UMBC

Matea Pender is the nation's leader in three-point field goal percentage for the fifth week in a row.

Brittnie Hughes tallied 16 points the last time UMBC met Boston U.

Baltimore, Md. – The UMBC Women’s Basketball team (7-12, 2-8 America East) heads to Boston U. (9-10, 4-6 AE) for the first of two games against the conference’s two Boston, Mass., native schools.  The Retrievers and Terriers tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10 in Case Gymnasium as UMBC will look to snap a four-game losing streak.  The last time UMBC was on a four-game slide was their earlier season win over the Terriers, 59-51, on Jan. 12.  The game can be heard over the internet at www.wtburadio.com.

RETRIEVER UPDATE:  The Retrievers attempt to start off the second half of conference play on an up note went down hill as the Stony Brook Seawolves completed the two-game regular season sweep over the Retrievers with a 71-62 victory over UMBC.  The Retrievers placed three players in double digits in the contest as Matea Pender tallied 19 points, Sharri Rohde 16 points and Heather Luttrell added 12 points.  UMBC, after trading leads on seven occasions with the Seawolves in the first 11 minutes lost the lead for good at the 8:32 mark of the first half.  UMBC, after falling behind by double digits, closed the gap to one on two occasions in the second half but were unable to get over the hump as the Seawolves pulled away down the stretch behind Jessie Boylan’s career-high 22 points and Mykeema Ford’s 19 points.  

TERRIER UPDATE: Boston U. is on a three-game losing streak but are 5-3 at home this season.  Two of those home losses have come to the top-two conference teams in Maine and Hartford.  The Hawks, in the Terriers latest outing, topped Boston U. with a 65-60 victory.  The Terriers are led by Rachel Vanderwal with 11.3 ppg.   

Who’s Up Next:    The Retrievers continue their trek through Boston, Mass., as they take on the Northeastern Huskies on Saturday, Feb. 12, at 1 p.m.

All-time Series vs. Boston U.:  Meeting No. 5

Last Meeting:       Jan. 12, 2005 (UMBC 59, Boston U. 51)

First Meeting:      Dec. 27, 1991 (Boston U. 76, UMBC 64)

Boston U. last win:              Feb. 11, 2004 (Boston U. 59, UMBC 40)

Streak:  UMBC has won one in a row

Series Record:     Boston U. leads the series 3-1 

QUICK HITS:

QUICK HITS:

Against Boston U.

* UMBC broke into the all-time series with a 59-51 in the Retrievers’ home conference opener, marking the first time UMBC won a home conference opener since their final year in the Big South Conference (1997-98).  The Retrievers trail in the all-time series 3-1 and will look for their first conference regular season sweep when they face the Terriers Thursday night.      

Match-up Notes

*  The Retrievers versus Terriers match-up pits two of the more deadly three-point shooting team’s in the conference as the Retrievers rank second in three-point field goals per game (6.53) and Boston U. third (6.47).  The game also matches-up the top two three-point shooters percentage wise as Matea Pender leads the league and nation in three-point field goal percentage at 52.9 percent while Corinne Jean is shooting 49.1 percent.

Last Meeting

*  The last time UMBC was on a four-game slide they hosted the Terriers at UMBC RAC Arena on Jan. 12, 2005.  The Retrievers, behind a 10-0 run at the end of the first half and a 6-0 run to start the second stanza  built up a double-digit lead for a short period of time.  The Terriers closed UMBC’s lead to six points on a number of occasions but 7-of-8 free throw shooting down the stretch sealed the win for UMBC.  Brittnie Hughes tallied 16 points and a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds.  Rachel Vanderwal of Boston U. led the Terriers with 15 points in the game.

Getting Ahead

*  UMBC has had trouble after falling behind this year showing their need to get ahead early on.  UMBC when trailing at halftime is 1-9 this year and are 0-9 when trailing with 10 minutes left in the game.  The Retrievers are 6-3 when leading with 10 and five minutes left in the game and 5-2 when leading at halftime, showing the ability to sustain leads once ahead.

Pender Top Three-Point Shooter In Nation For Fifth Week In A Row

* Matea Pender in the latest NCAA statistics which run thru games as of Feb. 6, 2005, leads the nation in three-point percentage at 52.9 percent.  It is the fifth week in a row this season that Pender has led the NCAA in three-point field goal percentage.  Pender heading into the week has made 45-of-85 from three-point land.  In games won this year Matea has converted 24 of her 41 total three-pointers on the year.  

Goncharova’s Career-Day

*  Anastasia Goncharova recorded career numbers against New Hampshire, posting 33 points on 9-of-10 shooting from the three-point arc and 12-of-13 from the field.  Goncharova finished last week shooting 78.9 percent from the field (15-of-19) and 73.3 percent from three-point range (11-of-15) for a 20.5 ppg average.

Goncharova’s Day

            -Nine three-point baskets ties conference mark for treys in a game.

            -Nine three-point baskets is one off the UMBC record for three-pointers in a game.  Jami Lange holds the UMBC record of 10 set on Feb. 22, 1999 against Long Island.

            -Nine Three-point field goals in the most treys connected in the least amount of attempts (10).

            -33 points scored is most by a UMBC women’s basketball player off the bench.

            -33 points scored is the sixth most points scored in a game in Retriever women’s basketball program history.

Retrievers One Free Throw Attempt Is Lowest In Program’s History

* UMBC against Vermont was held from the free throw line until the final minute of the game as Kristin Drabyn was fouled upon making a layup with 24 seconds on the clock.  Entering the game two free throws was the lowest total number of charity stripe attempts in a game set at St. Francis (Pa.) on Mar. 15, 2003.  

Pender’s lead

*  In UMBC’s seven wins this season Matea Pender is averaging 19.1 ppg, shooting 53.5 percent from the field (46-of-86) and 64.9 percent from three-point range (24-of-37).  In four of those six games Pender has scored 20 or more points.  In games lost Pender is averaging 11.5 ppg.

NEWS AND NOTES:

Pender Holds Top Slot on NCAA Charts...Matea Pender held her top slot on the NCAA national statistics chart for three-point field goal percentage (52.9 percent) as of games thru Feb. 6, 2005.  Pender also ranks 40th in treys per game at 2.4.  Pender has led the nation in three-point field goal percentage for five weeks straight. 

Retrievers Capture 200th D-I Win...The UMBC Women’s Basketball program won their 200th game during their 19-year Division-I history.  The Retrievers last win over Binghamton put them at 200 career win since turning D-I at the start of the 1986-87 season.

Double-Double...Just two games after recording UMBC’s first double-double since Shalayna Johnson (1999-2003) scored 37 points and 10 rebounds against Quinnipiac on Mar. 1, 2003, Matea Pender recorded her second one of the season against Albany with 13 points and 11 rebounds.  Pender finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds against Boston University two games prior.  Pender’s 12 rebounds is a career-high for her.

Senior Tyecia Powell Out For Remainder Of Season...Senior Tyecia Powell suffered a season ending knee injury at Albany and will miss the remainder of her senior year.  Powell, a 5-11 center, started all 19 conference games last year but was been limited in her action prior to her injury this season.

Retrievers Open Conference Home Slate With Win...UMBC won their first home conference game for the first time in six years with their win over BU, 59-51.  UMBC’s last conference win in their home opener prior to last Wednesday night was a 62-54 victory over UNC Asheville in 1998, UMBC’s last year in the Big South Conference. 

Pender and Goncharova join UMBC’s 30-point game club...Matea Pender and Anastasia Goncharova each have had a career games for UMBC this year.  Pender at Stony Brook, scored a career-high 30 points against the Seawolves on 7-of-15 shooting from the field and 6-of-8 shooting from three-point range.  Pender’s 30-points  rank tied for 12th on UMBC’s all-time single-game points scored chart.  Goncharova against New Hampshire topped Pender’s performance with 33 points on 12-of-13 shooting from the field and 9-of-10 from three-point range.  The last time a UMBC player prior to this season hit 30-points in a game was Shalayna Johnson on March 1, 2003 when she set the school record with 37 against Quinnipiac.   

Pender Named America East Co-Player of the Week For Second Time This Season...UMBC junior Matea Pender was named America East Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 12, 2004.  Pender had a stellar week for the Retrievers dropping double-digits in three-consecutive games to up her streak to six-straight double-digit performances and scored her third and fourth 20-plus point performances of the year. Pender on the week shot 58.3 percent from the floor (21-of-36) and an outstanding 72.2 percent from three-point range (13-of-18). Against Lafayette she tallied a career-high six made three-point baskets (6-of-8), netting 22-points, and followed that up going 5-of-6 from behind the arc two nights later against American as she led UMBC with 25-points. 

Retrievers Go With Pender…UMBC is following the lead of junior Matea Pender as the Retrievers are 7-5 in games Pender has scored double-digits.  In UMBC wins, Pender is averaging 19.1 ppg, shooting 53.5 percent (46-of-86) from the field and 64.9 percent (24-of-37) from three-point range.  Pender has six 20-point plus performances, topping last season’s one 20-point performance the entire year.  Courtney Doughman produced that performance with a 22-point effort against Albany.   

Retrievers Dial Long Distance…UMBC's 13 three-point baskets against New Hampshire was one trey off their school record of 14 set by the Retrievers last year at Northeastern.  UMBC has hit double-digits in three-point field goals made on four occasions this season. 

Retrievers Showing Unselfish Play…UMBC as a team recorded 20 assists or more in five games this season, eclipsing their total amount of assists in any one game all of last year with 21 in each of the first two.  Against Lafayette UMBC set a season-high 23 assists as a team.   Brittnie Hughes (67 assists) and Sharri Rohde (66 assists) are the catalysts of the Retrievers offense.  UMBC's school record for team assists in a game is 27.  The Retrievers are averaging 15.44 assists per game, ranking first in the America East team statistics charts.  UMBC ranks second in assist/turnover ratio in the AE charts at 0.94. 

20 Field Goals Made/20 Assists...UMBC against Navy recorded an assist on all 20 of their field goals made for a 100.0 percent assist to field goal percentage.  Brittnie Hughes led UMBC with seven assists in the game.  The NCAA record for assist to field goal’s made is 32 assists on 32 field goals set in 1986 by St. Louis against Loyola (Ill.).

Rookies Take A Seat...For the first time since the Retrievers’ NEC title game at the end of the 2002-03 season, a UMBC freshman did not record any playing time as UMBC against Stony Brook played all upper classmen the entire game.  The game broke a span of 38 games where a freshman had recorded playing time.     

Hughes Named to All-Tournament Team…Sophomore Brittnie Hughes was named to the UMBC Retriever Tip-Off Tournament All-Tournament team after finishing the opening weekend with 9.0 ppg and 6.0 apg.  Hughes also stole seven balls.  Hughes set a career-high for points in a game in the first half against Coppin State and went on to set her new mark at 12 points. 

UMBC Reaches Five Wins the Fastest in D-I Era…The Retrievers with their 67-49 win over American reached five wins the fastest in the Retrievers’ program Division-I history.  UMBC had four wins in their first six games this season entering that contested and reached five in their first seven games with the win.  The fastest UMBC had hit five wins prior to this season was in their 10th game of the 1994-95 and 1990-91 seasons. UMBC’s all-time fastest time was five wins in the first six games during the 1985-86 season.     

Home Sweet Home...The Retrievers for the first time in their 36 seasons have 15 home games as UMBC welcomes six non-conference opponents and all-nine America East foes to RAC Arena in 2004-05.  The Retrievers best home mark was a 10-0 record at RAC Arena in 1993-94.  UMBC's career home record is 185-143.

Hitting The Airwaves…With the newly launched umbcretrievers.com, the majority of home games and a few road contests will be broadcast live on the internet through www.umbcretrievers.com. Play-by-Play announcer Troy Green will bring the action on all contests via the web.  Umbcretrievers.com will also broadcast live stats for all men's and women's basketball home games.  In addition UMBC will play a home televised contest as part of the America East Television package when UMBC hosts Hartford on Feb. 26 at 12 p.m. at UMBC RAC Arena.  Currently the game is set to air on Metro TV NY and Fox Sports New England. 

RETRIEVERS ON AIR

UMBCretrievers.com Radio

Nov. 20      Coppin State                     4:00

Nov. 21      Mount St. Mary’s            4:00

Dec. 7         Radford                              7:00

Dec. 11       American                           7:00        

Dec. 18       Drexel                                 5:00

Dec. 28       at Towson                         7:00

Jan. 8          at Hartford                         12:00

Jan 12         Boston U.                          7:00

Jan 15         Northeastern                     7:00

Jan. 26        Maine                                 7:00

Jan. 29        New Hampshire                7:00

Feb. 5         Stony Brook                      7:00

Feb. 16       Binghamton                      7:00

Feb. 19       Albany                               7:00

Feb. 23       Vermont                             7:00

Feb. 26       Hartford                             12:00

Metro TV NY/Fox Sports Net

Feb. 26       Hartford                             12:00

Live Stats

All homes games and selected away contests.

Retrievers No Longer New Beast In The America East…The Retrievers are no longer the new kids on the block in the America East Conference as they open their second season in the mid-major conference.  Despite a full season in league play the Retrievers still received no love from their conference foes, being picked to finish 10th in the league for the second consecutive year.

Going Global…The Retrievers' 13-player roster contains three international players. 

Senior Anastasia Goncharova is from Russia junior Matea Pender is a native of Croatia and freshman Zuzana Kasanová hails from the Slovak Republic.  In addition to players from the around the world, the majority of UMBC's squad is from outside the state lines.  Tyecia Powell (Baltimore, Md.), Amanda Robinson (Lusby, Md.) and Morgan Hatten (Potomac, Md.) are the Retrievers' women's hoops only Maryland natives.

Kasanová To Redshirt Freshman Year...UMBC prior to the season lost freshman Zuzana Kasanová to an ACL tear to her knee.  Kasanová will red shirt this season and have all four years of eligibility  at the start of the 2005-06 season.

Retrievers Ink Three For 2005-06…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 2005-06 academic year.  The list includes Melissa Book (Raleigh, N.C./Millbrook High School), Mackenzie Butler (Reno, Nev./Reno High School) and Suzanne Morris (Cleveland, Tenn./Walker Valley High School).