University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball To Host Exhibition Game
November 08, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 8, 2002
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Game Day ... Tonight's game marks the start of the season for the Minutewomen and the first time new Head Coach Marnie Dacko takes to the Mullins Center floor. Tonight's opponent is the Nor'Easter Storm, a travelling exhibition team made up of players who played their college ball in the Northeast. The Storm lost to Holy Cross, 86-63 and Rhode Island, 78-49, earlier this week.
UMass Ties ... There are two players on the Nor'Easter team who played at UMass. Yolanda Rayside and Lucia Madajova each played for the Minutewomen from 1995-96 until 1998-99 and led them to the only postseason appearances in school history.
Exhibition Success ... The Minutewomen are 4-5 in their last nine exhibition contests, but have won the last three times. Most recently, Massachusetts downed the NWBL USA Elite squad, 61-45, on Nov. 4, 2001. Kristen McCory, who is on the Nor'Easter Storm, scored a team-high 14 points for the visitors.
Strength of Schedule ... The Minutewomen's non-conference schedule is the 44th toughest in the nation according to the WBCA/Summerville Preseason RPI released earlier this week. Massachusetts will play eight teams who participated in either the NCAA Tournament or WNIT a year ago. This year's slate includes match-ups with Florida, Virginia, Memphis, Michigan, Toledo and Villanova.
All-Conference Team ... After being the only player in the Atlantic 10 to average a double-double in each game of the 2001-02 season, senior center Jennifer Butler was named a first team preseason All-Conference selection in a poll conducted by the leagues' coaches earlier this week. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native averaged 13.2 ppg and 11.8 rpg a year ago. Her rebounding figure led the conference and ranked fifth nationally.
A New Era Has Begun ... Tonight marks the first game for Head Coach Marnie on the Massachusetts bench. Dacko takes over the Minutewomen after a successful seven-year stint at Cornell University where she became the all-time winningest coach in the program's history. The 1978 Southern Connecticut State University graduate directed the Big Red to a school-record 15 wins in the 2000-01 season and the school's only two winning seasons in Ivy League play the past two years.
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 becoming the 13th player in Massachusetts history to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau.
Deep Threat ... 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 and seventh all-time. Her 167 three-point attempts are the most in a single-season and seventh all-time. She also led the team dishing out 3.06t assists per game.
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. The Colonials are ranked 21st in the Associated Press preseason poll and 25th in the ESPN/WBCA coaches poll. The Minutewomen finished third in the East last year with an 8-8 mark.
New Additions ... 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 and Ashley Sharpton. Zsedenyi, a transfer guard from Cotttey (Mo.) Junior College will play this season, while Sharpton, a sophomore transfer from the University of North Carolina-Asheville, will redshirt the 2002-03 season. Massachusetts will also have the services of Cindy Gonzalez, who redshirted last year.