UMBC

Coles notched her first double-double of the season against Vermont on Saturday

BALTIMORE – UMBC women’s basketball welcomes New Hampshire to the RAC Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 13, for its fifth annual Play 4Kay/Pink Zone contest – an event that helps raise money for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund in support of breast cancer awareness and research. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m., with all the action available on UMBCRetrievers.tv.

scouting the retrievers (8-16, 4-7 AE): UMBC picked up its second victory in the last three games and avenged last month's three-point loss to Vermont with a 71-55 win on Saturday against the Catamounts. The Retrievers connected on an America East season-high 28 free throws in the contest and received double-digit scoring games from all three of its senior guards. Raven Harris led the way with a game-high 21 points, while Kristin Coles notched her first double-double of the season with 13 boards and 12 points - all of which came from the free throw line. Brittany Crowell chipped in 16 points in the win.

Since returning to the lineup on Feb. 2, Coles has scored double-digit points in two of three games, connecting on 17-of-23 from the charity stripe, and is pulling down 7.7 rebounds a contest. Harris and Crowell rank third and fourth, respectively, in scoring during America East play. Harris, who is averaging a team-best 15.5 points in 2013, has scored 20-plus points in three of the last four games and is second in the league in assists (4.6) and steals (3.0). Her 3.38 steals per game this season ranks 14th in Division I. Crowell is averaging a team-best 12.6 points on the season and 15.1 points during conference action. She leads the league in three-point field goals made per game (3.2) since the beginning of January and is shooting 37.6 percent from three-point range during that span.

Head coach Phil Stern is in his 11th season at the helm of the Retrievers' program, after leading the black and gold to their second America East Championship game appearance last season. Following the graduation of 59.5 percent of the conference's highest scoring offense in 2011-12, UMBC (34 votes) was tabbed to finish sixth in the league behind Albany (61), Boston University (56), Hartford (54), New Hampshire (37) and Vermont (37).

scouting the wildcats (9-13, 4-6 AE): New Hampshire has won three of its last four games, including a 67-45 victory against Vermont on Wednesday before having a bye on Saturday. The Wildcats reset their season-highs in field goal percentage (57.5 percent) and three-point field goal percentage (61.5 percent) in the victory. Junior guard Kelsey Hogan shot a perfect six-for-six from the field, including four-of-four from beyond the arc, en route to a season-high 17 points in the win versus the Catamounts.

UNH is led by a pair of double-digit forwards in seniors Cari Reed and Morgan Frame. Reed's ranks third in the conference in scoring, with 12.9 points per game, and is pulling down a team-best 7.3 rebounds per contest - fifth in the league. Frame is chipping in 11.0 points - seventh in the America East - and 6.8 boards - sixth in the league. Hogan, who has played in five games during league play, is shooting at a .471 clip during conference and is averaging 9.8 points.

Inside the Series: New Hampshire had dropped four of its last five contests to the Retrievers, but picked up a 63-62 victory last month at Lundholm Gym. UMBC guard Bria White notched career-highs in points (22) and rebounds (nine) in the contest, but UNH shot 60.9 percent in the second half and received a double-double from senior forward Morgan Frame, 20 points and 12 rebounds. The Retrievers hold the slight advantage in the all-time series, 11-9, including a 5-4 record at the RAC Arena.

On the horizon for the retrievers: The Retrievers take the weekend off with a bye on Feb. 16 and return to action on the road the following week to take on Stony Brook on Feb. 20. UMBC defeated the Seawolves, 70-59, in front of a UMBC women's basketball record crowd of 2,905, during its Midday Madness on Jan. 23.