University of Massachusets Athletics
Minutewomen Host Temple In A-10 East Battle Tonight
January 16, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2003
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Game Day Facts
What: Temple (5-9, 1-2 A-10) at Massachusetts (9-5, 1-2 A-10)
Where: Mullins Center (9.493) * Amherst, Mass.
When: Thursday, Jan. 16, 2003 * 7:00 p.m.
TV: None
Radio: WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst
Matt Feato (play-by-play) & Matt DeNoble (color)
Series History: Temple leads 21-17
Last Meeting: 2002 Atlantic 10 Tournament Semifinal
Liacouras Center (Philadelphia, Pa.) Temple 67-61 (OT)
All-Time At The Mullins Center: UMass leads 5-1
Game Day... Losers in four of its last five games, Massachusetts looks to get back on the winning track tonight against Temple in Atlantic 10 action. Both sqauds are 1-2 and tied for second-place in the A-10 East, so tonight's game is crucial in the standings. The Minutewomen, who began the season 8-1, are now 9-5 under first-year Head Coach Marnie Dacko. The Maroon and White dropped a tough 60-52 decision at Fordham last Sunday despite out-playing the host-Rams. Meanwhile, the Owls come to the Mullins Center with a 5-9 overall record after losing to George Washington, 59-57, at home last Sunday. The last two games between these two schools have gone into overtime.
Scouting The Owls ... Temple heads into this evening's match-up with a 5-9 overall record, but five of those losses have been to teams ranked in the top 25. The nine opponents that the Owls have lost to have a combined 92-29 (.760) record, and six of the set-backs have come away from the Liacouras Center. Senior guard Stacey Smalls leads the Owls averaging 11.0 ppg and is dishing out a team-high 2.9 apg. Freshman center Candice Dupree is second on the team with a 10.8 ppg average and pulls down a team-high 6.8 rpg. The Owls are 10th in the A-10 in rebounding, grabbing 33.9 boards a contest, while ranking last in rebound margin at -3.8. Temple averages 59.9 ppg and allows 61.4 ppg. The Owls are shooting at a .391 (330-843) clip from the field and .274 (37-135) from behind the arc. Temple has lost five consecutive road contests and eight of nine overall.
The Series ... Tonight will be the 38th meeting between these two rivals since the series began in 1981-82. The Owls lead 21-17 overall, but the Minutewomen hold a 5-1 edge at the Mullins Center. The lone loss came last season when the Owls took a 67-57 decision on Jan. 3 opening up conference play. Massachusetts has taken six of the last 10 games in the series.
Last Game Against the Owls ... Monique Govan drove the length of the floor and hit a lay-up as time expired tying the game and forcing overtime, but Temple drained clutch free throws and prevailed in overtime, 67-61, in the semifinals of the 2002 A-10 Tournament played on Temple's home floor. Katie Nelson led a balanced UMass attack with 15 points, while Nekole Smith added 11 and Ebony Pegues had 10 points and five assists. Plagued with foul trouble all game, Jen Butler scored just seven points, but the last bucket gave her 1,001 for her career. In the regular season, each team won on the opponent's home floor. Complete box scores from all three games last year are included at the end of this notes package.
She's Back ... After being sidelined for more than five weeks with an injury, senior Siiri Liivandi is slated to make her first start of the season tonight. The Rapla, Estonia, native suffered the injury during a practice in Ann Arbor prior to the Minutewomen's Nov. 29 game at Michigan. She played three minutes at home last week against Saint Joseph's in her first game back and then saw five minutes of action in Sunday's loss to Fordham in the Bronx. Since transferring to UMass from Indian River Community College (Fla.), two years ago, Liivandi has averaged 4.8 ppg and 3.5 rpg. She will replace senior Ebony Pegues in Marnie's Army starting five.
Next Up For 1,000 ... Senior Nekole Smith is now just 21 points away from becoming the 14th Minutewoman to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native is enjoying a break-out season as she is second on the team and 11th in the conference in scoring with a 13.9 ppg average. Smith entered the season averaging 8.9 ppg. Smith also leads the team in field goal shooting, connecting at a .482 (80-166) clip from the floor. She currently sits in seventh-place all-time with a career .479 (406-848) field goal percentage. Last Sunday at Fordham, Smith scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers.
Impressive Beginning ... The 8-1 start for UMass Head Coach Marnie Dacko was the best start by a UMass coach in their first year at the helm. When the Minutewomen downed Sacred Heart, 74-48 on Nov. 22, 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 went 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.
Oh What A Night ... Despite the heart-breaking 78-70 double-overtime loss to host-school Florida in the first round of the State Farm Classic Dec. 28, senior center Jen Butler enjoyed a dream game. The All-American candidate tied a career-high with 30 points and hauled in a school-record 30 rebounds. Her rebounding tally was the fifth-best in NCAA Division I history and most by an Atlantic 10 player. In addition, it was the most rebounds by a Florida opponent and also established a new Stephen C. O'Connell Center individual record (men or women) for boards. She sits higher on the list than Charles Barkley (Auburn) and Shaquille O'Neal (Louisiana State). Butler finished with 42 rebounds in the two-day tournament, the most in the events' history en route to an All-Tournament team selection. Butler was also recognized as the A-10 Player of the Week and Dinn Brothers/UMass co-Athlete of the Week. The 30 rebounds are also the highest single-game output in the nation this season and most since New Orleans' Kayone Hankins grabbed 30 boards Nov. 26, 1994, against Nicholls State.
Shattering Records ... In addition to all of Butler's individual records vs. Florida Dec. 28, there were several team records established throughout the night. Massachusetts attempted a school-record 92 field goals, 34 three-point field goals and hauled in a school-best 64 rebounds. Senior Ebony Pegues set a new individual record with 28 field goal attempts and 16 three-point field goals attempted.
Not Quite Ringing In The New Year ... After beginning the year 8-1, the school's best start in 34 years, Massachusetts has lost four of its last five games. The only win was a 51-46 come-from-behind victory over Memphis at the Mullins Center on Jan. 4. The four losses have all been close at the end, with one coming in double-overtime. The Minutewomen have enjoyed a second half lead in each of the games.
Floor General ... Sophomore guard Katie Nelson has started in each of her 44 career games since arriving in Amherst. The Ellicott City, Md., native averages 38.3 minutes this year and was the only member of either team to play in all 50 minutes of the Minutewomen's 78-70 double-overtime loss to Florida in the State Farm Classic last month. Nelson, whose father William is the head men's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins (Md.) University, is just about halfway through her second season and has already cracked the top five in three-point field goals made and attempted. Nelson currently ranks third all-time in school history with 272 attempts, while her 81 trifectas are good for fifth. Nelson also ranks 11th with a .298 percentage from behind the arc.
Passing's The Name Of The Game ... Massachusetts currently ranks fifth in the conference averaging 15.29 assists per game. The Minutewomen, who average 23.2 field goals per game, record an assist nearly 66 percent of the time. Two Minutewomen rank in the top seven for assists in the conference as Katie Nelson and Ebony Pegues each average 4.00 helpers per game. In addition, the Minutewomen are third in the conference with a 0.95 assist to turnover ratio. Nelson is second in the league with a 2.24 ratio, trailing Xavier's Reetta Piipari (2.36). Nelson has the fewest turnovers (25) of any player currently in the top 15.
RPI/Strength of Schedule ... In the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI ranking released Jan. 13, the Minutewomen are ranked 55th out of 324 Division I institutions. It is the third-highest in the conference. Only Xavier (26) and Saint Joseph's (54) have a better RPI than Massachusetts. In addition, the Maroon and White schedule has been rated as the nation's 50th-toughest, but this only factors in games that have been played and does not take future opponents into consideration. UMass has been ranked as high as No. 1 and spent much of the non-conference season among the top 10.
Last Time Out ... Despite a career-high 23 points from senior Nekole Smith, the University of Massachusetts women's basketball team fell to Fordham University, 60-52, Sunday afternoon in an Atlantic 10 game at Rose Hill Gym. Massachusetts is now 9-5 overall and 1-2 in the A-10, while Fordham improved to 10-5 overall, 1-2 in conference. The Minutewomen used an 11-0 run at the end of the first half and into the second half to take a 27-25 lead at the 16:32 mark, but Fordham's Beth Ann Dickinson came right back down to tie the game. UMass fell behind by four, but used a 6-0 run of its own to retake the lead, 39-37, at the 10:18 mark. The Minutewomen, plagued by poor shooting all game, watched as the Rams heated up and went up nine points with just 3:40 left. Capped by a three-pointer by sophomore Katie Nelson, the Minutewomen got back within three at 52-49, but an offensive rebound by the Rams and a put-back by Mobolaji Akiode sealed their 10th victory of the season. Senior Jen Butler was stymied by the Fordham defense all day, but still managed to record her 12th double-double of the season on 10 points and 12 rebounds. She also had two blocked shots. Senior Kristin Cannon scored five points, including a three-pointer which gave the Minutewomenn their 39-37 lead. Nelson finished with six points, four assists and no turnovers. With her 23-point performance, Smith is now just 21 points shy of becoming the 14th Minutewomen to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. The Minutewomen took an early 11-4 lead at the 14:11 mark of the first half, but Fordham went on a 14-0 run over the next 4:53 to take an 18-11 lead. UMass went 6:51 without a point but for the second time in three games, it was able to keep the game within reach by playing solid defense. Fordham led 25-16 at the 4:32 mark, but a 6-0 run by the Minutewomen to end the half cut their deficit to just three at intermission. Smith poured in a game-high 10 points in the first half, while Cannon scored her first basket of the season. UMass shot .290 (9-31) in the half, while Fordham was .303 (10-33). The Minutewomen out-rebounded the Rams, 25-22, including 7-5 on the offensive glass. UMass shot just .300 (21-70) in the game and was a season-low .400 (6-15) from the free throw line. The Minutewomen were .154 (4-26) from three-point range.
1,000 / 1,000 Club ... When Jen Butler grabbed her sixth rebound in the Dec. 9, 2002 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 semifinal last season and now has 1,238 points in her career. The preseason first team All-Conference selection has also pulled down a UMass record 1,121 boards in her illustrious career. She is the 13th player in A-10 history to join the 1,000/1,000 club. She currently leads the nation, pulling down 14.6 boards a game.
Butler Movin' On Up ... With her 48 points in the two-day State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla., senior Jen Butler moved into seventh-place on the school's all-time scoring list. The preseason All-Conference selection now has 1,238 career points to go along with her school record 1,121 rebounds. Butler's name is all over the school's record book as she is fifth in free throws made (316), second in free throws attempted (581), third in blocks (115) and second in steals (197). Next up on the scoring list is Crystal Carroll. The 1997 graduate is in sixth-place with 1,405 career points. Butler has recorded a double-double in 12 of 14 games this season and now has 53 in her standout career.
Steppin' Up The D ... In 14 games this year, the Minutewomen are yielding a mere 58.5 points per contest, good for second in the Atlantic 10. They have held the opposition at or under 50 points on seven occasions (Sacred Heart 48, Saint Peter's 49, Vermont 48, New Hampshire 50, Rhode Island 45, Villanova 50 and Memphis 46), winning each game. The Minutewomen have held five schools to their season-low for points at the time of the game (Villanova, Saint Peter's, Sacred Heart, Vermont and Rhode Island).
Cannon Ball ... Senior sharp-shooter Kristin Cannon made the most of her rare playing time Sunday with a five-point performance against Fordham. The Reynoldsburg, Ohio, product connected on her lone three-point field goal attempted to give UMass a 38-37 second half lead. Cannon, who did not see a minute of playing time last year, averaged 2.2 ppg coming into the Fordham game.
Tops On The Boards ... Heading into tonight's action, the Minutewomen lead the conference in rebounding, pulling down 41.9 boards per game (15.2 off.; 26.7 def.). Massachusetts' +7.0 rebounding margin is also tops in the A-10 and ranks 22nd nationally. The only other school in the A-10 averaging over 40 boards a game is Fordham, and the Minutewomen outrebounded it, 46-40 last Sunday in the battle for conference supremacy on the glass.
Marnie's Army Leader ... At 8-1, Massachusetts Head Coach Marnie Dacko enjoyed the best start of any UMass coach in their first season at the helm, not to mention the second-best start of any UMass team in the program's history as the 1968-69 team which started 9-0 did not have a coach. The 1978 Southern Connecticut State University graduate is currently 9-5 (.643) at UMass and 89-109 (.450) overall in seven-plus seasons as a head coach. She is coaching against the Owls for the first time.
What's On Tap ... The Minutewomen welcome St. Bonaventure to the Mullins Center Saturday, Jan. 18 at 2:00 p.m., as part of a doubleheader. The men's team will take on Xavier at 6:00 p.m. that evening. Massachusetts then hits the road again for games at Xavier and Dayton on Jan. 24 and 26, respectively.