of the Week honors and first since Sara Tarbert in 2014.
- Kennedy Austin secured back-to-back America East Rookie of the Week nods on December 1 and December 8 becoming the first Retriever since 2017 to win the award in back-to-back weeks and the eighth all-time to do so.
NOTHING BUT NET
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
