University of Massachusets Athletics
Womens's Hoops Set To Face Hartford On Sunday
December 19, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2003
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Game-Day Information
Massachusetts (3-6) at Hartford (6-2)
Chase Family Arena (3,977) * West Hartford, Conn.
Sunday, December 21, 2003 * 2:00 PM
TV: None.
Radio: WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst
Mike DeMars (play-by-play) and Jon Junkins (color analyst)
All-Time Series: Massachusetts leads 5-2
Last Meeting: UMass, 64-33, on Nov. 25, 1997
Streak: UMass has won the last two meetings
Game Day... The UMass women's basketball team (3-6) looks to snap a two-game losing streak this afternoon as it takes on the University of Hartford (6-2) at the Chase Family Arena. The Minutewomen have now dropped back-to-back games to 25th-ranked Arizona and Northeastern after reeling off three consecutive victories. This afternoon marks the eighth road game for the Minutewomen already this season and they will look to snap a 14-game road losing streak. It has been over a year since the last UMass win on the road. This afternoon marks the eighth meeting in the series between these two schools. UMass holds a 5-2 advantage but they have not met since the 1997-98 season. UMass head coach Marnie Dacko is now three wins shy of 100 for her career.
Scouting The Hawks ... The University of Hartford enters this afternoon's game with a 6-2 overall record. They have defeated Marist, Saint Peter's Hawaii, Virginia, Pittsburgh and Dartmouth. It's losses have been to Montana and Quinnipiac. Hartford is undefeated at home thus far with a 3-0 mark. The Hawks are averaging 62.6 ppg and allowing 60.1 ppg. They are shooting .391 from the field, .310 from three-point range and .697 at the free throw line. Hartford has out-rebounded its opponents, 40.5-38.2 and is committing 16.3 turnovers per game.
Ikea Witt leads the team in scoring despite not starting at 13.6 ppg. She is also pulling down 5.0 rpg. Erika Messam is second with 12.1 ppg, while Liz Stich is third at 10.4 ppg. Messam has dished out a team-high 31 assists (3.9 apg) and posted a team-high 20 steals.
Jennifer Rizzotti is in her fifth year as the head coach at Hartford. Rizzotti has played eight seasons of professional basketball since her graduation from the University of Connecticut in 1996. In addition to the past five seasons with the WNBA, two with the Houston Comets, and the past three seasons with the Cleveland Rockers, she competed for three seasons with the New England Blizzard in the American Basketball League. She was a two-time ABL All-Star for the Blizzard.
The Series ... Massachusetts leads the all-time series with Hartford, 5-2, including the last two meetings. UMass has taken two of the three meetings in West Hartford as well. The last time these two teams met on the hardcourt, Nov. 25, 1997, UMass was a 64-33 winner. The series dates back to the 1984-85 season.
Last Time ... Tez Kraft recorded a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds as UMass cruised to a 64-33 win over Hartford on Nov. 25, 1997, in West Hartford. Yolanda Rayside had a game-high 14 points for the Minutewomen, while Kelly Van Huisen added 10 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Massachusetts shot .500 from the field for the game and out-rebounded the Hawks, 47-32. Hartford shot .170 for the game, hitting just eight field goals in 47 opportunities. They were 15-for-26 from the free throw line. The Minutewomen closed out the first half on a 22-5 run after breaking open a 10-10 game and never looked back.
Road Woes ... Dating back to last season, the Minutewomen have now dropped 14 straight road games. The last win for Massachusetts on an opponents' home floor was over 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. Before defeating Brown on Nov. 30, 2003, in the third-place game of the Coca-Cola Classic at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., the Minutewomen had lost 14 straight road or neutral site contests. UMass is 0-5 in road contests so far in 2003-04, but 2-0 in neutral site games.
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 21 points at Northeastern on Dec. 14 and is second on the team pouring in 9.9 points per game. She is also averaging 3.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while playing in nearly 32 minutes. Zsedenyi was named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week on December 17.
Tough D ... One of the positives for Massachusetts this season has been the play by the defense. The Minutewomen have allowed just 58.7 points per game this season to rank third in the Atlantic 10 Conference and have held two of their opponents to a season-low in points. Both Fairfield (43) and Vermont (49) have come well short of its season averages against the UMass defense. Through nine games, UMass opponents are shooting .406 from the field and committing 17.9 turnovers a game.
Fiesta Bowl All-Tournament Team ... For the second time in as many weeks, UMass junior forward Brooke Campbell was named to an all-tournament team. This time, the Baltimore, Md., native was selected to the All-Tournament team of the Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Ariz. In two games at the McKale Center, Campbell had 28 points, 15 rebounds, five assists and two steals. For the season, Campbell is leading the team and is 20th in the A-10 averaging 11.3 points per game and 8.6 rebounds a game. Her tally on the glass is good for third-best in the conference. Campbell is also averaging 1.6 assists, 0.7 blocks and 1.6 steals per game.
Coca-Cola Classic All-Tournament Team ... Junior Brooke Campbell exploded for 37 points and 26 rebounds during the two-day Coca-Cola Classic, Nov. 29-30, at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn., en route to All-Tournament team honors. The Midland (Texas) Junior College transfer also added five assists, two blocks and four steals as the Minutewomen finished in third place. She was also named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week on Dec. 3.
Block Party ... Through its first nine games, Massachusetts has swatted 26 opponents' shots, an average of 2.9 a game to rank fifth in the A-10. Tamara Tatham leads the way with eight blocked shots, good for ninth in the league. Following her career-high three swats at Northeastern on Dec. 14, Brooke Campbell is tied for second on the team with Edris Bailey. They each have six blocked shots this season.
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 six games, UMass has managed to equal or out-rebound the opposition each time. 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 15-rebound performance against Brown Nov. 30, junior Brooke Campbell leads the team and is third in the A-10 pulling down 8.6 boards a contest. It has also been the highest single-game rebound tally in the league this season. Overall, UMass is out-rebounding its opponents, 36.1-33.1 and are third in the league with a +3.0 rebounding margin.
Don't Want To Dominate On The Glass Though ... UMass seems to play better this year when not out-rebounding the opposition. When either tied on the glass or being out-rebounded this season, UMass is 3-0. They are 0-6, however, when holding the edge on the glass.
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 not play again last season. She had off-season surgery and is not yet at 100 percent.
Sharpton's A Sharp-Shooter ... Redshirt sophomore Ashley Sharpton played a major role off the bench in the UMass 55-52 win over Brown on Nov. 30 as well as the 54-49 triumph over Vermont on Dec. 3 at the Cage. She tallied a career-high 10 points in 18 minutes to help the Minutewomen earn their first win of the season against the Bears. The UNC-Asheville transfer was 4-for-4 from the field, including 2-for-2 from three-point range, and also had a rebound and an assist. Against the Catamounts, she nailed two three-pointers in a 2:01 span to put UMass back up by 13 points after Vermont had cut a 20-point deficit down to five. For the season, the Conyers, Ga., native is averaging 3.1 points in 10.7 minutes. She is shooting .348 (8-23) from three-point land.
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 third on the team with 9.1 points per game. She is also averaging 4.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per game. The Brampton, Ontario, native has reached double-figures in scoring in seven of the nine games this season.
Filling In Nicely ... Tatham is not the only Minutewoman playing out of position this year. Senior Cleo Foster has had to step in as the point guard, a position she is not very familiar with. The defensive specialist from Toronto is dishing out 3.11 assists per game to lead the team and is 12th in the conference. She also has a very respectable 0.90-1 assists-to-turnover ratio, good for 14th in the A-10. Foster is also averaging 1.7 points, 3.0 rebounds and has added three blocked shots and 12 steals.
Rage In The Cage II ... On Dec. 3, UMass defeated Vermont, 54-49, in Rage In The Cage II. It marked the second straight time that UMass has returned to the historic Curry Hicks Cage. Last year, UMass defeated Villanova, 55-50, on Dec. 11, 2002. Villanova advanced to the Elite Eight last year and was the only team to knock off Connecticut, ending the Huskies' 70-game winning streak. It was the first game played in the historic Cage since UMass beat Temple, 82-40, on Feb. 18, 1995. Overall, the Minutewomen are 126-107 at the Cage, which opened its doors in 1931.
Tale Of Two Halves ... If college basketball was just a 20-minute game, the Minutewomen would be 6-3 this year instead of 3-6. Massachusetts has enjoyed a halftime lead in six of its nine games this season, including a nine-point advantage on Nov. 25 at Syracuse which quickly evaporated. In those six games, UMass is shooting .520 (80-154) from the field in the first half, but just .318 (50-157) in the second stanza.
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 up her fifth with 7:08 left in the second half. For the season, Bailey is fourth on the team averaging 7.2 points, while also pulling down 3.3 rebounds per game. Bailey has averaged 20.3 minutes this year primarily off the bench, but has made two starts.
Northeastern Recap ... Northeastern University (4-2) went on a 24-8 run over 7:13 of the second half as it downed the University of Massachusetts (3-6), 69-56, last Sunday afternoon in women's basketball action at Matthews Arena. The Huskies outscored the Minutewomen, 48-37, in the second half to pull away from a two-point halftime lead.
After trailing 24-21 early in the second half, UMass went on a 10-2 run to take a 31-26 advantage at the 16:02 mark. Senior Judit Zsedenyi (Budapest, Hungary) had six points in the run. A three-pointer by Wilbriham native Melissa Kowalski tied the game at 31 with 15:07 left and the Minutewomen would never lead again. Northeastern went on a 24-8 run spanning the next 7:13 to secure the win.
Northeastern led 50-39 at the 8:48 mark when UMass made a charge to get back into the game. Consecutive baskets by freshman Tamara Tatham (Brampton, Ontario) and junior Edris Bailey (Mt. Hope, Trinidad & Tobago) cut the deficit to eight at 52-44, and forced NU to call a timeout. When play resumed, UMass got the ball back and junior Brooke Campbell (Baltimore, Md.) hit a shot to cut the Northeastern lead to six. That would be as close as UMass could get though. NU quickly regained a double-digit lead and never gave the Minutewomen a chance to cut into it.
After a poor offensive first half by both teams, the game opened up after intermission. After shooting just .233 from the field in the first half, Massachusetts improved to .682 in the second half. Northeastern was the same, shooting .333 in the first stanza and .607 in the second half. The difference in the game was on the free throw line. Northeastern was 12-for-15 at the charity stripe, while UMass was just 8-for-17. The Minutewomen out-rebounded Northeastern, 37-28, and committed seven more turnovers, 21-14.
Zsedenyi led the team with a career-high 21 points. She also had four rebounds and three assists. Bailey had 12 points and seven rebounds, while Campbell chipped in 10 points, nine boards and three blocked shots. Amherst native Francesca Vanin led the Huskies with 21 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field. She also had 11 boards. Kowalski finished with 14 points for NU.
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.
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 17-19 (.472) at UMass and 97-123 (.441) overall in nine-plus seasons as a head coach. She is now just three wins shy of 100 in her career.
From Here ... After the holiday break, Massachusetts will host UNC-Greensboro on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at the Mullins Center. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. It will be the Minutewomen's final non-conference game and first home game in 27 days. A-10 play begins after the New Year and the Minutewomen start off with a pair of games in the City of Brotherly Love. UMass will play at La Salle on Saturday, Jan. 3, and then at Saint Joseph's on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Both games will begin at 12:00 p.m. The first A-10 home game will be Friday, Jan. 9 at 7:00 p.m. The Minutewomen will welcome Temple to the Mullins Center.