University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Participates In Coca-Cola Classic
November 28, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2003
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Game Day... The University of Massachusetts women's basketball team (0-3) heads to the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., this weekend to participate in the Coca-Cola Classic in search of its first win of the season. The tournament, which is hosted by Fairfield University (0-2), also includes the University of Delaware (1-1) and Brown University (1-1) in the field. The Minutewomen will play Fairfield at 3:00 p.m. this afternoon in the first round. The consolation game will be played tomorrow at 1:00 p.m., while the championship game is tentatively scheduled for 3:00 p.m. All-time, UMass is 3-1 against Fairfield, 0-1 vs. Delaware and 5-0 against Brown.
Scouting The Stags ... Fairfield University enters this afternoon's game with an 0-2 record. They have lost on the road to Villanova, 68-55, and Northeastern, 68-58. The Stags are averaging 56.5 points a game and are allowing 68.0 points a game. Fairfield is shooting .336 from the field,, while its opponents are connecting at a .413 rate. The Stags are out-rebounding their opponents, 39.5-34.5, and are also shooting, .750 from the free throw line.
Forward Schrene Isidora leads the team averaging 10.0 points per game. She is pulling down 3.0 rebounds per game. Candice Lindsay is second on the squad scoring 8.5 points per game off the bench. She is third on the team pulling down 7.0 rebounds per game as well. Milica Miljkovic and Janelle McManus are each averaging 8.0 points per game. Miljkovic also leads the way pulling down 8.5 boards a contest, while McManus is dishing out 2.0 assists a game.
The Series ... Massachusetts leads the all-time series with Fairfield, 3-1, including the past two meetings. Each school has won a game at Fairfield. In the last meeting, UMass was a 65-56 winner at Fairfield on Nov. 26, 1996.
Scouting the Bears ... Brown University enters this weekend's tournament with a 1-1 record. It opened the season with a 69-52 homecourt win over Fairleigh Dickinson, before dropping a 76-71 overtime game to Illinois-Chicago, also at home. The Bears are averaging 70.0 points a game, while yielding 64.0 points per contest. They are shooting .407 from the field while allowing opponents to shoot .426. Brown has out-rebounded the opposition through two games, 40.5-38.0, and is averaging 19.0 turnovers per contest.
Holly Robertson leads the team averaging 16.0 points a game off the bench. She also leads the way pulling down 9.0 rebounds a game and is a .667 (14-21) shooter from the field. Colleen Kelly is second on the squad scoring 12.0 points a game. She is dishing out 4.0 assists and has pulled down 3.0 rebounds a game. Tanara Golston and Nyema Mitchell are also in double-figure scoring for the Bears. They are each scoring 10.5 points per game.
The Series ... Massachusetts leads the all-time series with Brown, 5-0. The two schools have never met on a neutral court before. In the last meeting played Dec. 7, 1995 at the Mullins Center, UMass was a 66-51 winner.
Scouting the Fightin' Blue Hens ... The University of Delaware comes to the Nutmeg State with a 1-1 record. They dropped an 80-78 decision at home to Richmond before downing Stony Brook 67-58 on the road. The Blue Hens are averaging 72.5 points per game while allowing its opponents to score 69.0 points. They are shooting .411 from the field and allowing their opponents to convert at a .425 rate from the field. Delaware has out-rebounded its opponents, 41.0-38.0 through two games and are committing 24.5 turnovers a game.
Tiara Malcom is leading the team averaging 18.5 points per game. She is also pulling down 6.5 rebounds per game. Julie Sailer is second o the team scoring 15.5 points per game and has also pulled down 4.0 rebounds a game. Tiffany Young is also in double-figures for the Blue Hens. She is pouring in 12.0 points per game to go along with 6.5 rebounds per game.
The Series ... The University of Delaware has won the only meeting between these two schools. It was a 66-59 winner over UMass on Dec. 8, 1990, in the Princeton University Tournament.
Trying To Change It On The Road ... Dating back to last season, the Minutewomen have now dropped 13 straight games away from the Mullins Center. This includes a pair of neutral site games. The last win for Massachusetts away from Amherst was almost a year ago. It was a 59-45 win at Rhode Island on Dec. 9, 2002. Prior to that streak, the Minutewomen had been victorious on seven of nine straight road or neutral site contests. UMass is 0-2 in road contests so far in 2003-04.
Break-Out Game ... Junior Edris Bailey showed UMass fans a lot against Holy Cross Nov. 23 in her Mullins Center debut. The Frank Phillips (Texas) Junior College transfer poured in 21 points on 10-of-13 shooting in just 20 minutes off the bench. Bailey played the second half in foul trouble and picked her fifth with 7:08 left in the second half. For the season, Bailey is second on the team averaging 11.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. She leads the team and is tied for ninth in the Atlantic 10 shooting .593 (16-27) from the field.
Block Party ... Through its first three games, Massachusetts has swatted eight opponents shots, an average of 2.67 a game. Tamara Tatham leads the way with three blocked shots. Cleo Foster has two, while Edris Bailey, Judit Zsedenyi and Glamora Maeweather have one apiece.
Who Said They Can't Rebound ... When Massachusetts lost the services of "Miss Everything" Jen Butler to graduation last year, people wondered where the rebounds were going to come from this season. Well, in its first three games, UMass has managed to out-rebound the opposition. Last season, Butler led the nation grabbing 14.7 rebounds a game and only three other players were over 3.0. This year, seven different Minutewomen are grabbing at least three rebounds a game. Following her career-high 12-rebound performance at Syracuse last Tuesday, junior Brooke Campbell leads the team pulling down 6.3 boards a contest. Overall, UMass is out-rebounding its opponents, 36.0-29.7.
Nelson Out ... Massachusetts will be without the services of junior point guard Katie Nelson. Nelson left the Jan. 26, 2002 game against Dayton with a knee injury and with the exception of a brief three-minute stint at George Washington on Feb. 13, 2003, did play again last season. She had off-season surgery and is not yet at 100 percent.
The All-Around Center ... The future looks bright for the Minutewomen if freshman Tamara Tatham continues this pace. A forward playing as a center this year, Tatham is first on the team in scoring at 11.7 on the game. She is also averaging 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. The Brampton, Ontario, native is the only Minutewoman to score in double-figures each game this season. That includes a career-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting at Syracuse last Tuesday.
Stepping It Up ... After averaging just 3.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game last season, senior Judit Zsedenyi has dramatically stepped up her game. The Budapest, Hungary, native scored a career-high 11 points (all in the first half), in last Tuesday's loss at Syracuse. In the first three games this season, Zsedenyi is third on the team pouring in 9.0 points per game and is second on the squad pulling down 4.7 rebounds per game. She has also dished out nine assists, has a pair of steals, one block and is a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.
Tale Of Two Halves ... If college basketball was just a 20-minute game, the Minutewomen would be 2-1 this year instead of 0-3. Massachusetts has enjoyed a halftime lead in two of its three games this season, including a nine-point advantage on Nov. 25 at Syracuse. In those two games, UMass is shooting .537 (29-54) from the field in the first half, but just .375 (21-56) in the second stanza.
Syracuse Recap ... The University of Massachusetts women's basketball team (0-3) had a nine-point halftime lead, but could not hold on and lost to Syracuse University (2-0), 62-54, Nov. 25 at the Manley Field House. Syracuse put up 35 three-point field goals tonight tying a school record and converted on 15 of them. They only shot 16 two-point field goals. Syracuse has a tradition where all the fans remain standing and cheer until the home team scores its first basket, but the Minutewomen made them wait 4:07 tonight. UMass jumped out to an early 6-0 lead led by senior Judit Zsedenyi's four points. SU clawed back and took a brief lead at 11-10, but freshman Tamara Tatham came back down and put UMass right back on top and sparked a 12-2 run over the next 3:30.
The teams traded baskets for the rest of the half and Massachusetts went into the locker room with a nine point lead at 35-26. Zsedenyi had 11 points in the half, while Tatham had nine. On the other side, Julie McBride had 11 points. Massachusetts shot a season-best .615 (16-26) in the first half, while holding Syracuse to .364 (8-22) from the field. The Orangewomen attempted 22 field goals in the first half, 15 of which were from behind the three-point line. Both teams came out sluggish in the second half. There were more fouls called (six) than points (three) for the two teams combined at the first media timeout at the 15:58 mark. After the timeout however, SU came out on fire. The Orange hit three straight three-pointers, two by McBride, to take a 37-36 lead. Freshman Joyce Massey ended the 9-0 run with a jumper at the 12:41 mark to put UMass back on top. It was also its first field goal of the half. The Orange responded right back with more bombs from three-point land. Three more in a row in a 52-second span gave it a six-point lead and forced UMass to use a timeout at the 9:19 mark. Massey ended the run with a jumper at the 7:56 mark.
UMass cut the deficit to two with a pair of free throws, but two more consecutive trifectas put Syracuse up eight, 52-44, with 4:20 left. Junior Monique Govan ended the run with a three-pointer of her own with 4:02 left to bring the Minutewomen within five at 52-47. Another Orange basket put them up seven until Massey's three at the 3:31 mark brought the lead back to four. SU kept the three's coming however and UMass was soon down 10. The Orange made their free throws down the stretch and sealed the game.Tatham was the team's leading scorer with 14 points. She also had five rebounds and a steal. Massey had 12 points and three rebounds, while junior Brooke Campbell pulled down 12 boards. UMass shot just .259 (7-27) from the field in the second half, while Syracuse was 10-20 (.500) from three-point range in the second stanza. UMass also shot just 5-14 (.357) from the free throw line. McBride finished with 30 points for SU, her second straight 30-point game.
It's An International Thing ... This year's UMass roster certainly has an International feel to it. There are five players who hail from overseas. Cleo Foster and Tamara Tatham are both from Ontario, Canada. Judit Zsedenyi is a native of Hungary, while junior redshirt Patrycja Gulak is from Poland. Edris Bailey is from Trinidad & Tobago.
Early Additions ... The loss of seven seniors and just two in the freshman class has left UMass head coach Marnie Dacko and her staff several scholarships to offer this recruiting season. The Minutewomen were able to ink five during the early signing period, Nov. 12-19. Here is a quick look at each of them.
Kate Mills is a 6-2 forward out of the Ursuline Academy in Wilmington, Del. Last season, she averaged 18 points, eight rebounds, two steals and three blocks per game en route to All-State honors. For her career, Mills has recorded 1,122 points, 733 rebounds and 272 blocks. As a freshman, she was an honorable mention All-State pick, while earning third-team All-State accolades as a sophomore. Mills is a member of the National Honor Society and has also been a part of two volleyball state championship teams.
Pam Rosanio is a 5-10 guard out of Archbishop Wood High School in Southampton, Pa. Last season, she averaged 15.5 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals en route to All-Philadelphia Catholic League North first-team honors. She also helped the Vikings advance to the Catholic League semifinals. Rosanio currently has 851 career points and is on pace to score over 1,000 points. The school record is 1,296 points.
Kaylie Schiavetta is a 5-7 guard from Northport High School in Northport, N.Y. Last season, she averaged 17.8 points per game en route to Class A third-team All-State accolades. In 2001-02, she averaged 14.2 points per game and was a member of the Suffolk County All-Star team while her squad won the league championship. As a freshman in 2000-01, Schiavetta was named to the All-County team.
Whitney McDonald is a 6-2 forward from Ossining High School in Ossining, N.Y. Last season, she averaged 14.5 points and 10 rebounds per game and was an All-League, All-Section and All-State selection. She is a two-time member of the Gold Empire State team.
Alisha Tatham, a 5-11 guard out of Chinguacousy Secondary School in Brampton, Ontario, averaged 25 points, nine rebounds and four steals this past season which just wrapped up. She is also the sister of current UMass freshman Tamara Tatham (Brampton, Ontario). Last season, she led her high school to its first-ever OFSAA Tournament. Tatham was also a member of the Ontario Juvenile Provincial team which captured the gold medal in the Provincial Games held in Manitoba in August of 2003.
Marnie's Army Leader ... With an 8-1 start last year, 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. When the Minutewomen downed Sacred Heart, 74-48 on Nov. 22 2002, Dacko became the seventh head coach out of nine in the program's history to win their first game on the UMass bench. The 1978 Southern Connecticut State University graduate is currently 14-17 (.452) at UMass and 94-121 (.437) overall in nine-plus seasons as a head coach.
From Here ... After a home game with Vermont on Dec. 3 at the Cage (see next note), the Minutewomen head to Arizona to participate in the Fiesta Bowl Women's Classic. UMass plays Utah State in the first round and then either Arizona or American on the second day. It will be Dec. 30 against UNC-Greensboro before the Minutewomen return home after that. They will play at Northeastern (Dec. 14) and Hartford (Dec. 21) in that 27-day stretch between home games.
Rage In The Cage II ... On December 3, the Minutewomen will host Vermont at the Curry Hicks Cage. In Rage In The Cage I on December 11, 2002, UMass upset Villanova, 55-50. The Wildcats advanced to the Elite Eight last year and defeated eventual national champion, Connecticut in the Big East Championship game and ended the Huskies' 70-game winning streak.