University of Massachusets Athletics
Rage In The Cage II Set For Tonight
December 02, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2003
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What: Vermont (3-1) at Massachusetts (1-4)
Where: Curry Hicks Cage (4,058) * Amherst, Mass.
When: Wednesday, December 3, 2003 * 7:00 PM
TV: None
Radio: WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst
Tickets: $4 adults; $2 children * available by calling 1-866-UMASS-TIX or at the door
Game Day... The University of Massachusetts women's basketball team (1-4) returns to the Curry Hicks Cage for the second straight season and just the second time since the 1994-95 season. Tonight's opponent is the University of Vermont. The Catamounts are 3-1 this year. The Minutewomen are fresh off their 55-52 win over Brown last Sunday in the third-place game of the Coca-Cola Classic at the Arena at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, Conn. It was their first win of the season and first on a court away from Amherst in almost a year. UMass' last win away from either the Mullins Center or the Cage was a 59-45 win at Rhode Island on Dec. 9, 2002, a streak of 14 straight games. UMass has still dropped 12 consecutive road games, however.
Scouting The Catamounts ... The University of Vermont enters tonight's game with a 3-1 overall record. It owns wins over St. Francis (72-51), Yale (78-65) and Colgate (85-75). UVM's only loss was at home to nationally-ranked Vanderbilt, 65-54. The Catamounts are averaging 72.2 points per game, while allowing their opponents to score 64.0 points per game. They are shooting .465 (107-230) from the field, .333 (18-54) from three-point range and .675 (57-84) at the free throw line. They are being out-rebounded, 37.0-34.2.
Aaron Yantzi leads the team with a 19.0 point per game average and is also pulling down a team-high 11.8 rebounds per game. She is shooting .560 (28-50) from the field and .833 (20-24) at the free throw line. Lani Boardman is second on the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game. She also has a team-best 11 steals. Katie McNamara is also in double-figures, pouring in 15.0 points per game. She is grabbing 5.8 rebounds a contest and also has 14 assists, seven blocked shots and nine steals.
The Series ... Massachusetts leads the all-time series with Vermont, 19-5. UMass is 10-2 against the Catamounts at home, 8-2 at the Cage. The Minutewomen won last year's meeting, 53-48, on Dec. 4, 2002, at the Mullins Center. The two teams have played just twice since the 1994-95 season.
Last Time Vs. Vermont ... Ebony Pegues and Jen Butler scored nine unanswered points in the final 3:02 to erase a four-point deficit and give the UMass women's basketball team a 53-48 win over previously-unbeaten Vermont Dec. 4, 2002, at the Mullins Center. Butler's lay-up at the 1:48 mark tied the game at 48 apiece. On the other end of the floor, Pegues stole the ball and drove the length of the floor to put the Minutewomen up 50-48 with just 1:29 left. It was the first UMass lead since it held a 4-3 advantage at the 17:44 mark of the first half. The Minutewomen then stopped the Catamounts on defense and free throws by Pegues (1-2) and Butler (2-2) down the stretch secured their fourth win of the season.
In a sloppy first half, the Minutewomen shot just .233 (7-30) from the floor. They stepped it up on the defensive end, forcing 14 Vermont turnovers and trailed by just four points at the break, 22-18. The Minutewomen were down by as many as six points in the second half, but fought back to tie the score at 39 with 7:41 remaining in regulation. That is when the Catamounts went on a 6-0 run to regain the edge. Judit Zsedenyi nailed a three-pointer at the 4:04 mark and Nekole Smith followed with a field goal, but a trey by Vermont's Theresa LaRocque gave it a four-point edge with just 3:02 to play. Pegues finished with a team-high 13 points and added five assists, four rebounds and three steals. Butler, despite constant double- and triple-teams as well as foul trouble, still managed to post her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds, She also had four steals and was 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Cleo Foster made her second consecutive start and scored a career-high eight points and four assists, while not committing a turnover. UMass forced 22 Vermont turnovers, while committing just 10 of its own. The Minutewomen out-scored the Catamounts in the paint, 32-19, but were out-rebounded, 39-37.
Trying To Change It On The Road ... Dating back to last season, the Minutewomen have now dropped 12 straight road games. The last win for Massachusetts on an opponents' home floor 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. 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 has lost 14 straight road or neutral site contests. UMass is 0-3 in road contests so far in 2003-04.
Rage In The Cage II ... Tonight marks the second straight time that UMass has returned to the 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 125-107 at the Cage, which opened its doors in 1931.
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. For the season, Campbell is second on the team averaging 10.4 points per game and leads the way pulling down 9.0 rebounds a game. She is tied for fourth in the conference on the boards. Campbell is also averaging 1.6 assists, 0.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per game. She was also named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week on Dec. 3, and has now grabbed double-digit rebounds in three consecutive games dating back to Nov. 25 at Syracuse.
Block Party ... Through its first five games, Massachusetts has swatted 14 opponents shots, an average of 2.80 a game. Tamara Tatham leads the way with five blocked shots. She is sixth in the conference at 1.00 block per game. Cleo Foster has three, while Brooke Campbell and Edris Bailey each have two apiece. Judit Zsedenyi and Glamora Maeweather also have one.
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 five 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, six 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 tied for fourth in the A-10 pulling down 9.0 boards a contest. She has grabbed double-digits on the glass in the past three games. Overall, UMass is out-rebounding its opponents, 37.4-33.4 and are fifth in the A-10 on the glass. UMass is also third in the conference with a +4.0 rebounding margin.
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.
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. She tallied a career-high 10 points in 18 minutes to help the Minutewomen earn their first win of the season. 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. For the season, the Conyers, Ga., native is averaging 3.8 points in 12.2 minutes.
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 11.0 points per game. She is also averaging 4.6 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.0 blocks and 0.8 steals per game. The Brampton, Ontario, native is the only Minutewoman to score in double-figures each game this season.
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) Nov. 25 at Syracuse and is fourth on the team pouring in 6.2 points per game. She is also averaging 3.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game while maintaining a perfect 4-for-4 average at the free throw line.
Tale Of Two Halves ... If college basketball was just a 20-minute game, the Minutewomen would be 4-1 this year instead of 1-4. Massachusetts has enjoyed a halftime lead in four of its five games this season, including a nine-point advantage on Nov. 25 at Syracuse. In those four games, UMass is shooting .476 (50-105) from the field in the first half, but just .327 (34-104) 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 her fifth with 7:08 left in the second half. For the season, Bailey is third on the team averaging 7.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.
Brown Recap ... Junior Brooke Campbell poured in a game-high 20 points and also pulled down 15 rebounds as the UMass women's basketball team (1-4) defeated Brown University (1-3), 55-52, in the third-place game of the Coca-Cola Classic at the Arena at Harbor Yard on Nov. 30. It was the Minutewomen's first win of the season. Massachusetts started off sluggish in the first half, but used an 18-4 run over the final 7:11 to take a 34-31 lead into the locker room. It had trailed the Bears, 27-16. A three-pointer by sophomore Ashley Sharpton at the 7:11 mark started the Minutewoman run. She had eight points in the half on 3-of-3 shooting from the field, 2-for-2 from three-point range. Campbell had 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the half. The Minutewomen shot .462 (12-26) in the half and committed just seven turnovers. Campbell started the second half by converting a three-point play to give the Minutewomen a 37-31 lead and made it a 21-4 run. Brown battled back and regained the lead on a made basket by Nyema Mitchell with 13:33 left in the second half. A couple of minutes later, UMass went on a mini 6-0 run, but the Bears came back and tied the game at 49 on a jumper by Kathleen Barr with 5:54 left on the clock. Freshman Tamara Tatham gave Massachusetts the lead for good less than two minutes later with a lay-up. 30 seconds later, Tatham drilled a jumper and then two free throws by senior Glamora Maeweather gave UMass a six-point edge at the 3:04 mark. The Minutewomen did not score again, but their defense held and they secured win number one of the young season. In addition to her 20 points and 15 boards, Campbell also had four assists, two blocks, two steals and was 8-for-10 from the free throw line.Tatham had 10 points, three boards, a block and an assist, while Sharpton finished with 10 points and an assist. The Minutewomen shot .346 (18-52) from the field and held Brown to a .345 (20-58) clip. Massachusetts was 16-for-26 (.615) at the charity stripe, while Brown was just 8-for-12 (.667). The Minutewomen also committed a season-low 15 turnovers and pulled down 38 rebounds. They have now equalled or out-rebounded the opposition in all five games this season. Campbell was selected to the Coca-Cola Classic All-Tournament team as well.
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 15-17 (.469) at UMass and 95-121 (.440) overall in nine-plus seasons as a head coach.
From Here ... After tonight's contest, UMass will return to the road for four straight games and six of the next seven. The Minutewomen will not be at home again until a Dec. 30 tilt with UNC-Greensboro at the Mullins Center (7:00 p.m.). This weekend, the Maroon & White head west to participate in the Fiesta Bowl Women's Classic in Tucson, Ariz. UMass will play Utah State at 3:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 6 and then either Arizona or American on Sunday, Dec. 7 (1/3:30 p.m. EST). UMass then returns to the East Coast for a Dec. 14 date at Northeastern and a Dec. 21 game at Hartford. Both games will begin at 2:00 p.m.