UMBC

Phil Stern's Retrievers' lone win against Hartford came last year at RAC Arena.

Brittnie Hughes has a four-game double-digit scoring streak.

Sharri Rohde scored 14 points last time out against Hartford.

– The UMBC Women’s Basketball team (8-16, 3-12 America East) hosts Senior Day and NCAA Take A Kid To The Game Day at UMBC RAC Arena on Saturday, Feb. 26 at Noon.  UMBC and Harford square-off in America East Conference competition with tip set for 12:06 p.m. as the game will be televised on Metro TV N.Y. and Fox Sports Net.  Senior Day Ceremonies will begin around 11:50 a.m. as Tyecia Powell and Anastasia Goncharova will be honored.   Eric Frede and Leah Secondo will broadcast the televised game while Troy Green will be live on UMBCRetrievers.com radio with all the action.  Fans can also follow the action with UMBC’s live stats.

RETRIEVER UPDATE:  The Retrievers were unable to start a winning streak falling to Vermont last Wednesday night at UMBC RAC Arena by a final of 69-51.  UMBC was going for back-to-back win for the first time since defeating Lafayette and American in back-to-back games in early December.  With three games left in the regular season UMBC is three games back of ninth place in the America East Standings.  For the game Matea Pender tallied her fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds as UMBC trailed by one, 41-40 with 8:29 to play in the second half but an 11-0 run by the Catamounts and 10-of-10 free throw shooting in the final two minutes allowed Vermont to secure the win.  Brittnie Hughes finished with a team-high 15 points and Sharri Rohde and Heather Luttrell scored 10 each.  The game marked the fourth time this year four players for UMBC have hit double digits in a single game.  Rohde and Hughes each have four-game double digit scoring streaks.

HAWKS UPDATE: Hartford dropped their third game in the last four outings with two of the three losses on the road.  The Hawks are on a two-game slide and scored a conference season-low 37 against Binghamton last time out.  Ikea Witt leads Hartford with 11.9 ppg and Erika Messam is averaging 11.7 ppg.  Hartford ranks second in the conference with a 10-5 league mark.

Who’s Up Next:    The Retrievers hit the road for the final two games of the regular season.  UMBC travels to New Hampshire on Mar. 3 at 7 p.m. and heads to Maine on Mar. 5 at 7:30 p.m.

All-time Series vs. Harford:  Meeting No. 5

Last Meeting:       Jan. 8, 2005 (Hartford 56, UMBC 39)

First Meeting:      Dec. 29, 2002 (Hartford 60, UMBC 47)

UMBC’s last win:                Feb. 28, 2004 (UMBC 48, Hartford 46)

Streak:  Hartford has won one in a row

Series Record:     Hartford leads the series 3-1 

QUICK HITS:

Against Hartford

* UMBC trails Hartford in the all-time series 3-1 with their only win in the lone meeting at UMBC RAC Arena as the Retrievers came away with a 48-46 win last year.  Hartford won the first meeting at the St. Joseph’s tournament and both meetings on their home court.

Match-up Notes

*  The Retrievers versus Hartford match-up focuses on defense as Hartford and UMBC rank one and two, respectively, in the America East Conference standings for scoring defense.  Hartford leads the league allowing 55.0 ppg while UMBC has held opponents to an average of 57.9 ppg. 

Last Meeting

*  UMBC suffered the effects of a tough first half as Hartford behind 51.6 percent shooting in the opening stanza took at 38-13 lead.  UMBC composed themselves in the second half outscoring Hartford 26-18 but were unable to overcome the first half deficit as Hartford captured the 56-39 victory.  Sharri Rohde led UMBC with 14 points playing all 40 minutes while Ikea Witt and Danielle Hood finished with 14 points and 11 points respectively. 

UMBC Takes On Top-Four In Conference Down The Stretch

*  The way the league is panning out this year UMBC has drawn the short straw heading into the final four games of the season of playing the top-four teams in the conference standings, almost in exact ascending order.  UMBC’s last opponent Vermont (fourth in conference standings) defeated UMBC 69-51 at UMBC RAC Arena on Feb. 23.   UMBC hosts Hartford (second), before traveling to New Hampshire (third) and Maine (first) to end the season.  Facing the top teams in the league to end the season will challenge UMBC has all-10 teams make the league tournament with the bottom four playing on opening night to play-in to the quarterfinal round.

Rohde Leads League In Free Throw Percentage In Conference Play

* Sophomore Sharri Rohde leads the league in free throw percentage in conference play, having hit 34-of-37 attempts from the charity stripe over the league’s first 15 games.  Rohde had only missed on free throw in conference play before a 2-for-4 night at the free throw line against Vermont in UMBC’s last outing.  Rohde is an impressive 91.9 percent from the free throw line, including a career-high 8-of-8 free throws in the second meeting against Binghamton this season. 

Rohde Emerging As Defensive Specialist

* Sophomore Sharri Rohde, who normally garners the task of guarding the opponent’s top player, has emerged as a defensive force.  Rohde currently ranks in overall America East statistics in 6th place in steals at 1.79 spg and 5th in block shots at 1.00 bpg.  In America East Conference games Rohde is second in steals at 1.87 spg and ranks 7th in blocks at 1.00 bpg.   

Pender Ranks Second In Nation Three-Point Field Goal Percentage Chart

* Matea Pender in the latest NCAA statistics which run thru games as of Feb. 20, 2005, moved back up to second after falling to third last week in three-point percentage.  Pender led the nation in three-point field goal percentage for five straight weeks and enters this week shooting 52.3 percent from the field at 58-of-111.  Pender went 2-of-10 in UMBC’s last outing from outside the arc and dropped below 50.0 percent (49.6 percent) for the first time this season. 

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 1-11 this year and are 0-11 when trailing with 10 minutes left in the game.  The Retrievers are 7-3 when leading with five minutes left in the game and 6-4 when leading at halftime, showing the ability to sustain leads once ahead.

Pender’s lead

*  In UMBC’s eight wins this season Matea Pender is averaging 19.0 ppg, shooting 52.9 percent from the field (55-of-99) and 65.9 percent from three-point range (29-of-44).  In four of those eight games Pender has scored 20 or more points.  In games lost Pender is averaging 12.4 ppg.

40 Minute Nights

*  In 11 of UMBC’s 15 conference games at least one player has played 40 minutes.  Sharri Rohde and Matea Pender lead UMBC with five 40-minute nights on the season while Hughes has logged all the minutes on four occasions this season.

Drabyn Out For Season

*  Freshman Kristin Drabyn suffered a broken finger and has been sidelined the rest of the 2004-05 season.  She joins Tyecia Powell (ACL) and Zuzana Kasanová (ACL) on UMBC’s injured list. 

NEWS AND NOTES:

Pender Back To No. 2 Ranking on NCAA Charts...Matea Pender has moved back up to No. 2 in the NCAA national statistics chart for three-point field goal percentage as of games thru Feb. 20, 2005.  Pender, who held the top spot in the nation for five consecutive weeks, is shooting 52.3 percent from outside the arc entering the week.  Pender also ranks 23rd in treys per game at 2.5. 

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.

Double-Double...Mate Pender tallied her fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds against Vermont on Feb. 23.  Pender’s first double-double of the season came against Boston U., in the first meeting this season.  That double-double marked 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 two games following that performance.  Pender in the second meeting with Boston U., recorded her third double-double of the season with 24 points and 12 rebounds.

Pender’s Double-Doubles

Opponent              Points     Rebounds

Boston U. (1-12)   12            12

Albany (1-19)        13            11

Boston U. (2-10)   24            12

Vermont (2-23)      14            11

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 8-9 in games Pender has scored double-digits.  In UMBC wins, Pender is averaging 19.0 ppg, shooting 52.9 percent from the field (55-of-99) and 65.9 percent from three-point range (29-of-44).  Pender has seven 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 five occasions this season. 

Retrievers Showing Unselfish Play…UMBC as a team recorded 20 assists or more in six 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 (84 assists) and Sharri Rohde (77 assists) are the catalysts of the Retrievers offense.  UMBC's school record for team assists in a game is 27.  The Retrievers are averaging 15.17 assists per game, ranking first in the America East team statistics charts.   

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.

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 Boston U. was a 62-54 victory over UNC Asheville in 1998, UMBC’s last year in the Big South Conference. 

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. 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.

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.

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).