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University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Notes For The Duquesne Game
January 15, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 15, 2002
AMHERST, Mass. -
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TONIGHT'S MATCHUP...
Tonight's contest between the Minutewomen and the Dukes marks the 31st time the two teams have met. The Minutewomen are coming off a 58-44 loss to conference rival Richmond on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2002. Duquesne fell to Temple, 77-59, on Jan. 13, 2002.
THE SERIES...
Massachusetts and Duquesne have met 30 times previous to tonight's match up, with the Minutewomen leading the series, 17-13. Under the direction of head coach Joanie O'Brien, the Minutewomen are 8-10 against Duquesne. In the last meeting between the Dukes and the Minutewomen, Duquesne defeated UMass, 64-53, at the A.J. Palumbo Center on Feb. 18, 2001.
SCOUTING REPORT...
The Dukes return four starters from a team that went 15-14 overall and 7-9 in the Atlantic 10 last season. Thus far, the Dukes are 7-8 on the season, defeating Cleveland State, Towson, Pittsburg, Robert Morris, Howard, Xavier and Dayton, while falling to Illinios, South Carolina, Ohio State, Kent State, Florida, St. Joseph's and Temple.
Candace Futrell leads the Dukes in scoring this season, averaging over 17 points per game. Beth Friday is second in points with 13.8 per game, while Shiri Sharon chips in about 10 points per game.
Head coach Dan Durkin is in his 9th year at the helm of the Duquesne program, bringing with him 108 career victories to the bench.
A LOOK BACK AT RICHMOND...
The Univeristy of Richmond defeated UMass, 58-41, in the first ever Atlantic 10 Conference victory for the Spiders. Richmond's Krystn Gull scored 10 unanswered points in the second half, including two consecutive three-pointers, to lead the Spiders to a come from behind win over the Minutewomen. She finished the game with 13 points, while teamate Ebony Tanner scored a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds. The Minutewomen went 18 minutes without scoring a feild goal, going 6-for-33 in the second half for 22.8 percent shooting on the game. Richmond improved dramatically in the second half going 13-for-24 from the field and 4-for-10 from three-point range. UMass took an 18-4 lead early in the game, but failed to score a field goal for the remainder of the first half. Richmond battled back from a 14 point deficit to enter halftime trailing by only three points. Tanner scored seven unanswered points to put the Spider's back in contention, and Amber Goppert's five straight points to end the half left the Minutewomen limping into the lockeroom with a slim 23-20 lead. Junior Amber Sneed led all Minutewomen scorers with eight points in the first half. Sneed finished with a season-high 15 points, on 5-10 shooting from the field and 4-for-4 from the free throw line. Junior Jennifer Butler recorded her ninth double-double of the season with a 10 point, 15 rebound performance.
O'BRIEN EARNS 150TH CAREER VICTORY...
On Thurday, Jan. 10, 2002, the University of Massachusetts defeated La Salle University, 77-58, giving head coach Joanie O'Brien her 150th career victory. O'Brien is in her 11th season at the helm of the UMass women's basketball program. She is currently the winningest coach in UMass women's basketball history with 150 career victories. The 1994-1995 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year has brought the Minutewomen to new heights durning her tenure. O'Brien has led UMass to its only two NCAA appearances (1996 & 1998) and recorded the program's first 20-win season.
BUTLER HONORED...
Jennifer Butler was selected to the PNC Wildcat Classic All-Tournament Team after posting double-doubles in both games over the weekend of Dec. 28. Butler averaged 16 points and 11 rebounds per game during the holiday classic, and led the Minutewomen to their second victory of the season. The junior center from Brooklyn, N.Y., was a preseason Atlantic 10 all-conference selection and led the A-10 in rebounding last season. She is averaging 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game for the Minutewomen. Butler is the only player in the Atlantic 10 to average double-figures in both scoring and rebounding this season.
Jennifer Butler was selected as the WHMP/UMass Athlete of the Week on Jan. 12, 2002 for her outstanding performances against Rider and Temple. Butler scored 17 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in both games.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE BUTLER...
Junior Jennifer Butler is the only Minutewoman to average double figures in two catergories this season. Thus far, Butler is averaging 12.5 points and 10.9 rebounds per game. On Dec. 30, Butler recorded her seventh double-double of the season in the victory over Rider University. She is currently ranked fifth in career rebounds with 645, and still has a full season ahead of her to climb the ranks. Octavia Thomas (1992-1996) tops the career rebounds list with 903 rebounds in 114 games.
OVERTIME...
Three of the 15 games played by the Minutewomen this season have gone into overtime. In all three games, the Minutewomen were defeated by a margin of five points or less. UMass recorded back to back overtime games versus St. Peter's and Rice in November of this season. The last time the Minutewomen had two overtime games in a row was in January of 1987 when they defeated both Duquesne (80-76) and West Virginia (77-76) in overtime. UMass recorded it's first triple-overtime game in the history of the program on Nov. 23, 2001 against Rice. The 65-60 loss to the Owls marked the longest women's basketball game in school history. Freshman Katie Nelson played 51 minutes for the Minutewomen scoring 10 points and six assists, a career high in all catergories. The Minutewomen need to compete in just two more overtime games to tie the record for most overtime games played in a single season, a record set by the 1993-1994 Minutewomen squad.
FRESHMAN SHARP SHOOTER...
Freshman Katie Nelson scored a career-high 18 points against Temple on Jan. 3, 2002. In her first Atlantic 10 Conference matchup, Nelson went 4-for-7 from three-point range and a perfect 6-for-6 from the foul line. The Ellicot City, Md. native is averaging 7.7 points per game and averaging a team-high .941 percent from the foul line.
CONSISTANT SNEED...
Junior Amber Sneed has stood firm in the second spot of most statistical catergories this season. The Cincinnatti, Ohio native, ranks second in points with 8.6 per game, in rebounds with 6.4 per game. She recently recorded a season-high 15 points versus Richmond on Sunday, Jan. 13, 2002.
GO GO GOVAN...
Freshman Monique Govan has moved her way into the starting line up for the Minutewomen, just in time for Atlantic 10 conference play. Govan has tallied 35 assists on the season, and recently recorded a career-high nine points in the victory over La Salle last week.
UP NEXT...
January 21, 2002 * Rhode Island * 7:00 p.m. * Kingston, R.I.
UMass takes on conference rival Rhode Island on Monday, Jan. 21, 2002. The game marks the first-ever game on Martin Luther King day for both teams. The Minutewomen and the Rams have met 47 times previous to the matchup, with UMass leading the series, 27-20. In the last meeting between the two teams on March 2, 2002, UMass emerged with a 69-65 victory.
