Women's Hoops On The Road At Fordham Wednesday NightThe Minutewomen and Rams are currently tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 standings entering the Feb. 23 contest.
BRONX, N.Y. -
Fighting for position in the Atlantic 10 standings, the UMass women's basketball team will be in action in its final road game of the regular season on Wednesday night at Fordham. Both squads sit at 3-9 in the conference, tied for 10th along with George Washington and are 7-20 and 11-17 overall, respectively. Tip off it set for 7 p.m. in Rose Hill Gym.
Scouting Fordham
Fordham enters Wednesday's contest tied for 10th in the Atlantic 10 standings with UMass and George Washington, holding a record of 3-9 in conference play. Overall, the Rams are 11-17 on the season, including A-10 wins over La Salle (69-54), George Washington (59-56) and Rhode Island (64-43).
Becky Peters leads three Fordham players with double-digit scoring averages, contributing 12.5 points per-game. Tiffany Stokes and Caitlin Shadbolt follow with 10.3 and 10.1 points per-game, respectively. Stokes is the leading rebounder for the Rams, hauling in 7.7 per-contest.
UMass leads the all-time series against the Rams, 21-9 since the series began on Feb. 29, 1980. The Minutewomen have won five straight in the series, dating back to a 54-44 loss at Fordham on Jan. 30, 2005.
Last Time Against Fordham
Behind a career-high 21 points from freshman Jasmine Watson, the UMass women's basketball team rolled to a 60-50 win over Fordham at the Mullins Center on Feb. 6, 2010. The Minutewomen, who had 19 assists on 20 baskets in the contest, improve to 9-14 overall and 3-5 in the A-10 with the victory, while the Rams drop to 8-16 overall and 2-7 in conference play.
Watson's career day was aided by 9-for-12 shooting from the floor, while she contributed eight rebounds and three blocks, as well, including six boards on the offensive glass. Sophomore Kristina Danella followed with 16 points and six rebounds. Senior Diatiema Hill had eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, her classmate Kim Benton dished five assists and redshirt junior Megan Zullo tied her career best by handing out seven assists and also added five rebounds and three steals.
UMass began the afternoon with an 8-0 lead while holding Fordham to 0-for-13 shooting from the field to start the contest. Randall Hurst eventually put the Rams on the board with a layup at 10:30, but Watson hit one of her four first half baskets at 7:22 to put the Minutewomen ahead by double-digits for the first time, 14-3. Danella later drained a three at 2:12 that gave UMass its largest lead of the half, 14, at 24-10. Fordham ended the period on an 8-3 run and pulled back to within nine at the intermission, 27-18.
That was as close as the Rams would come to overtaking UMass as Watson continued her dominance by converting a three-point play to start the second half. She started the contest 7-for-7, capped off by a bucket with 15:22 remaining that increased the Minutewomen's advantage to 20 for the first time. Danella did her part to help the squad pull away as well, as she poured in 13 second half points, which included her 100th career three at the 16:28 mark.
Later at 10:28, junior Cerie Mosgrove drained a trey from the corner that gave UMass its largest lead of the game, 25, at 49-24. An answering layup by Tiffany Stokes on Fordham's next possession began a stretch of 13 straight points for the Rams over a span of 4:02, but the Minutewomen maintained their double-digit cushion for the duration of the contest.
UMass finished the afternoon shooting 20-for-50 (40.0%), 6-for-14 (42.9%) from three and 14-for-20 (70.0%) at the free throw line. The Rams recovered from shooting 6-for-27 (22.2%) in the first half by going 12-for-21 (57.1%) in the second, to level off at 37.5% (18-for-48) overall. Fordham shot 6-for-19 (31.6%) from beyond the arc and 8-for-12 (66.7%) at the charity stripe.
UMass held a decisive edge in rebounding, 42-24, and led in points in the paint, 26-16, and second chance points, 9-2.
Tyonna Willingham was the lone Rams player to reach double figures as she had 16 points. Stokes recorded nine points and four steals, while Charlotte Stoddart led the squad with five rebounds.
Mosgrove And Zullo Battle For Three-Point Record
Senior Cerie Mosgrove recently broke the UMass single season three-point field goal record of 58 previously held by Katie Nelson (2004-05) and Kristina Danella (2008-09), starting the contest against Duquesne 5-for-5 from beyond the arc in the first half and now has 70 through 27 games. Megan Zullo is right behind Mosgrove with 64 on the year.
Mosgrove and Zullo have both logged their second career 50+ three pointer seasons. Zullo sunk 54 from beyond the arc last year, a total that is now fifth all-time, while Mosgrove registered 51 threes as a sophomore in 2008-09, seventh-most all-time for a single season.
Mosgrove entered the week as the national leader in three-point percentage at 50% (70-140) and is 46th in three-point field goals per-game. In the Atlantic 10, Mosgrove is third and Zullo fourth in three-point field goals per-game at 2.6 and 2.4, respectively. Mosgrove is first in three-point percentage and Zullo is eighth, having made 64-of-162 (39.5%).
Leading The Way In A-10 Play
Cerie Mosgrove and Jasmine Watson have provided 352 of UMass' 748 points in Atlantic 10 play, 47.1% of the team's scoring. The duo has also accounted for 184 of 435 rebounds in conference games or 42.3%.
Both rank in the top-15 for scoring and rebounding in the conference only statistics. Mosgrove is fifth with 8.2 rebounds per-game and eighth with 15.9 points per-game. Watson is 11th in rebounding (7.2) and 13th in scoring (13.4).
Mosgrove is tied for first in conference play in three point field goals made (3.4) and second three-point percentage, shooting a blistering 57.7% (41-for-71) beyond the arc in conference games. She is also second in field goal percentage at 53.6% (60-for-112) and first in free throw percentage at 90.9% (30-for-33).
Mosgrove has scored more points (191) in 12 conference games than her previous career high, recording 175 points in 30 games as a sophomore. She has 98 rebounds in A-10 play, 40 more than her previous career high for a season (58 in 30 games as a sophomore).
Minutewomen Milestones
Senior Stephanie Lawrence played her 100th career game on Jan. 26, 2011, against Temple.
Senior Cerie Mosgrove played her 100th career game on Jan. 12 at Richmond.
Zullo logged her 100th career three-pointer on Jan. 12 at Richmond, reaching the milestone in less than two seasons at UMass, becoming the eighth player in program history with 100 career treys.
Mosgove scored her 500th career point at Maine on Dec. 29, her 600th on Jan. 22 at Saint Joseph's and her 700th on Feb. 12 at George Washington. She is currently 31st in UMass history for career scoring with 720 points, 10 behind Lu-Ann Fletcher for 30th (730).
Zullo scored her 400th point at UMass at Harvard on Jan. 2. She has 686 in her career (N.C. State and UMass combined), scoring her 600th at Rhode Island on Jan. 8. Zullo registered her 500th point at UMass on Feb 12 at George Washington.
Zullo needs five assists for her 200th of her career. She is nine away from cracking top-10 for a single season as she currently has 123 helpers.
Sophomore Jasmine Watson scored her 400th career point at Rhode Island on Jan. 8 and registered her 500th on Feb. 2 against Duquesne. She broke into the top-10 in career blocks at Richmond on Jan. 12. She needs five to pass Caroline Nehls (75) for seventh. Watson recorded her 300th career rebound on Feb. 12 at George Washington and currently has 311 to her credit.
Home Sweet Home
The Minutewomen have played their best basketball in Amherst this season as six of the squad's seven victories have come at home where the squad has posted a record of 6-7 (5-6 at Mullins, 1-0 at Curry Hicks Cage).
As a team, UMass is shooting 41.9% (303-for-723) at home and is averaging 67.5 points per-game. In the Amherst, the Minutewomen are 38.2% (94-for-246) from three-point range and 74.4% (177-for-238) at the free throw line.
A New Addition
Freshman Marisa Stabile, a 6-1 forward from Lockleys, Australia, has joined the UMass roster for the second semester and is eligible to play immediately.
Stabile graduated from Saint Aloysius College in 2009 and played for North Adelaide Basketball Club. She helped the North Adelaide Basketball Club to a 2010 Australian national title and a South Australia state championship in 2007.
Stabile made her collegiate debut vs. #8 Xavier, playing four minutes and registering one rebound and one assist. She scored her first collegiate points on Jan. 26 against Temple.
Seeing Double
With Jasmine Watson (23 points, 11 rebounds) and Cerie Mosgrove (12 points, 10 rebounds) both recording double-doubles against Holy Cross on Jan. 5, it marked the first time two Minutewomen had double-doubles in the same game and two 10+ rebound performances by a pair of UMass players in the same game since Kate Mills (25 points, 11 rebounds) and Pam Rosanio (16 points, 12 rebounds) accomplished both feats on Dec. 22, 2007 against Buffalo.
Remarkably, Watson and Mosgrove repeated in the next game at Rhode Island on Jan. 8, each scoring a career high against the Rams with 27 and 21, respectively, while Watson collected 12 rebounds and Mosgrove 11.
Watson then logged a double-double for a third straight game with a team-leading 15 points and 11 rebounds at Richmond on Jan. 12. She is the first UMass player to post three straight double-doubles since Brooke Campbell in 2004.
Mosgrove has racked up the first six double-doubles of her career in the past 13 contests, with five coming in 12 conference games. In addition to her double-doubles against Holy Cross and Rhode Island, Mosgrove had a team-high 20 points and 10 rebounds vs. Xavier on Jan. 16, 18 points and 11 boards on Jan. 19 vs. Saint Louis, 18 and 11 on Jan. 29 at St. Bonaventure and 21 and 13 on Feb. 2 against Duquesne.
Five UMass players have registered double-doubles this season. Mosgrove has done it six times, Watson five times and Shakia Robinson twice. Watson's other double-doubles came vs. Miami (Ohio) with 12 points and 11 boards and vs. Duquesne with 18 points and 10 boards. Robinson's were against Boston College (25 pts, 10 reb) and Wagner (22 pts, 12 reb).
The Minutewomen have had four players score in double figures seven times this season and have had 14 games with three or more in double figures.
Triple Threat
Continuing its reputation as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Atlantic 10, UMass was ranked in the top-25 nationally in the most recent NCAA statistics report for both three-point field goal percentage (sixth) and three-point field goals per-game (24th).
In the Atlantic 10, the Minutewomen are first in threes per-game (7.3) and three-point percentage (.388), having made 196-of-505.
UMass drained a season-high 11 treys against Holy Cross on Jan. 5 at the Cage, tying for second in program history for a single game.
As a team, the Minutewomen broke the single season record for three-point field goals made, hitting the squad's 196th of the year against Rhode Island on Feb. 19. The previous record of 195 was set two seasons ago in 2008-09. Last season, the team sunk 194 treys.
A Little Help From My Friends
Against Boston College on Dec. 5, the Minutewomen handed out 26 assists on 29 baskets, the most since the program record of 28 in a game was set on Dec. 6, 2004, against Toledo.
Individually, Megan Zullo is third in the Atlantic 10 in assists per-game with a 4.6 average and began the week 67th in the country. She currently has 123 in 27 games after handing out 72 in 29 games last season.
As a team, UMass is third in the A-10 with an average of 16.1 assists per-game and began the week 22nd nationally. The squad has dished 20 or more assists in a game seven times this season.
True Minute Women
Seniors Cerie Mosgrove and Megan Zullo have been fixtures on the floor for UMass this season, averaging 33+ minutes per-game. Zullo is the team leader in minutes played (37.9 average) and ranks second in the Atlantic 10 in minutes per-game. She has been on the floor for 1024 of 1085 possible minutes this season, good for seventh all-time in a single season.
Mosgrove ranks fifth in the conference with an average of 33.4 minutes per-game.
Zullo is third in scoring for the Minutewomen with 10.9 points per-game, while Mosgrove leads the squad with 13.7 points per-game. Sophomore Jasmine Watson is contributing 13.3 points per-game and Shakia Robinson is chipping in with 10.7 points per-game.
One of the four has led the team in scoring in 26 out of 27 games with Mosgrove finishing as the leading scorer 11 times, Zullo six times, Robinson five times and Watson four times. The quartet has combined for 57 double-digit scoring performances this season.
Zullo scored in double figures 12 consecutive games from Nov. 21 at Seton Hall to Jan. 5 against Holy Cross. Mosgrove has an active streak of 16 straight games in double figures and has scored 10 or more in 18 of the past 19.
Robinson is ranked in the top-25 for three categories: eighth in field goal percentage (.488, 118-for-242), 14th in offensive rebounds (2.3) and 24th in scoring (10.7 ppg).
In addition to her rankings for assists, threes and minutes played, Zullo is 22nd in scoring (10.9).
Mosgrove is also second in free throw percentage (.857, 66-77), seventh in defensive rebounds (4.7), eighth in scoring (13.7 ppg), 15th in field goal percentage (.445, 117-263) and 14th in rebounding (6.5 rpg).
Record-Setting Day At URI
Senior Cerie Mosgrove and sophomore Jasmine Watson combined to break and tie four different individual single game records in the team's Atlantic 10 opener on Jan. 8 at Rhode Island.
Mosgrove tied the program single game record for made threes with seven. Though the mark was set twice previously, Mosgrove is the lone Minutewoman with seven treys on the road.
She also broke the school record for single game three-point percentage (a minimum of six made), shooting 7-for-9 (.778). Mosgrove started the game 5-for-6 beyond the arc in the first half.
Watson equaled the single game school record for free throws made with 15 against the rams. Last player to set the mark previously was Melissa Gurile on Dec. 11, 1993, against Providence.
Watson also tied the single game record free throw attempts. Helen Freeman originally set the record, making 15-of-18 vs. George Washington on Feb. 8, 1990.
Comeback Kids
On Dec.19, the Minutewomen overcame a 17-point second half deficit to defeat Wagner, 79-62. UMass trailed 57-40 with 14:12 to play in the contest and were still down by double-digits, 69-58, with 4:55 remaining. The Minutewomen scored the last 14 points of the game, including nine from sophomore Shakia Robinson.
It marked the largest second half deficit overcome in a UMass victory since the team rallied from down 20 with 16:08 left against Manhattan on Nov. 16, 2008, to pull out a 71-68 win. The program's last comeback of 15+ in a win prior to that contest was against Providence on Dec. 11, 1993, when the team went from down 18 at the 19-minute mark of the second half to defeat the Friars, 82-80.
For just the fourth time in the past 17 years, UMass accomplished the feat again in its next game against Miami (Ohio), rallying to win 78-72 after trailing the RedHawks by 17, 26-9, with 9:53 left in the first half. The Minutewomen outscored Miami, 50-35 following the intermission, the first time the squad put up 50 in a half since Nov. 17, 2007 against Northeastern.
Fab Five
Senior Cerie Mosgrove (18), sophomore Dee Montgomery (16), sophomore Jasmine Watson (12), sophomore Shakia Robinson (11) and senior Megan Zullo (10) all scored in double figures against Miami (Ohio). It marked first time since Dec. 10, 2005 at Syracuse that five UMass players finished with 10+ points.
Mosgrove, Montgomery, Watson and Zullo were all in the starting lineup against the RedHawks, while Robinson added a spark off the bench.
Welcome Back
Sophomore Jasmine Watson saw her first action of the season on Dec. 8 at Boston University and had nine points less than seven minutes into the contest. Watson finished just shy of a double-double with 13 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. The center also hit her first career three-pointer in the contest.
Dating back to last season, Watson has scored in double figures in 26 of the last 36 games she has played, including 13 of 19 this year.
On Dec. 19, Watson helped the Minutewomen defeat Wagner, chipping in 14 points in 24 minutes. She also matched her career high of six blocks in that contest, which ranks tied for fifth all-time at UMass for a single game.
Watson led UMass in scoring for the first time this season with a career-high 23 points against Holy Cross on Jan. 5 and grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds en route to her fourth career double-double. She followed up with her fifth career double-double, pouring in a career-high 27 points and collecting 12 boards at Rhode Island on Jan. 8.
Center Of Attention
Sophomore Jasmine Watson, UMass' top returning scorer, was named to the preseason Atlantic 10 third team this past fall.
The league's reigning Rookie of the Year, Watson played in all 30 games in 2009-10, starting the final 16. She finished second on the squad in scoring last season with 307 points, an average of 10.2 per-game, and brought down a team-best 176 rebounds (5.9 per-game). She also registered 38 blocks for an average of 1.3 per-game.
Watson, who was named A-10 Rookie of the Week a school-record four times, finished her rookie campaign as the leading freshman scorer in the Atlantic 10. In conference play, Watson averaged a team-best 13.0 points per-game to rank 10th in the conference.
The center scored in double figures 16 times in 2009-10 and had two 20-point games and two double-doubles, including a season-high 21 points against Fordham on Feb. 6. She was the team's leading scorer on six occasions and the leading rebounder 11 times.
Watson is just the third player in program history to log 300+ points and 150+ rebounds as a freshman. She joins Melissa Gurile and Octavia Thomas in that elite group. Both Gurile and Thomas finished their UMass careers with 1,500+ points and 800+ rebounds.
Watson Collects Trio Of Accolades
After helping the UMass women's basketball team to a 2-0 week with a pair of double-doubles Jasmine Watson was selected as the Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and UMass Athlete of the Week on Jan. 10 and named co-ECAC Player of the Week on Jan. 11.
It marked the second time this season a member of the Minutewomen has garnered the award from the conference and the fourth UMass honor for a member of the women's basketball squad. Watson shared the ECAC honor with Courtney Hunt of Virginia Commonwealth, selected from 88 Division I ECAC Members.
Watson averaged 25.0 points, 11.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.0 blocks per-game over the two games and led the Minutewomen in scoring and rebounding in both contests. She shot 62.5% (15-for-24) from the field and 87% (20-for-23) at the free throw line.
Against Holy Cross, Watson was 9-for-14 overall and 5-5 at the charity stripe to set a new career high with 23 points as UMass posted a 75-50 victory over the Crusaders at the Curry Hicks Cage.
Then, in the team's Atlantic 10 opener at Rhode Island, Watson once again eclipsed her career high with 27 points and was one shy of matching her personal best in rebounds with 12 to contribute to the team's 75-64 win.
Mosgrove Honored
Senior Cerie Mosgrove was tabbed UMass Athlete of the Week on Monday, Dec. 27 after she led five UMass scorers in double figures in a 78-72 comeback victory over Miami Ohio on Dec. 21 with a game-high 18 points, while also chipping in seven rebounds, one assist and one steal in 30 minutes on the floor.
Mosgrove shot 6-for-10 from the field, including a blistering 5-for-8 (.625) from three point range as UMass overcame a 17-point deficit in the victory for a second straight contest and ended Miami's six-game winning streak.
Robinson Earns Weekly Awards
Sophomore forward Shakia Robinson was named both co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and co-UMass Athlete of the Week on Dec. 6.
Robinson shared her Atlantic 10 honor with Xavier's Amber Harris after averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and shooting 18-for-35 (72%) in a 1-1 week for the Minutewomen. It marked the first conference Player of the Week honor for UMass since Kate Mills was recognized by the league on Feb. 11, 2008.
In the Minutewomen's first victory of the season, a 78-55 win over Brown on Dec. 1, Robinson contributed 18 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes on the floor to go along with two steals.
She followed up with her first career double-double against Boston College, logging a team-leading 25 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 78.6% from the floor (11-for-14) and playing a career-high 39 minutes.
Robinson was honored again on Dec. 20 as UMass Athlete of the Week after putting up 22 points and 12 boards in the squad's 72-69 come-from-behind win over Wagner.
Reaching New Heights
Returning players Shakia Robinson and Emilie Teuscher both made their first career starts in the season opener against George Mason. Robinson set new career high in steals (5) and scored in double figures for the first time. It also was a first for Robinson leading the team in scoring and rebounding. She improved upon her career high in rebounds against Wagner with 12, and posted her first career double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds against Boston College.
Teuscher eclipsed her career highs in points and rebounds against Boston College with 13 and seven, respectively. She played a career high 37 minutes against Binghamton and dished a career-best seven assists vs. Saint Louis.
Sophomore Dee Montgomery earned her first career start vs. Maryland. She played a career-high 38 minutes against Wagner and set a new personal best with 10 assists. In her second consecutive start, Montgomery poured in a career-best 16 points in a comeback win over Miami (Ohio), which included an 8-for-11 clip at the free throw line. Most recently, Montgomery set a new personal best with four steals in 19 minutes against Holy Cross. She recently logged a career high in rebounds, grabbing a team-high 13 boards at Dayton on Feb. 9.
Senior Stephanie Lawrence set a new career high in minutes played with 28 at Seton Hall, while Robinson played 39 minutes against BC for a new personal best.
Senior Cerie Mosgrove posted her first career 20-point game vs. Brown. Both Mosgrove and senior Megan Zullo surpassed their previous career rebounding highs with nine and eight, respectively against Binghamton.
Against Holy Cross on Jan. 5, Mosgrove not only improved upon her personal best with 10 boards, but added 12 points for her first career-double-double. The senior narrowly missed a triple-double, handing out a career-high seven assists against the Crusaders. The very next game at URI, Mosgrove once again had a double-double with new career highs in points (21) and rebounds (11). She once again equaled her personal best in points with 21 against Duquesne on Feb. 2 and improved her rebounding mark to 13.
Sophomore Jasmine Watson (27 points) set a career scoring high at Rhode Island and had a career-best four steals against Duquesne.
Rookies Doing Their Part
Freshmen Talen Watson and Kelly Robinson have each seen time in the starting lineup this season. Watson began her career by scoring six points against George Mason. Another freshman, Sara English, came off the bench in that contest to make her first appearance in a UMass uniform.
In game two at Providence, Watson, English and Robinson, joined by classmate Abbey Lalime, combined for half of the team's point total. Led by Watson's team-best 11 points, the group registered 24 points against the Friars. Lalime had six points in her collegiate debut.
English managed seven points in six minutes against LSU. Lalime posted her first double-figure scoring performance with 11 at East Carolina while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing three assists. Against Boston College, Lalime logged her first five-assist game with five against the Eagles.
Once again, English made the most of her playing time at Harvard, scoring seven points and grabbing three boards in six minutes against the Crimson.
Robinson had five rebounds, four assists and two steals in 20 minutes on the floor vs. #8 Xavier. She had another five-rebound game on Jan. 26 against Temple. This past Saturday, Robinson tallied a season-best seven assists against Rhode Island and also set a new career high with three steals.
Marisa Stabile saw her most minutes to date, playing 13 against Temple on Jan. 26.
What A Difference A Year Makes
Sophomore Shakia Robinson passed her freshman year playing total of 139 minutes just five games into the 2010-11 season. She passed her 2009-10 rebound total (27) five games in, as well, and has well surpassed her point total, improving from 18 last year to 279 through 26 games this season.
Junior Emilie Teuscher has posted new career highs for a season in every statistical category, while 752 of her 882 career minutes have been played this season. Teuscher has 154 points in 27 games, not only surpassing her 2009-10 total of 21, but more than quadrupling her career total of 34 entering this season. She currently has 78 rebounds after grabbing a total of 11 through her first two campaigns.
15 For 30
Sophomore Shakia Robinson poured in 30 points on Nov. 28 at East Carolina, shooting 13-for-19 and 4-6 at the free throw line. It not only marked a career high for Robinson, but was the first 30-point game for a UMass player since Jen Butler had 31 against Temple on Jan 6, 2003, and is tied for ninth-most all-time in a single game by a member of the Minutewomen.
Robinson was 8-for-10 and had 18 points in the second half alone, which equaled her point total from her entire freshman season.
Robinson is just the sixth player in program history to log a 30-point game, joining Butler, Melissa Gurile, Barbara Hebel, Julie Ready and Octavia Thomas. All five of those players finished their UMass careers with 1,400+ points and rank in the top-10 in career scoring.
The UMass single game record for points is 38, set by Gurile on Dec. 11, 1993 against Providence.
Zullo Sets Mullins Assist Record
Senior Megan Zullo recorded a remarkable 13 assists on 21 UMass baskets (19 possible assist opportunities since two field goals in the contest were her own), setting a new women's Mullins Center record for a single game on Nov. 12 vs. George Mason. Her previous career high was seven against Fordham on Feb. 6, 2010.
The total is second all-time in program history for a single game, trailing only her aunt, the late Christel Zullo, who dished 15 assists against Temple on Feb. 14, 1986.
The previous Mullins Center record was last set by Diatiema Hill during the 2009-10 season with 11 assists on Senior Day vs. Saint Joseph's.
Zullo's 13 assists is the most in a single game by an Atlantic 10 player thus far this season. She and teammate Dee Montgomery are two of six players in the conference to record 10 or more assists in a game this season and has done so twice.
UMass Women's Basketball Radio Show On WMUA
Throughout the 2010-11 season, catch up on what's going on with the Minutewomen as WMUA broadcaster Matt Lopes talks with head coach Sharon Dawley and other special guests from the UMass women's basketball team on the UMass Women's Basketball Coach's Show, Mondays from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on WMUA 91.1 FM and www.wmua.org.
Upcoming show dates include: 2/28.
A New Era
Sharon Dawley, the former women's basketball coach at the University of Vermont, was named as the 10th head coach in program history on April 6, 2010. Dawley joined the Minutewomen after a highly successful tenure with the Catamounts that included two consecutive America East titles (2008-09 and 2009-10) and three straight postseason berths.
In seven seasons at Vermont, Dawley posted a mark of 128-86 (.598) and holds a career record of 272-168 (.618) in her 17th season as a head coach. She became the winningest coach in Vermont women's basketball history when the Catamounts upset No. 7-seed Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March 21, 2010, the program's first NCAA tournament victory.
A native of Revere, Mass., Dawley was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in October of 2009.
Dawley earned her first victory as UMass head coach on Dec. 1, 2010, a 78-55 win over Brown at home in the Mullins Center. Her first Atlantic 10 victory came at Rhode Island on Jan. 8, 75-64 over the Rams.
Both Lanpher and MacAulay came to UMass from Vermont along with Dawley, while Brown was one of Dawley's former players at UVM. Lanpher's background includes 10 years of head coaching experience and nearly 20 seasons overall.
Valley is a native of Vermont, but joins Dawley's staff from Towson. She was a member of three NCAA national championship teams at the University of Connecticut and won two BIG EAST titles while playing for the Huskies from 2000-04. She helped the squad to a four-year record of 139-8.
From Near And Far
UMass' 14-player roster is comprised of individuals from 12 different states and provinces. Senior Cerie Mosgrove is the lone representative from the state of Massachusetts, hailing from Needham.
Mosgrove is the closest to home (66 miles), while Stabile is 10,707 miles away from her hometown of Lockleys, Australia.
Megan Zullo and Millie Niggeling are the first Minutewomen in program history from their respective home states of North Carolina and Iowa.
Marisa Stabile is the first Australian to play at UMass, as well.
Three Party
The 2010-11 UMass roster contains three of the best three-point shooters in program history as seniors Stephanie Lawrence, Cerie Mosgrove and Megan Zullo all have etched their names into the UMass record book in various three-point shooting categories.
Lawrence sunk 20 of 52 shots from beyond the arc in 2009-10, for a .385 shooting percentage. Her single season mark from a year ago stands 10th all-time.
Mosgrove has 163 career treys, good for third all-time. She also ranks fourth in career three-point attempts (421) and third in career three-point percentage (.387).
Zullo was the UMass leader with 54 three-pointers last season, shooting 54-for-150 (.360) from beyond the arc. Her career percentage (.382) ranks fourth all-time. Against Quinnipiac on Dec. 6, 2009, Zullo made six treys for a career high.
In less than two seasons with the Minutewomen, Zullo has cracked the top-10 in career three pointers, sixth in program history with 118.
Youth-Full Roster
10 of the 14 players on the Minutewomen roster are either freshmen or sophomores, accounting for more than 70% of the team.
Senior Cerie Mosgrove is the squad's most tenured player with 110 career games played and 50 starts. She entered the 2009-10 season as the lone member of the team with over 1,000 minutes played and is the program's active leading scorer with 720 points.
Just four players on the UMass roster had seen time in the starting lineup prior to the 2010-11 season. Megan Zullo and Jasmine Watson, the team's two returning starters, both played their first campaigns with the Minutewomen last season.
