Nov. 18, 2008
AMHERST, Mass. -
Wednesday evening the UMass women's basketball team will be squaring off against New Hampshire at 7 p.m. in the Mullins Center, the second of three America East teams that the Minutewomen will face in its first four contests of the year. The game will be carried on WMUA 91.1 FM and live stats will available via Gametracker at UMassAthletics.com. It marks the 35th all-time meeting between the Minutewomen and the Wildcats and is the first since 2006-07. UMass, which leads the all-time series, 19-15, including a 13-4 mark over UNH at home, last faced the Wildcats on Nov. 14, 2006 in the Mullins Center and came away with a 60-38 victory.
Minutewomen Tidbits
• The 2008-09 Minutewomen are a young group with only two seniors and one junior on the 13-player roster.
• UMass returns eight letterwinners, losing five. Senior Stefanie Gerardot and junior Kim Benton are the lone returning starters from the 2007-08 squad.
• Among the squad's losses are two 1,000-point scorers, All-Atlantic 10 performers Kate Mills and Pam Rosanio. Mills finished her career fourth all-time in scoring with 1,525 points, while Rosanio ranks seventh with 1,466.
• The Minutewomen were selected 12th in Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll. About New Hampshire
• The Wildcats were picked seventh in the America East preseason poll and dropped their season opener last Friday at home to Bryant, 69-66.
• Freshman Kelsey Hogan scored a game-high 20 points for UNH in the contest and was honored this past Monday as the America East Rookie of the Week.
• New to the UNH bench this season as an assistant coach is former Minutewoman, 2006 graduate, Katie Nelson.
• Nelson is the current owner of UMass' single season and career records for three-pointers made (58 and 191) and three-pointers attempted (191 and 631).
|
|
 |
Last Time The Minutewomen Faced The Wildcats • UMass had a 21-3 first-half run and never looked back en route to a 60-38 win on Nov. 14, 2006 against New Hampshire the Minutewomen's home opener at the Mullins Center. 2008 graduate
Kate Mills recorded her second straight double-double with a game-high 16 points and 10 rebounds while current junior
Kim Benton added 11 points and four assists.
• New Hampshire took a 14-8 lead with 10:55 left in the first half, but UMass caught fire from the outside and used a 21-3 run over the next 8:18 to build a 29-17 lead with 2:38 left in. Benton was 3-for-3 on three-pointers during the run. The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes and UMass took a 31-21 lead into halftime.
• UMass shot 46 percent (11-24) from the field and was 4-of-6 (67 percent) from three-point range in the first half. The Minutewomen held a slim 17-14 edge on the glass, but did pull down eight offensive boards. UMass committed just four first-half turnovers while forcing eight by the Wildcats. UNH shot 35 percent (7-20) and was 3-of-10 from three-point range.
• Also seeing time in that game were current team members
Stefanie Gerardot (20 min, 5 pts., 5 reb.),
Sakera Young (16 min.) and
Diatiema Hill (4 min.) who scored her first career basket late in the second half.
Home Sweet Home
• Tonight's match-up against New Hampshire is the second of eight non-conference home games for the Minutewomen this season. The squad went 7-0 in its non-conference home games last season and 11-3 at home overall.
• In the past two seasons, UMass is 11-1 against non-conference foes in the Mullins Center. That stretched to 12-1 this past Sunday with the squad's 71-68 victory over Manhattan.
Returnees Have Breakout Games
• Seniors Stefanie Gerardot and Sakera Young and sophomore Teya Wright all had career high point totals on Friday at Vermont.
• Gerardot's 29 points were not only a career high for her, but also marked the most points scored by a Minutewoman since March 6, 2003, when Jennifer Butler had 29 against La Salle. Gerardot also had a career-best eight rebounds. Her previous high was seven, which she had posted on two occasions, last against at La Salle on Feb. 6, 2008.
• Young equaled her career high with nine points, previously set two times, last at Duquesne on Feb. 20, 2008. The very next game, vs. Manhattan, Young surpassed that mark with 10 points, scoring in double figures for the first time and hitting the game-winning free throw with :02 seconds remaining in the contest.
• By halftime of the Vermont game, Teya Wright had already passed her career high of 11 points, which she set twice during her freshman campaign in 2007-08, at Northeastern (11/17/07) and at Providence (12/31/07). Wright totaled 12 points at the intermission and finished the night with a double-double on 15 points and 11 rebounds. The double-double was her second of her career and marked her fourth career game with 10+ rebounds.
• Redshirt-sophomore Diatiema Hill set career highs with nine points and six assists against Manhattan. Hill has started the first two games this season after missing all of 2007-08 with an injury.
Gerardot Leads A-10 In Scoring After First Week
• After the opening week of the 2008-09 season, senior Stefanie Gerardot leads the Atlantic 10 in scoring with an average of 26.5 points per-game, just ahead of Theresa Lisch of Saint Louis (24.5 ppg).
• Gerardot has put up back-to-back 20 point games after having done so only once heading into her senior campaign. Gerardot previously had 20 points in UMass' win over Boston College on Nov. 14, 2007.
Avebe Helps Spark Comeback Against Manhattan
• Sophomore Valerie Avebe saw her first collegiate action in the final 14 minutes of Sunday's contest against Manhattan. During that stretch, the Minutewomen outscored the Lady Jaspers, 33-12, with Avebe shooting 3-for-3 for six points and also grabbing five rebounds.
Jones Has Impressive Collegiate Debut
• Freshman Nicole Jones played just 12 minutes in UMass' season opener at Vermont, but made the most of her time on the floor as she was just shy of a double-double in her first collegiate game with eight points and eight rebounds.
• Jones had one of three blocks in the game for UMass, as well.
Minutewomen Add Zullo, Transfer From N.C. State, During Offseason
• Megan Zullo has transferred to UMass from North Carolina State to play basketball for the Minutewomen and, per NCAA rules, will be eligible to play starting in 2009-10.
• A 5-8 point guard from Greenville, N.C., Zullo started in 21 games for the Wolfpack last season, averaging 5.4 points and 2.2 assists in 22.6 minutes per game. She made 43 3-pointers and shot at a .352 clip from behind the arc.
• Zullo is the niece of former UMass player Christel Zullo, a guard who starred for the Minutewomen from 1985-1989 and scored 784 points in her career. Sadly, Christel lost her life to cancer in February 2007. Last season UMass coaches, along with alumnae, created the Christel Zullo Spirit Award to be given each year to the Minutewoman that best exemplifies the energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to the team that Christel was known for.
Schedule Updates
• Since the Minutewomen's schedule was first released, there have been several updates. The biggest change: UMass' game at Rhode Island on Feb. 4, 2009, has been moved to Tuesday, Feb. 3, with the game time remaining at 7 p.m.
• Other items of note include Field Trip Day on Feb. 11 at 11:45 a.m. against Temple and a televised game on CBS College Sports at home against Rhode Island on Feb. 22 at 1:00 p.m.
