University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Heads To Michigan
November 27, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 27, 2002
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Game #3
What: Massachusetts (2-0) at Michigan (2-0)
Where: Crisler Arena (13,751) * Ann Arbor, Mich.
When: Friday, November 29, 2002
Radio: WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst Matt Sherman (play-by-play) & Andy Boncoddo (color)
Game Day...Friday night's game is the second of a season-long three-game road swing for the Minutewomen. They are 2-0 after Monday's 52-49 come-from-behind victory over Saint Peter's. Down by 10 points more than mid-way into the second half, the Minutewomen went on a 24-9 run for the win. This is the first time that the Minutewomen have started 2-0 since the 1997-98 season in which they began 3-0 en route to a 19-11 campaign. Michigan is 2-0 as well, with home wins over Creighton (75-66) and No. 24 (AP) UC-Santa Barbara (70-64). Last year, the Wolverines were 17-13 overall and 6-10 in the Big Ten. They return four starters and eight letterwinners from last season's WNIT squad.
Impressive Start ... When the Minutewomen downed Sacred Heart, 74-48 on Nov. 22, Marnie Dacko became the seventh head coach out of nine in the program's history to win their first game. Of the seven, five have gone on to win at least their next game. Jane Farr (1972-73), Carol Albert (1974-75) and Jack Leaman (1986-87) all started 3-0, while Kathy Hewelt led the Minutewomen to a 5-0 start in the 1988-89 season.
Scouting The Wolverines ... Michigan is 2-0 thus far with a pair of home wins against Creighton (Nov. 22), 75-66, and No. 24 (AP) UC-Santa Barbara (Nov. 25), 70-64. The Wolverines are led by junior center Jennifer Smith, who is averaging 15.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Junior guard Stephanie Gandy is second on the squad with 14.0 points per game, while senior forward LeeAnn Bies averages 12.0 points and a team-leading 8.5 boards a contest.
The Series ... Tonight's game marks the first-ever meeting between these two schools. They do have a chance to play again later this season at the State Farm Gator Classic in Gainesville, Fla., Dec. 28-29.
Similar Styles ... The statistics through two games reveal that Michigan and UMass are very similar in many aspects. Both squads like to run and put points on the board in a hurry. High amounts of turnovers usually accompany up-tempo teams and these two are no exception. The Wolverines are turning the ball over 22.5 times a game, while the Minutewomen average 21.5 turnovers a game.
Tale Of Two Halves ... If you were to look at the halftime box score from Monday night's game at Saint Peter's, you would never guess that Massachusetts would have won the game. The Minutewomen shot .250 (7-28) from the field and scored just 16 points in the first half. UMass went a stretch of 9:42 without a single point and committed 12 turnovers. Saint Peter's was not much better, shooting .296 (8-27) from the field and committing 16 turnovers of their own. UMass, however, was only able to turn the 16 Peahen turnovers into three points.
Down by six at the break, UMass saw Saint Peter's extend the lead to 10 at the 10:12 mark, but a 16-5 run gave the Minutewomen the lead late in the half. Clutch free-throw shooting by Ebony Pegues and Katie Nelson preserved the win.
Tough D ... The Minutewomen have stepped up the defense this season, holding their opponents to a mere 48.5 points per game and a .347 (34-98) field goal percentage. They are currently fourth and sixth in the A-10, respectively in those categories. Last season, Massachusetts allowed its opponents to score 59.9 points per contest and shoot .385 from the field. Massachusetts is especially tough in the first half this season allowing just 23.0 points per game.
Saint Peter's Recap ... Senior guard Ebony Pegues scored 12 points in the second half leading the University of Massachusetts women's basketball team (2-0) to a 52-49 come-from-behind win over Saint Peter's (0-2) Monday evening at the Yanitelli Center. The Minutewomen used a 24-9 run spanning 8:23 in the second half to overcome a 10-point deficit. Pegues' lay-up with 5:07 left tied the game at 37. After a Peahen free throw, senior Amber Sneed hit a lay-up to give the Minutewomen the lead for good. Pegues and sophomore Katie Nelson converted clutch free throws down the stretch to secure the victory for the Minutewomen. After being held scoreless in the first half, Nelson had eight points in the second half. Pegues and senior Nekole Smith each had a team-high 14 points for the Minutewomen. Senior center Jen Butler had eight points and a game-high 18 rebounds. Nelson had three assists to go along with her eight points. After being out-rebounded 24-16 in the first half, Massachusetts pulled down 15 more boards in the second frame. Massachusetts shot .750 from the free-throw line, converting on 14 of its 18 second half attempts. Anna Barthold had a game-high 16 points for the Peahens. Saint Peter's used a 12-0 run mid-way through the first half to turn a three-point deficit into a nine-point lead at 22-13. Junior Judit Zsedenyi drained a three-pointer at the 2:29 mark to stop the run and send the Minutewomen into the locker room trailing by just six points. The Minutewomen did not score for 9:42 during that stretch.
Blow Outs ... Last Friday, the Minutewomen downed Sacred Heart, 74-48. The 26-point win was the most that a UMass team has won a season opener by since an 86-49 win over Harvard on Nov. 29, 1978.
All-Conference Team ... After being the only player in the Atlantic 10 to average a double-double in 2001-02, senior center Jennifer Butler was named a first team preseason All-Conference selection in a poll conducted by league coaches earlier this month. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native averaged 13.2 ppg and 11.8 rpg a year ago. She was also selected to the A-10 preseason All-Defensive team. Her rebounding figure led the conference and ranked fifth nationally (second among 2002-03 returnees a year ago). Additionally last season, Butler became just the 13th player in Massachusetts history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau with her seven-point performance against Temple in the Atlantic 10 semifinals. Jen was a second team All-Conference and All-Defensive team pick a year ago. So far this year, Butler is averaging 10.5 points, 16.5 rebounds and 3.0 steals per game. She is currently second in the Atlantic 10 in rebounding.
Strength of Schedule ... The Minutewomen's non-conference schedule is the 44th toughest in the nation according to the WBCA/Summerville Preseason RPI. Massachusetts will play eight teams which participated in either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT a year ago. This year's slate includes match-ups with Florida, Memphis, Michigan, Toledo, Vermont, Villanova and possibly Virginia in either the championship or consolation game of the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla., Saturday, Dec. 29. Saint Peter's, Villanova, Florida, Virginia and A-10 Tournament champion Temple all participated in the 2002 NCAA Tournament, while Vermont, Saint Joseph's and George Washington played in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Catamounts advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT. A-10 West preseason pick George Washington is currently ranked 21st in the Associated Press poll and 24th in the ESPN/USA Today Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll.
RPI ... Currently, UMass has an RPI (ratings percentage index) of 61. The RPI is a measure of strength of schedule and how a team does against that schedule. It does not consider things like margin of victory or where a game is played, only whether or not a team won. It is used by the NCAA as one of their factors in deciding which teams to invite to the NCAA Tournament and where to seed them. The basic formula is 25% team winning percentage (WP), 50% opponents' average winning percentage (OWP), and 25% opponents' opponents' average winning percentage (OOWP). The Minutewomen's RPI should soar after this weekend as Michigan is currently ranked fourth in the current RPI.
What Sophomore Jinx? ... Sophomore point guard Katie Nelson showed last year as a freshman that she was not afraid to pull the trigger from downtown. The Ellicott City, Md., native made 50 three-point field goals, good for second-place on the school's single-season list. Her 167 three-point attempts were the most in a single-season. After going 4-for-5 from downtown in the win over Sacred Heart on Nov. 22, and then adding another trifecta against Saint Peter's, Nelson has jumped to eighth on the career chart with 55 three-point field goals made and 177 attempts. She also sits in ninth place all-time with a .311 percentage from behind the arc. In the Sacred Heart game, Nelson dished out a career-high seven assists and did not commit a turnover. She made five clutch free-throws in the final 1:31 Monday night to help preserve the Minutewomen's 52-49 come-from-behind win.
Middle of the Pack ...In a poll conducted by the A-10's coaches, the Minutewomen have been picked to finish third in the East, behind 2002 tournament champion Temple and Saint Joseph's. In the West, George Washington has been tabbed as the team to beat. Massachusetts finished third in the East last season and advanced to the semifinals of the A-10 Tournament before falling to Temple in overtime, 67-61. The Minutewomen were the only team to knock off George Washington (15-1) in the regular season with a 62-53 triumph on Senior Day at the Mullins Center, Feb. 24, 2002.
Record-Breaking Butler ... Jennifer Butler pulled down a school single-season record 353 rebounds last year bringing her career total to 916. With a 10-rebound performance in last season's A-10 quarterfinal victory over Richmond, Butler became the school's all-time leading rebounder. In the next game, a 67-61 overtime loss to Temple in the semifinals, she scored seven points to become the 13th player in Massachusetts history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. Her three single-season rebounding tallies (353 in 2001-02, 294 in 1999-00 and 269 in 2000-01) respectively rank as the first-, second- and third-best efforts in school history. She has tallied 42 career double-doubles and owns the school's only triple- double. With her eight point-performance against Saint Peter's, Butler moved up to 12th-place all-time in school history with 1022 career points. Alison MacFarland ('00) currently sits in 11th-place with 1060 points in 117 games. Butler is also in fourth place all-time with 106 blocks and 177 steals. She currently ranks third in school history with 482 free throw attempts and sixth with 252 free throws made.
Among The Best ... Last season, the Minutewomen led the conference and ranked ninth nationally with a +8.4 rebounding margin. Massachusetts out-rebounded the opposition in all but four games in 2001-02. They pulled down 17 more rebounds than Sacred Heart in the opener and then out-rebounded the Peahens, 44-35 on Monday after being out-rebounded themselves 24-16 in the first half.
Newcomers ... With Dacko's spring arrival, she was unable to bring in any true freshman to this year's team. However, there are two newcomers on the squad in Judit Zsedenyi (Budapest, Hungary) and Ashley Sharpton (Conyers, Ga.). Zsedenyi, a transfer from Cottey (Mo.) Junior College, has hit a three-pointer in both games this season, while playing in 16.5 minutes per game. The 5-10 guard/forward averaged 14.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg and 3.1 apg as a sophomore while earning first team All-Region XVI-Division II honors for the second consecutive season. She tallied 20 double-figure scoring games as a sophomore, one of which was a 26-point performance against Meramec Community College, and recorded a pair of double-doubles. A transfer from the University of North Carolina-Asheville, Sharpton will have to sit out this season per NCAA transfer requirements, but will have three years of eligibility beginning next year. The 5-10 guard enjoyed a successful freshman year with the Bulldogs, averaging 6.9 ppg en route to Big South All-Rookie team honors.
The Coaches ... Massachusetts Head Coach Marnie Dacko won her opening game last Friday against Sacred Heart becoming the seventh head coach in the program's history to win their debut. Dacko is the ninth head coach in Massachusetts history. She won her second game against Saint Peter's and is now just the fifth UMass coach to win at least two games to start their career in Amherst. Prior to arriving at UMass this spring, the 1978 Southern Connecticut State University graduate spent seven seasons at the helm of the Cornell women's program. With the Big Red, Dacko became the school's winningest coach fashioning an 80-104 (.408) record. She led Cornell to its only two winning seasons in the Ivy League (8-6 in both 2000-01 and 2001-02) and graduated 100 percent of her student-athletes. In 24 seasons as a Division I head or assistant coach, Dacko has compiled an impressive 402-280 (.589) record. Her teams have advanced to postseason play nine times, including six NCAA Tournament trips and eight 20-plus win seasons. This includes stops at the University of Wisconsin, St. John's (N.Y.) and Northwestern prior to accepting the head job at Cornell in 1995. Joining her on the bench this season will be Mary Ciuk, Kia Damon and Jodi Culbertson. Ciuk and Culbertson were both with Dacko at Cornell for at least one season, while Damon comes to the Minutewomen via Fairleigh Dickinson (N.J.) University. Ciuk has been with Dacko since 1984-85 at Northwestern.
One the other side, Sue Guevara has compiled a 112-66 (.629) in six-plus seasons at Michigan. The Wolverines' associate head coach is Angela Jackson, while the assistants are Ron Mott and Eileen Shea-Hilliard.