UMBC

Matea Pender and the Retrievers open action on Saturday at 3 p.m.

UMBC women's basketball will begin the 2005-06 season when they host Morgan State on Saturday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. in the third annual Retriever Tip-Off Tournament presented by Close Call America.  Columbia and Fairleigh Dickinson will play in the first game slated to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday.  Fans can listen to the action on WLG-1370 AM or by clicking on the audio link on www.umbcretrievers.com.  Fans can also follow the action with live stats via the Retrievers' website.    

RETRIEVER UPDATE:  UMBC enters the 2005-06 with a lot of optimism on the season having returned five starters and eight players with starting experience.  Head coach Phil Stern, entering his fourth year at the Retriever helm, will have an upperclassman dominated team for the first time since entering the America East Conference.  The Retrievers are led by Matea Pender, who averaged 13.3 ppg last year and shot 48.8 percent outside the arc, the third best percentage in the nation.  Brittnie Huges returns at the point guard spot after leading UMBC in assists last years as the Retrievers finished as the top assisters in the America East.  Sharri Rohde has a streak of 56 consecutive starts and ranked in the America East charts in points per game, assists, steals, blocks and assist/turnover ratio.   

Who’s Up Next:  UMBC will face either Columbia or Fairleigh Dickinson on Sunday at 3 p.m., depending on the outcomes of day one.  Winners and losers of day one will meet each other.   

RETRIEVER TIP-OFF TOURNAMENT PRESENTED BY CLOSE CALL AMERICA

Scouting Morgan State...First-year head coach Donald Beasley and Morgan State were picked to finish 11th in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference preseason poll.  Last year the Lady Bears finished last (11th-place) in the conference with a 4-23 overall record and 2-16 league mark.  The Lady Bears, who defeated Bethune-Cookman twice last season for their lone conference wins return eight letterwinners, including two starters in junior guard Whitney Johnson (9.2 points, which ranked 19th in the MEAC, 2.5 rebounds) and sophomore center Britney Griffin (4.2 ppg, 4.7 rpg). Also returning for Morgan State are juniors Sarissa Gaskins (5-11, G/F, 4.2 ppg, 2.4 rpg), Latricia Jones (6-2, F/C, 5.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg) and Robyn Munford (5-6, G, 2.2 ppg, 1.5 rpg). Jennyffer Vargas, a 6-1 forward from Miami, Fla., also returns to the Lady Bears after missing the 2004-05 season due to an injury. Vargas averaged 5.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a game during her sophomore season.

Scouting Columbia...Columbia enters the season with a young squad, featuring one senior and three juniors on its roster.  The Lions return this season with just one starter returning and seven letterwinners coming back after a 12-15 season last year.  Susan Kern and Adia Revell both graduated after leading the team in scoring at 10.5 and 9.5 ppg, respectively.  Junior Megan Griffith is first-year head coach Paul Nixon’s top returning player.  Griffith started all 27 games last year, averaging 32.0 minutes per game and 7.9 ppg.  Griffith ranked third on the team in scoring at 7.9 ppg and led the team in assists with 3.5 per game. She ranked sixth in the Ivy League in assists, second in free throw percentage (.875) and 14th in steals.  The Lions last season went 5-9 in the Ivy League, finishing tied for fifth in the conference standings. 

Scouting Fairleigh Dickinson...FDU lost three starters from a squad that went 2-25 last year and 1-17 in the Northeast Conferenc as Erin Mills, Kanesha Wright and Kay Odenwaelder will not be back this season. Odenwaelder and Mills were also the team’s leading scorers the last two seasons. The emergence of all-rookie team center Jennifer Walkling in 2004-05 may have foreshadowed a bright future for the Knights. Walkling ranked 12th in the NEC in field-goal percentage last season (44.6) and started the last 12 games for FDU. Senior Krissy Suckow (pictured) (8.7) is the team’s second-leading scorer behind Walkling and will need to step up her offense due to the loss of Odenwaelder and Mills. Eight freshmen newcomers will most likely determine FDU’s fate for the season. Interestly, Head Coach Sandy Gordon Gaglioti signed the Coombs’ triplets (Ashley, Heather, Lauren) from Trumbell, CT.

Retriever Quick Shots

- UMBC returns eight letterwinners and has added four freshmen and a junior college transfer to the 2005-06 squad.

- UMBC returns all five starters from the 2004-05 season and all eight returnees have starting experience.

- Senior Matea Pender ranked third in the nation at the end of last year with a 48.8 percent three-point field goal percentage.

- Matea Pender was named to the America East All-Third team at the end of last season.

- Matea Pender posted the third largest points per game increase last season in Division I with an 11.8 ppg increase.  Pender averaged 1.5 ppg in 2003-04 and 13.3 ppg in 2004-05. 

- Junior Sharri Rohde enters the season with 56 consecutive starts and has not missed a start in her entire collegiate career, starting all 28 games as a freshman and sophomore. 

- UMBC topped the league in assists last season, averaging a conference best 15.0 assists per game.  Brittnie Hughes led the Retrievers with 3.54 apg, fifth best in the conference.  Sharri Rohde ranked second on the team with 3.32 apg, sixth best in the league.

- UMBC tallied seven games with 20-plus assists including a 23 assists night against Lafayette, four off the Retrievers' all-time single-game team mark of 27.

- UMBC sophomore Amanda Robinson emerged over the final three games of last season, averaging 19.5 ppg in the final week of the regular season and being named co-rookie of the week by the America East.  In the season finale Robinson scored 12 points for her third consecutive game with double-figures. 

- In 14 out of the final 18 games last season, at least one player on the Retriever squad played all-40 minutes.  Sharri Rohde leads UMBC with 11 40-minute nights in her career while Brittnie Hughes has logged all the minutes on the court on seven occasions. 

News and Notes...

UMBC Hosts Tournament For Third Consecutive Season...UMBC will open the season with its own home tournament for the third consecutive year.  The Retriever Tip-Off Tournament presented by Close Call America features Morgan State, Columbia, Fairliegh Dickinson and host UMBC.  Last year UMBC finished third, falling to Coppin State in the opener and defeating Mount St. Mary’s in the consolation game.  In the first year of the tournament UMBC lost both games and finished fourth. 

For Starters...UMBC is looking for a season opening win for the first time since the 2002-03 season at Towson, head coach Phil Stern’s first season.  UMBC’s last home opener win came that same year in Stern’s second game at the Retriever helm, leading UMBC past 2005-06 opening opponent Morgan State, 57-34. 

Pender’s Lead...Last season in UMBC’s eight wins Matea Pender average 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 the eight games Pender scored 20 or more points.

Former NEC Foes Possible Opponents...Two of UMBC’s former foes in the Northeast Conference could reacquaint themselves with the Retrievers this season.  Fairleigh Dickinson and Robert Morris are in opposite brackets for both tournaments UMBC will be playing in this season.  FDU will take on Columbia in the opening round of the Retriever Tip-Off Tournament presented by Close Call America with a chance to meet UMBC on Sunday, Nov. 20.  Robert Morris takes on Loyola (Ill.) at the South Florida Best Western Roundball Classic with a chance to face UMBC on Sunday, Nov. 27.  

UMBC Adds Two Non-Conference Games In 2005-06...With Northeastern having moved to the Colonial Athletic Conference, UMBC will play two less conference games and added two non-conference games to the 2005-06 schedule.  UMBC will play 16 conference games, eight home and eight away, and face 11 non-conference opponents, leading up to the America East Tournament. 

America East Tournament Returns To Hartford...For the third consecutive season the America East Conference Championships will return to Chase Arena at the Reich Family Pavilion on the campus of the University of Hartford.  Hartford has hosted the conference tournament the past two seasons, including winning the league tournament last season.   

International Students...UMBC has developed a reputation for having international students on its roster, including two in 2005-06.  UMBC has graduated two international students the last two years and will graduate senior Matea Pender at the conclusion of the upcoming season. 

Hitting the Airwaves...UMBC will hit the airwaves with six games broadcasted live on WLG-1370 AM, all home games and some away games via www.umbcretrievers.com and a televised game against Vermont on Feb. 12 at RAC Arena.  All WLG broadcast games will also run live via the website for fans outside the broadcasting network.  UMBC will also broadcast live stats via the web for all home games at RAC Arena.

Retrievers Picked Ninth In Preseason Conference Poll...The UMBC women’s basketball team was picked to finish ninth in the America East Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll.  Hartford was the league’s pick to win the conference after taking the league tournament title last year.  Boston U. and Maine were selected to tie for second. 

UMBC Inks Two for 2006-07...UMBC head women’s basketball coach Phil Stern announced the signings of two student-athletes to National Letters of Intent to attend UMBC for the 2006-07 academic year.  Carlee Cassidy (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) and Leanne Crockett (Manchester, Conn./Manchester) are both slated to become freshman at UMBC in the fall of 2006.