UMBC

Sharri Rohde and the Retrievers take on Butler Thursday night.

Indianapolis, Ind. – UMBC takes on Butler in the back end of a two-game trip to Indiana on Thursday night at 7 p.m.  UMBC is coming off a 75-53 win over IPFW and looking for their eighth win of the season.  Fans can click on the link in the schedule and results section to go to Butler Athletics website, where live stats, live audio and live video are available for tonight’s game.   

RETRIEVER UPDATE:   UMBC’s moved to 2-0 following a loss this season as the Retrievers defeated IPFW, 75-53 last Tuesday night to move to 7-2 on the year.  UMBC played five players in double-figures after shooting over 50.0 percent from the field on the day.  Kristin Drabyn, earning a start in her home state in Indiana, went off in the second half, going 5-for-5 from the field and 4-for-5 from outside the arc for 14 points.  Drabyn scored 11 of those points in the first seven minutes as UMBC built a 30-point lead at one point.  Matea Pender scored 13 points, Brittnie Hughes 11 points and Sharri Rohde and Morgan Hatten each tallied 10 points in the game.  Pender leads the Retrievers with 14.8 ppg and is 11-of-15 from outside the arc over the last three games.     

BUTLER UPDATE: B utler enters the game with a 3-5 record on the season and is coming off an 83-78 win over Evansville last Monday night.  The Bulldogs in the game had their offense in full gear, scoring 40 or more points in both halves and shooting 44.8 percent for the game.  Five Bulldogs scored in double figures including Lade Akande with 21 points and Carla Gheorghe with 18 points.  Akande recorded a double-double in the game with 12 rebounds and tallied six blocks. 

Who’s Up Next:  UMBC returns to action with local foe Navy on Dec. 30 at 7:30 p.m.  The game will be the Retrievers fourth consecutive road competition.     

RETRIEVER GAMEDAY

Game Notes:  UMBC against Butler is the Retrievers 10th game of the season and fifth on the road.   The game marks the first meeting between the two programs but not the first meeting between the two head coaches.  UMBC head coach Phil Stern and Butler head coach Beth Couture are familiar foes at the Division II level.  Stern coached USC-Aiken while Couture was at the helm of Presbyterian as the two met on multiple occasions.  Both left for their respective Division I programs the same year.  Butler and UMBC in their last game played placed five players in double-figures.  It was the second time this season for Butler and UMBC’s first time this season. 

RETRIEVER QUICK SHOTS

- UMBC’s Indiana girls put on a show in front of some family and friends against IPFW, combining for 31 points in the game.  Kristin Drabyn scored a career-high 14 points, all in the second half.  Sharri Rohde tallied 10 points while Heather Luttrell dropped seven points in the game.  The trio shot a combined 63.1 percent from the field, making 12-of-19 shots. 

- UMBC is finding its long range shooting as of late.  Known for its ability to shoot the trey, UMBC over the last three games is shooting 47.3 percent from outside the arc, going 26-of-55.  Senior Matea Pender leads UMBC as the Retriever guard is shooting 73.3 percent, making 11-of-15 attempts.

- Brittnie Hughes’ entered this week ranking 30th in the nation and first in the conference in assists per game at 5.62 as of games through Dec. 19.  NCAA national statistics are released every Tuesday afternoon.   Hughes recorded six assists her last time out and is averaging 5.7 apg, first in the AE standings.   

- UMBC also in the last released NCAA statistics ranked sixth in the nation with 19.6 apg and 28th in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 35.0 percent from the field.  UMBC enters this game at 19.67 apg and holding opponents to 35.7 percent shooting from the field.  

- The UMBC bench, which was held to two points against Drexel for its lowest output this season,   bounced back against IPFW, scoring 33 points against IPFW.  Matea Pender scored 13 points off the bench while Morgan Hatten tallied 10 points.  UMBC is averaging 16.8 ppg and led Hatten with 4.8 ppg. Nicole Dixon leads the UMBC bench on the boards at 3.2 rpg. 

- UMBC has been very efficient from the field to date this season with the Retrievers shooting 46.2 percent.  UMBC has yet to shoot below 40.0 percent in a game this season, including shooting a season-high 54.5 percent against IPFW, making 30-of-55 attempts from the field. 

- UMBC in the final five minutes of its nine games this season has turned over the ball a 11 times, averaging 1.2 turnovers per game in the final five minutes.  During that same span of time, UMBC has handed out 22 assists and holds a 2.0 assist to turnover ratio. 

News and Notes...

UMBC In Midst of Five Game Swing...UMBC is in the middle of a stretch of five games on the road and eight of nine away from home with three games in a span of six days.  UMBC traveled to Drexel last Saturday and follows that with Indiana native programs IPFW and Butler.  UMBC after Christmas will play at Navy and New Hampshire before returning home on Jan. 7 against Boston U. 

Home For The Holidays...Three Retrievers will get an early Christmas break heading back to their home state of Indiana.  Juniors Sharri Rohde and Heather Luttrell along with sophomore Kristin Drabyn are all from the Hoosier state and get a chance to play in front of family and friends with UMBC’s two games in Indiana.  Rohde and Drabyn are from the Indianapolis area, where UMBC will take on Butler.   

Lending a helping hand...UMBC leads the America East Conference for the second consecutive season in assists per game and ranks sixth in the NCAA Statistics through games Dec. 19, 2005.  The Retrievers to date have recorded 19.7 apg.  UMBC has five games with 20-plus assists this season, including 26 against Fairleigh Dickinson as the Retrievers came one assist away from their single-season mark of 27, set in 1985 against Shippensburg.  Brittnie Hughes dished out a career-high 10 assists against Lafayette and is averaging 5.7 apg through nine games this season.  The junior point guard led UMBC with 99 assists on the year last season and ranked among the conference leaders in the category.

Pender Reaches All-Time Top-20 Scoring Chart...Senior Matea Pender joined UMBC’s all-time top-20 chart for points scored after recording 13 points against IPFW.  Pender currently has 751 career points, 20th all-time.  The last time UMBC had an active member on the top-20 scoring list was during the 2002-03 season.  Pender is currently on pace to reach 1,000 career points and become the 15th Retriever to ever break the 1,000 point plateau. 

Rohde’s Start Streak...Junior Sharri Rohde extended her streak to 65 consecutive starts and has not missed a start in her entire collegiate career, starting all 28 games as a freshman and sophomore and every one this year.

Pender Becomes Fifth Retriever To Reach 100 Treys For Her Career...Senior Matea Pender recorded five treys against Drexel to become the fifth player in UMBC history to reach 100 career three-point baskets.  Pender needs 23 treys to reach fourth on UMBC’s all-time three-point baskets made chart. 

Rohde Moving Up Assists and Blocks All-Time Charts...Junior Sharri Rohde, who is UMBC’s active leader in assists, blocks and steals, is moving up the Retrievers all-time charts in the assist and blocks category.  Rohde currently has 184 career assists, tied for 12th all-time and 49 career blocks, ranking 12th all-time.  With 152 career assists, junior Brittnie Hughes is closing in on an all-time top-10 ranking.   

Hughes Earns America East Conference Co-Player of the Week...Brittnie Hughes was named America East Conference Co-Player of the Week for the week ending Dec. 4, 2005.  Hughes led UMBC to back-to-back wins as the junior point guard averaged 18.0 ppg and 6.5 apg in two contests. Hughes opened the week at American, scoring a career-high 19 points with nine assists and a 9-of-9 performance at the free throw line.

Hughes Named To Second All-Tournament Team...When it comes to tournaments, UMBC junior point guard Brittnie Hughes has stepped up to the challenge, earning a spot on both all-tournament teams this season.  Hughes won a spot on the Retriever Tip-Off Tournament team after leading the Retrievers to the title.  At South Florida, Hughes averaged 15.5 ppg and 4.25 apg to lead the Retrievers to a 1-1 mark.  Last year Hughes was named to the 2004 Retriever Tip-Off Tournament team.   

Block Party...Amanda Robinson’s six blocks against Morgan State tied Eunice French for the most blocks recorded in a single game by a Retriever.  Robinson had three blocks in the first five minutes against Morgan State.  UMBC as a team blocked nine shots against Morgan State, Robinson’s six, Nicole Dixon recording two and Mackenzie Butler one.  UMBC on the season is averaging 3.3 bpg

Pender Named MVP Of Retriever Tip-Off Tournament....Senior Matea Pender was named Retriever Tip-Off Tournament Most Valuable Player after averaging 14.5 ppg in the two games.  Pender shot .500 from outside the arc, making 5-for-10 while shooting 47.6 percent from the field on 10-of-21.  Pender added 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals in the two-day event. 

Double-Double...UMBC Amanda Robinson recorded her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Fairleigh Dickinson.  Dating back to last season, Robinson has double-digit scoring in six of her last seven games. 

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.

UMBC Captures Tip-Off Tournament Title...UMBC for the first time in the three-year history of the Retriever Tip-Off Tournament captured the title, defeating Morgan State, 72-50, in the opening round to advance the championship game against Fairleigh Dickinson.  UMBC went on to beat FDU, 76-58, to win the title as Matea Pender earned tournament most valuable player honors and Brittnie Hughes made the all-tournament team.   

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. 

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.   

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. 

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. 

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.