UMBC

Bio

	#20 - Michelle Kurowski
	Class: Jr. Height/Weight: 5-9     Hometown: Hicksville, N.Y. Position: G     High School: Hicksville

NOTES: Enters the season with an .819 career free-throw percentage, the second-best in UMBC history… Boasts a career 13.3 ppg average, which ranks fourth all-time, and a .317 career 3-point shooting percentage, which ranks sixth… Also ranks ninth all-time with 77 career 3-pointers.

AS A SOPHOMORE (2009-10): UMBC’s top rebounder (5.9 rpg) and second-leading scorer (12.9 ppg)… Her team-best .822 free throw percentage (83-for-101) is the third-best single-season mark in school history… Also ranked second on the team in steals (35), field goals (132), field goal percentage (.420), 3-pointers (39), 3-point percentage (.328) and minutes (32.2 mpg) and was fourth in assists (53)… Led the America East in free throw percentage and ranked among league leaders in nearly every other category, including field goal percentage (7th), 3-point percentage (8th), scoring (10th), 3-pointers per game (11th, 1.3), offensive rebounds (11th, 2.1 rpg) and rebounding (14th)… Ranks among the top all-time Retriever sophomores in a number of categories, including free throws (3rd), 3-pointers (T-3rd), points (386, 4th), field goals (5th), field goals attempted (5th, 314), 3-pointers attempted (5th, 119), scoring average (T-5th) and free throws attempted (9th)… Scored a game-high 21 points and added seven rebounds while making all seven free throws in the season opener against Virginia and was named America East Player of the Game (Nov. 13)… Her 7-for-7 effort at the foul line was the Retrievers’ best perfect game of the season… Scored 17 points and grabbed all seven rebounds in the first half against the Cavaliers… Finished three assists shy of a triple-double with 22 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists against UMES (Nov. 15)… Seven of her rebounds against the Hawks were on the offensive glass, and the 14 boards tied for UMBC’s single-game high on the season… Drained a career-best four 3-pointers in five attempts in the game… Named America East Player of the Week for Week 1 after averaging 21.5 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 4.5 apg while shooting 56 percent (14-for-25) from the floor and 50 percent (4-for-8) from long distance and making all 11 free throws in the first two games of the season… Posted her third career double-double with 14 points and 10 boards at Towson (Nov. 24)… Scored 29 points – one shy of her career high – on 9-of-18 shooting and 10-of-12 from the foul line at Bucknell (Nov. 29)… The 29 points, nine field goals and 10 free throws were the most by a Retriever all season… Added seven rebounds and a season-high three steals against the Bison while playing all 40 minutes for the second time in her career… Scored UMBC’s final eight points of the game as the Retrievers staved off a Bison comeback… Named America East Player of the Week for Week 3 after averaging 21.5 ppg and 8.5 rpg against Towson and Bucknell… Averaged 19.4 ppg and 8.4 rpg while shooting 47.7 percent (31-for-65) in five November contests… Finished just shy of her third double-double of the season with nine points and nine boards against Navy (Dec. 2)… Led the Retrievers with 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists and was named Player of the Game against Delaware (Dec. 12)… Posted her second straight double-double and fourth of the season with 25 points and 12 rebounds at Loyola, adding three assists and three steals (Dec. 20)… Averaged 14.0 ppg and 8.5 rpg at the Fordham Holiday Classic Dec. 28-29… Tallied her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 boards against East Carolina (Dec. 28)… Scored 17 points on 7-of-15 shooting at Maine (Jan. 10)… Despite playing just 29 points due to foul trouble, scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-13 shooting and tied her career best with four 3-pointers in seven attempts against New Hampshire (Jan. 16)… Scored all 13 of her points in the second half en route to Player of the Game honors against Stony Brook (Jan. 28)… Grabbed a team-high six rebounds at Binghamton (Feb. 10), her most since Dec. 29 at Fordham… Scored 21 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 2-of-3 from behind the arc to earn Player of the Game honors against Albany (Feb. 18)… Led UMBC with 17 points on 5-of-8 shooting, including 2-of-3 from long distance, and 4-of-4 from the foul line at Vermont (Feb. 21)… Added team highs of eight rebounds and five assists against the Catamounts… Scored 14 points with three 3-pointers and grabbed six rebounds against Boston University (Feb. 24)… Named Player of the Game with 14 points and seven rebounds at Stony Brook (Feb. 27)… Tallied 13 points and eight boards in 40 minutes in the America East quarterfinals against Boston U. (March 5)… Averaged just 5.1 ppg in seven games from Jan. 18-Feb. 10, but scored 15.2 ppg on 47.8 percent shooting (33-for-69) over her final six games of the season… Played all 40 minutes in three of the final four games of the season and five times overall… Posted 20 double-digit performances, including the first five contests of the season and 11 of the first 13, and had six 20-point efforts… Recorded four of UMBC’s top six single-game scoring performances on the season… Led the Retrievers in scoring 12 times and in rebounding 10 times… Recognized on the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

AS A FRESHMAN (2008-09): Selected to the America East All-Rookie Team after averaging 13.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game… UMBC’s second-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder… The top rookie scorer in the America East and the eighth-best in the nation… Her scoring average was the fifth-best ever by a Retriever freshman… Also ranked second on the team in steals (48) and three-pointers (38), third in field goal percentage (.406) and fourth in assists (49)… Ranked third in the conference in free throw percentage (.817), sixth in scoring, eighth in steals per game (1.6), ninth in three-pointers made per game (1.3), 11th in three-point percentage (.306) and 12th in shooting percentage… Ranked 62nd in the nation in free throw percentage… Scored 410 points on the season, the 13th-highest single-season total in UMBC history… Became 15th Retriever ever to score 400 points in a season, and just the third to do so as a freshman, joining Tammy McCarthy (1983-84) and Jami Lange (1998-99)… Her .817 free throw percentage was the third-best single-season mark in school history, while her 94 free throws were the 10th-most ever by a Retriever and a freshman record… Started 28 games, the most by a UMBC freshman since Sharri Rohde in 2003-04… Ranked third all-time among Retriever rookies in field goals (139), field goal attempts (342) and free throw attempts (115) and fourth in steals (48), three-pointers (38) and three-point attempts (124)…Earned four America East Rookie of the Week awards, including three straight from Dec. 8-22, becoming the first freshman in the conference to garner three in a row since Vermont’s Courtnay Pilypaitis in 2006-07… Named to the Iona Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 16.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg and shooting 50 percent (13-for-26) in two games against Western Michigan and UMES (Nov. 29-30)… Became the third Retriever freshman ever (McCarthy, Lange) to score 30 points in a game against Navy (Dec. 3), draining 11 of 17 field goals and making all six free throw attempts… Scored 20 points in the first half… Earned her first Rookie of the Week award on Dec. 8 (Week 4) after averaging 26.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.5 assists and shooting 54.5 percent (18-for-33) in two games against Navy and Towson… Named the conference’s top rookie for Week 5 after scoring 20 points and adding five rebounds against Coppin State (Dec. 8)… Joined teammate Meghan Colabella as the only Retrievers to win three Rookie of the Week awards on Dec. 22 (Week 5) after averaging 11.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.5 spg in two games against James Madison and Loyola… Scored 25 points, including three triples and an 8-for-8 effort at the foul line, at Albany (Feb. 25)… Followed with her first career double-double, posting 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds at Binghamton (Feb. 28)… Added a career-high four steals against both the Great Danes and the Bearcats… Named America East Rookie of the Week on March 2 (Week 16) after averaging 20.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 4.0 spg and 2.0 apg in those two games… Led the Retrievers with 23 points in the America East quarterfinals loss to Binghamton… Scored in double figures 20 times, including 12 of her first 15 games… Averaged 19.7 points and 5.0 rebounds and shot 50.6 percent (43-for-85) during a six-game stretch from Nov. 29-Dec. 18… Scored at least 20 points seven times, including three straight games from Dec. 3-8, when she averaged 24.0 ppg and shot 55.6 percent (25-for-45)… Also posted double figures in seven of the last nine games of the season… Averaged a team-best 15.5 ppg during the final six games of the year… Made 20 straight free throws and 26 of 28 from Dec. 21-Jan. 24… Drained 25 of 29 foul shots to end the season… Named America East Player of the Game five times – vs. George Mason (Nov. 19), vs. Navy (Dec. 3), vs. Vermont (Feb. 11), at Albany (Feb. 25) and at Binghamton (Feb. 28)… Led the Retrievers in scoring seven times and in rebounding six times… Recognized on the America East Commissioner’s Honor Roll.

HIGH SCHOOL: The 2008 Nassau County Player of the Year after averaging 21.9 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals per game… Long Island’s third all-time leading scorer with 2,581 points, which ranks 10th all-time in the state of New York… Averaged more than 20 points per game during her varsity career… Selected to the All-State Second Team as a senior and the Fifth Team as a junior… Also earned All-Long Island honors from Newsday in 2007 and 2008… A five-time All-County honoree… Led the Comets to back-to-back county titles… The 2007 Nassau County Tournament MVP after scoring 28 points in the title game… A six-year starter at Hicksville… Also an All-County volleyball player at Hicksville… President of the National Honor Society and a member of the Italian Honor Society… Received the Nassau County Sports Commission Achievement Award… A Principal’s List student who graduated seventh in her class.

PERSONAL: The youngest of two children to Ireneusz and Maria Kurowski… Has an older sister, Donna… Chose UMBC over Manhattan, Iona and Bentley… Born Jan. 5, 1990… Majoring in psychology with a minor in social welfare… Intends to pursue a master's degree in early childhood education.