University of Massachusets Athletics
Rage In The Cage Set For Tonight
December 11, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2002
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Game Day Information
What: Villanova (6-0, 0-0 Big East) at Massachusetts (6-1, 1-0 Atlantic 10)
Where: Curry Hicks Cage (4,058) * Amherst, Mass.
When: Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002 * 7:00 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst; Regan McKendry (play-by-play) & Matthew Cahill (color).
All-Time Series: Villanova leads, 2-0
Last Meeting: Villanova, 77-53; Dec. 27, 1986.
Game Day... Two red-hot teams square off tonight in the first game at the Curry Hicks Cage since Feb. 18, 1995. Massachusetts has won four straight games and is currently 6-1 following its 59-45 win over previously undefeated Rhode Island Monday night. Villanova is 6-0 after cruising to a 72-57 win over La Salle Saturday night. At 6-1, UMass is off to its best start since the 1978-79 team began the year 6-1 en route to an 18-7 finish. With a win tonight, UMass will be off to its best start since the 1968-69 team began 9-0, the first year of the program. The five-game winning streak would also be the longest since the 1997-98 squad ran off nine straight victories from Feb. 4 through March 1.
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 on the UMass bench. 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. At 6-1, Dacko and Albert both share the best start by a UMass coach in the first year.
Scouting The Wildcats ... Villanova University, of the Big East Conference, enters tonight's game with a perfect 6-0 record. The Wildcats are ranked 26th in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today/WBCA Coaches Poll, and have wins over Saint Joseph's, Howard, Ohio State, Colorado, Penn and La Salle. Villanova averages 65.5 point per game, while giving up just 52.8 points a contest. As a team, it is shooting .409 (140-342) from the field, .361 (52-144) from three-point range and .700 (63-90) from the free throw line. VU is getting out-rebounded by a 2.7 margin (36.0-33.3), but forces 16.8 turnovers per game, while committing just 9.5 themselves. Katie Davis leads the Wildcats, averaging 17.2 points per game. She is shooting .522 (35-67) from the field and .438 (21-48) from behind the arc. Trish Juhline is second on the squad pouring in 17.0 points and 5.0 assists per game. Courtney Mix leads the team in rebounding, pulling down 7.5 boards a contest. Villanova returns three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team which went 20-11 overall, 12-4 in the Big East.
The Series ... This is just the third all-time meeting between these two schools, with Villanova winning both times. This is the Wildcats' first trip to Amherst. Massachusetts participated in the 2001 PNC Wildcat Classic, Villanova's annual Christmas tournament, but did not play the host school. In the last meeting, the Wildcats downed the Minutewomen, 77-53, on Dec. 27, 1986.
Rage In The Cage ... Tonight's game at the Curry Hicks Cage is the first basketball game at the historic building since an 82-40 UMass win over Temple on Feb. 18, 1995. Overall, the Minutewomen are 124-107 (.537) at the Cage, which opened its doors in 1931.
Foster's Contribution ... The Minutewomen are now 4-0 since junior Cleo Foster moved into the starting line-up. The Toronto, Ontario, native is averaging 2.4 ppg and 2.4 rpg, but solid defensive play has earned her a spot in the starting five.
A Much Better Start ... At 6-1, UMass is off to its best start since the 1978-79 season. That year, the Minutewomen also started 6-1, en route to an 18-7 overall mark. At this point last season, the Minutewomen were 1-7 on their way to a 1-9 start. It was Jan. 31 before the Minutewomen posted their sixth win, a 65-58 overtime triumph over A-10 foe Dayton at the Mullins Center. Dating back to the end of last season, UMass has now won 10 of its last 12 games.
A Look Back At The Rhode Island Win ... Senior Nekole Smith scored a game-high 18 points, 14 of them coming in the second half, as the University of Massachusetts (6-1, 1-0) women's basketball team handed the University of Rhode Island (6-1, 0-1) its first loss of the season, 59-45, Monday evening in Atlantic 10 conference action at the Ryan Center. At 6-1, UMass is off to its best start since the 1978-79 season where the squad began the year 6-1 en route to an 18-7 overall record. UMass, which led by as many as 21 points in the second half, saw its lead trimmed to 12 at the 2:21 mark, but limited the Rams to just one point the rest of the way for the conference victory. The Minutewomen started the game on a 12-0 run before URI finally got on the board at the 16:09 mark. In addition to Smith's 18 points, she pulled down a season-high eight rebounds. Senior Jen Butler added 14 points and 11 rebounds. The double-double was her fifth of the season and 46th for her career. Sophomore Katie Nelson added 11 points and four assists. All of her points came in the first half on 3-of-4 shooting from three-point land and 2-for-2 from the free throw line. Senior Amber Sneed tied a season-high with eight points, all in the second half. Smith continued her hot shooting from the charity stripe, converting on all six of her attempts. With her 11 rebounds, Butler became the first player in school history to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career. For the game, Massachusetts shot .413 (19-46), while holding the Rams to .274 (17-62). UMass out-rebounded the Rams, 40-38. URI came into the contest with a +5.8 rebounding margin. UMass was .750 (18-24) from the free-throw line, while URI was just .500 (7-14). UMass led by as many as 14 points at 24-10 in the first half, and Rhode Island never got any closer than nine points after the Minutewomen's initial 12-0 run to start the game. UMass led by 10, 28-18 at the break. Butler scored seven points and pulled down 11 rebounds. UMass shot .429 (9-21) from the field, while holding the Rams to a .241 (7-29) clip. UMass out-rebounded URI, 21-16, but committed 12 turnovers to the Rams' seven. URI guard Shayla Johnson came into the game as its leading scorer, averaging 16.8 point per game, but was limited to just four this evening by a suffocating UMass defense. She was 0-for-7 from the field, and 4-of-6 from the free throw line. Denise King led the Rams with 17 points and nine boards. Katie Stalling added 10 points and 13 boards in the loss. The 45 points scored by the Rams were a season-low for them as well as a UMass opponent. With the win, the Minutewomen have now won 12 of the last 14 meetings between the two schools.
Injury Update ... Senior forward Siiri Liivandi suffered an injury during the road trip to Michigan and Toledo. Due to the Health Information Privacy Act (HIPA), the University of Massachusetts does not reveal injury information about its student-athletes. She will likely be out at least one month.
1,000 / 1,000 Club ... When Jen Butler grabbed her sixth rebound in the Dec. 9 win over Rhode Island, she became the first Minutewoman to score 1,000 points and pull down 1,000 rebounds. Butler scored her 1,000th point in Massachusetts' 67-61 overtime loss to Temple in the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals last season and now has 1,103 points in her career. With the 14-rebound performance against the Rams, the preseason first team All-Conference selection now has 1,005 boards in her illustrious career. She is the 13th player in the history to the A-10 to accomplish this feat.
RPI/Strength of Schedule ... In the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI ranking released Dec. 8, the Minutewomen are ranked seventh out of 324 Division I institutions. Massachusetts' schedule has been ranked as the nation's 42nd toughest, but this only factors in games that have been played and does not take future opponents into consideration. According to CollegeRPI.com, UMass is ranked second in the RPI. 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).
Solid At The Line ... The inside presence of seniors Jen Butler and Nekole Smith is crucial to the UMass offense, but their production from the free throw line is equally as important. In the Dec. 7 win over New Hampshire, Butler and Smith went a combined 14-for-14 from the charity stripe, as the Minutewomen shot a season-best .882 (15-17) from the line. Then in the Dec. 9 A-10 win at Rhode Island, Smith went a perfect 6-for-6. Butler struggled early against the Rams, missing in her first four attempts, but rebounded to drain four of her next five freebies. Heading into the contest, she had connected on 15 straight. For the season, Butler is shooting .651 (28-43) from the line, while Smith is shooting at a .704 (19-27) clip.
Butler Movin' On Up ... Senior Jen Butler is currently 11th on the all-time scoring list with 1,103 points to go along with her school-record 1,005 rebounds. Last season, she became the 13th Minutewoman to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. Butler's name is all over the school record book as she is sixth in free throws made (277), third in free throws attempted (519), fourth in blocks (108) and third in steals (187). Next up on the scoring list is Helen Freeman. The 1990 graduate is in 10th place with 1,105 career points. Butler has recorded a double-double in five of six games this season and now has 46 in her career. She currently leads the A-10, pulling down 12.7 rebounds per game.
Break-Out Time ... In her fifth year, senior Nekole Smith is having a breakout season. Coming into the season, Smith was averaging 8.9 ppg in 88 career contests. Through seven games in 2002-03, the Ann Arbor, Mich., native is averaging 14.3 ppg, good for second on the team and 11th in the A-10. She is shooting at a .482 (40-83) clip from the field. For her career, Smith is shooting .478 (366-765) from the field, good for seventh on the school's all-time chart. Smith, though, is not the only senior enjoying a good beginning to the 2002-03 year. Ebony Pegues entered the year averaging 4.7 points per game, but has turned that into an 11.9 average through seven games in 2002-03. Pegues is shooting .413 (33-80) from the field, as opposed to her .323 (118-365) heading into the season. In addition, she is pulling down 3.0 rebounds per game, handing out 4.14 assist per game, as well as tallying nine steals. The career .660 (49-79) free throw shooter has upped that mark to .667 (14-21) this year. After making just 15 starts through her first three years, Pegues has been a part of the starting five each game in 2002-03.
Steppin' Up The D ... In seven games this year, the Minutewomen are yielding a mere 56.0 points per contest. They have held the opposition at or under 50 points on five occasions (Sacred Heart 48, Saint Peter's 49, Vermont 48, New Hampshire 50 and Rhode Island 45), winning each game. In UMass' six wins, opponents are averaging 50.2 points. Vermont came into the Mullins Center on Dec. 4 averaging 71.0 points per game, but was held to a season-low 48 by the Minutewomen. In addition, the Minutewomen have held three other schools to their season-low for offense (Saint Peter's, Sacred Heart and Rhode Island). UMass is also forcing its opponents to turn the ball over 18.7 times per game, but that number balloons to 20.7 per game in its six victories.
They Can Dish It Out ... Sophomore guard Katie Nelson is currently second in the conference with a 3.20 assist to turnover ratio. She has already dished out a career-high seven assists against both Sacred Heart and Michigan. Last year, she averaged 3.07 assists per game, good for 13th in the Atlantic 10. Through seven games in 2002-03, Nelson sits in eighth-place in the A-10, averaging 4.57 assists per game. Right behind her in 11th-place is senior teammate Ebony Pegues. The Columbus, Ohio, product is handing out 4.14 helpers per game, including as career-high nine at URI, Dec. 9.
The Coaches ... Massachusetts Head Coach Marnie Dacko won her opening game 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. Dacko is currently 6-1 (.857) at UMass and 86-105 (.450) overall in seven-plus seasons as a head coach. The 1978 Southern Connecticut State University graduate is tied with former coach Carol Albert (1974-75) for the best start in their first year of coaching at UMass. A win against Villanova tonight would give Dacko the best start of any Minutewoman head coach as the 1968-69 squad, which got off to a school record 9-0 start, did not have a coach. Dacko has never faced Villanova before. Dacko is assisted by Mary Ciuk (Southern Connecticut State University, 1980), Kia Damon (Millersville (Pa.) University, 1997) and Jodi Culbertson (Central Michigan University, 2000). Ciuk has been with Dacko since 1984, when they were both assistants at Northwestern. Culbertson was on last year's Cornell staff, while Damon comes to Amherst via Fairleigh Dickinson (N.J.) University.
One the other side, Head Coach Harry Perretta has posted a 423-245 (.633) record in 23-plus seasons at the helm of the Wildcats. The Associate Head Coach of Villanova is Joe Mullaney. He is assisted by Mary Beth Snell and Shannette Lee.
What's On Tap ... Massachusetts hosts Northeastern (2-4) Saturday, Dec. 14 at 2:00 p.m. in the Mullins Center. It marks the return to Western Mass. for Francesca Vanin and Melissa Kowalski. Vanin is from right here in Amherst and attended Amherst Regional, while Kowalski is a Wilbraham product who went to school at Minnechaug Regional. Francesca's mother, Jo-Anne, is the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life at UMass. After Saturday's game, UMass will have a 14-day break for finals.