UMBC

Anastasia Goncharova scored 18 points in the Retrievers' last outing.

Baltimore, Md. – The UMBC Retrievers (0-10, 0-1 AEC) travel to Hartford University to play the Hawks (10-2, 1-0 AEC) in America East women’s basketball action on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 12 p.m.  The game will air live on Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic and WCTX Hartford. 

TV INFORMATION:

Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic     12 noon
WCTX - Hartford   12 noon
Empire Sports     4pm
Satellite Coordinates: AMC 9, Transponder 18 KU Band

RETRIEVER UPDATE:  The Retrievers opened conference play last Wednesday night by hosting Stony Brook University at UMBC RAC Arena.  The Retrievers held an 11-point lead with 16 minutes to play but were unable to sustain that lead as Stony Brook came from behind to take a 53-49 win.  Anastasia Goncharova had a team-high 18 points, but was held to just two points in the remaining 18 minutes of the game.  The Retrievers continued to hold the lead up until just under two minutes in the game when Stony Brook finally completed the comeback with a lay-up to take a 48-47 lead with 1:58 to play.  The Seawolves never relinquished their lead as they connected on their free throws down the stretch to take the four-point victory.

HAWKS UPDATE: The Hawks continued to keep their name at the top of the America East standings charts with a win over last year’s AEC champion in their America East opener last Wednesday.  Behind 18 points from Liz Stich, the Hawks downed Boston University, 69-60 to move to 10-2 on the year and 1-0 in the AEC.  Teammates Erika Messam (11 points) and Ikea Witt (14 points) also scored in double figures in the win.  Witt leads the team on the season with 12.3 ppg followed by Stitch with 11.4 ppg and Messam at 11.1 ppg.      

Who’s Up Next:  The Retrievers continue on the road when they swing through Boston, Mass., to take on Boston University on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. and Northeastern on Jan. 17 at 1 p.m.

All-time Series vs. Hartford:  Hartford is one of two teams in the America East that the Retrievers have met prior to their inception into the league this year.  The Retrievers and Hawks met in last year’s St. Joseph’s Tournament in the consolation round as the Hawks defeated the Retrievers 60-47 in their only meeting all-time. 

UMBC Hits Conference Road For First Time...The UMBC Retrievers will get their first conference road game on Saturday when they travel to Hartford for a televised game at 12 p.m.  The game will be the only appearance for the Retrievers on TV this year during the regular season.  UMBC in its last year of the NEC last season was 3-5 in road regular season conference games.

Goncharova Responding After Subpar Nights...When Retrievers’ junior Anastasia Goncharova goes it seems like the Retrievers’ offense goes as Goncharova has responded well in games preceding a subpar offensive output.  Goncharova scored a team-high 18 points against Stony Brook after being held scoreless against Loyola in the previous contest.  Goncharova’s 18-point performance was not the first time she has responded well as she strung together three-straight double figure performances including 18 points vs. North Carolina after recording three points in the season opener vs. Penn.  Goncharova had another big night against Radford with 16 points after being held to six against Maryland.  Goncharova leads the team with six games scoring in double figures. 

Rookies Tally Career Nights...The combination of Sharri Rohde and Courtney Doughman produced 29 points as each player recorded a career night against the Loyola Greyhounds.  Rohde hit 5-of-9 shots from the field and 3-of-6 three-pointers en route to a game-high 17 points.  Rohde was 4-of-4 from the charity stripe and also recorded a block, two steals and four assists.  Doughman produced off the bench draining four treys to bolster the UMBC offense with 12 points in the game.  

Rhode Hitting The Boards...Freshman Sharri Rohde is emerging on the inside for the Retrievers as the rookie forward recorded her first double-digit night on the boards with 10 rebounds against Radford.  Rohde over the past three games is averaging 6.3 rpg.  Rohde also rejected two shots in the game as she has seven blocks on the year and five in the last three.  Over the past three games Rohde is averaging 9.7 points. 

Retrievers Scoring On The Rise...After averaging 39.4 ppg in the first seven contests, the Retrievers’ scoring has started to rise over the last three games, averaging 51.7 points per game.  UMBC scored 56 against Radford, scored 50 against Loyola and 49 in their latest outing against Stony Brook.   

Retrievers’ Bench Adds Spark...The Retrievers have been getting some help from its reserves as of late, averaging 14.0 points off the bench in its last five games.  In the previous two games before Radford the UMBC bench scored 19 points in each of the contests.  In the Retrievers outing against Loyola, freshman Courtney Doughman hit four treys for a career-high 12 points and classmate Brittnie Hughes scored her first collegiate points with four points in the game.  Doughman in the last five games is averaging 7.6 ppg, coming off the bench in three of those contests and starting two.   

Rookies Coming To Play…The freshman class this season has put together solid numbers for the Retrievers in their debut, averaging 35.7 percent of the Retriever total scoring.  Sharri Rohde, who leads the team in rebounding average at 6.0 rpg, is averaging a team second best 6.7 ppg, including a 17-point night against Loyola.  Heather Luttrell posted a team game-high 11 points in the opener and Courtney Doughman had a career-high night with 12 points off the bench with four treys against Loyola.  Brittnie Hughes, after opening the season with an injury, saw her first action against Radford and netted her first collegiate points against Loyola with four points.   

Santos’ Perfect Streak At The Line Ends...Mariana Santos’ perfect run at the free throw line ended against Loyola as she missed the back end of two free throws.  Santos is 18-of-19 from the free throw line, averaging 94.7 percent from the charity stripe. 

Getting The Nod…Head Coach Phil Stern has started freshman Sharri Rohde in all of the team’s games thus far, making her and teammate Maria Brown the only two to start every game.  Fellow freshman Heather Luttrell broke into the starting lineup for the first time at UNC and against Maryland Courtney Doughman got the start as three rookies opened the game on the floor for UMBC.   

Keep Me In Coach...Head coach Phil Stern has stuck with some of his players for all 40 minutes on six occasions this season.  In the Retrievers outing versus Loyola, freshman standout Sharri Rohde went all40 minutes on the floor, scoring 17 points.  Mariana Santos has played all 40 minutes in two games and played 42 of 45 minutes in the overtime game against Radford.  Anastasia Goncharova also has logged 40 minutes on two occasions, scoring 10 points against Navy and 16 at Radford. 

From Down Town…The Retrievers continued their season-long commitment to the three, going 9-of-26 against Stony Brook.  The Retrievers this season have taken 20-plus shots from outside the arc on eight occasions.  Anastasia Goncharova has the Retrievers’ most three-point buckets with 22 on the year.  Goncharova scored a game-high 18 points in the loss to No. 13 North Carolina.  Goncharova hit six treys in the game.  Goncharova buried four more three-pointers against Stony Brook to lead the Retrievers in scoring with 18 points in that game.  As a team the Retrievers are shooting 28.6 percent from three-point range. 

Brown Snags Career-High...Sophomore guard Maria Brown stole a career-high six balls versus American earlier this season.  Brown’s six steals were a part of her big defensive effort as she rejected two shots as well.  Brown has six blocks on the season and leads the team with 13 steals.

No Charity Allowed...In the latest NCAA statistics release (games thru Jan. 5), UMBC ranked third in the country in fouls per game at 11.7.  UMBC currently is averaging 11.8 fouls per game.  UMBC finished fifth in the nation last year in fouls per game at 13.5. 

Retrievers In The America East Charts...Freshman Sharri Rohde’s rebounding has her listed in conference charts, ranking seventh in defensive rebounds with 5.0 per game and 11th in overall rebounding at 6.0 per game.  Rohde ranks eighth in blocks with .70 per game.  Anastasia Goncharova ranks third in three-point percentage at .278 and third in three-point field goals made at 2.20 per game.  Goncharova also ranks 19th in scoring at 10.3 ppg. 

Retrievers Atop Conference Charts in Three-point Baskets...The Retrievers are currently leading the league in three-point baskets made with 6.70 per game.  The Retrievers average 23.4 three-point attempts per game. 

Hitting The Airwaves…UMBC will be featured on the airwaves a couple times this season.  The Retrievers make a TV appearance on Saturday, Jan. 10 when they play Hartford at 12 p.m. on Comcast Sportsnet.  WJFK-AM, THE JOCK will broadcast the first end of a men and women's doubleheader on Wed., Feb. 4 as veteran broadcasters Gary Stein and Paul Mittermeier will handle the play-by-play and analyst duties respectively.  The Retrievers women's hoops can also be caught on Teamline on six different occasions.  Teamline can be accessed through the basketball home page and is a free service provided by UMBC Athletics. 

Stern Carries Color Commentary...Head coach Phil Stern carried the color commentary at the UMBC men’s basketball game against Princeton University back on Dec. 2 at UMBC RAC Arena.  Stern joined play-by-play man Gary Stein on the airwaves.   Stern is a master of the famed Princeton-style offense and gave substantial in depth insight into the system of play during WJFK’s broadcast. 

Phil Stern Era Moves Into Second Season…Head coach Phil Stern has begun the second season in his tenure at the helm of the Retriever women's hoops program.  Stern in his first season took the Retrievers to the conference title game for the first-time ever and posted a 14-16 record.  Stern, known to revitalize struggling programs, continues to build for the future, bringing in six newcomers this year and signing three to National Letters of Intent for the 2004-05 campaign. 

Retrievers New Beast In The America East…The Retrievers will make their first appearance in the America East this season as UMBC moves into the conference with all its 20-intercollegiate sports.  Prior to this year, UMBC spent five seasons in the Northeast Conference and six in the Big South Conference.  At the end of last season, the America East had a Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) of 23 compared to 31 held by the NEC (second lowest).  The America East’s current RPI for this season is 17 in the country.

Starting From Scratch…With the departure of all-five starters from last year's squad, Phil Stern will be looking for players to step up into the starting role this year.  Out of the six returning players, the Retrievers have a total of 26 starts combined prior to the start of the 2003-04 campaign, an average of 4.33 starts per player.  Matea Pender returns with the most total starts after earning the nod in 18 games her freshman year in 2001-02 before sitting out last season with a knee injury.  Anastasia Goncharova has the most starts under head coach Phil Stern with four last year in 27 games played.  

Going Global…The Retrievers' 10-player roster contains three international players.  The team's lone senior Mariana Santos is from Brazil while sophomore Matea Pender is a native of Croatia and junior Anastasia Goncharova is from Russia.  In addition to players from the around the world, the majority of UMBC's squad is from outside the state lines.  Maria Brown (Frederick, Md.) and Tyecia Powell (Baltimore, Md.) are the Retrievers' women's hoops only Maryland natives.

UMBC Picked 10th in Preseason Conference Poll…UMBC was picked to finish in last place in the preseason conference polled release by the America East Conference.  Maine was a unanimous pick for the top spot receiving nine first place votes.  Boston University was selected second followed by Vermont.  UMBC, who is entering their first season in the AEC, did not place anyone on the preseason all-conference team.

Retrievers Ink Three For 2004-05…UMBC head women's basketball coach Phil Stern announced the signings of three student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to attend UMBC for the 2004-05 academic year.  The list includes Indiana natives Kristin Drabyn (Avon, Ind./Avon) and Jennifer Ferguson (Fremont, Ind./Fremont) along with local talent Morgan Hatten (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill).

Two Players Depart From Team...The UMBC women’s basketball team announced they have honored the request of student-athletes Betsy Butterick and Katie Tedder to be released from all responsibilities relating to the women’s basketball program effective immediately.  Both players have decided to withdraw from school.