University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Participates In Fiesta Bowl Classic
December 05, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Dec. 5, 2003
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What: Massachusetts (2-4) vs. Utah State (0-2)
Where: McKale Center (14,545) * Tucson, Ariz.
When: Saturday, Dec. 6, 2003 * 1:00 PM MT
Radio: WMUA, 91.1 FM in Amherst
Series: These two teams have never met before.
Game Day... Winners of two straight games, the University of Massachusetts women's basketball team heads west to participate in the 13th annual Fiesta Bowl Classic in Tucson, Ariz. After dropping its first four games of the season, Massachusetts has knocked off Brown (Nov. 30; 55-52) and Vermont (Dec. 3; 54-49) this week to move to 2-4 on the season. The Minutewomen will face Utah State in the first round at 1:00 p.m. Mountain Time on Saturday, Dec. 6. The University of Arizona, the tournament host, and American University will square off at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, Dec. 7, the consolation game will be at 1:00 p.m., while the championship is set for 3:30 p.m. Arizona has won its own tournament eight times in the 12 years, including three of the past four. UMass has never faced any of the schools in this year's field.
Scouting The Aggies ... Utah State University is fielding a women's basketball program for the first time since the 1986-87 season. The Aggies are 0-2 this year with a home loss to Southern Utah, 79-60, and a road defeat at Montana State, 65-41. Freshman forward Anne-Marie Torp leads the team with a 10.5 points per game average. Freshman guard Christina Zdenek and sophomore center Ali Aird are tied for second averaging 8.0 points per game apiece. Freshman forward Brittany Hagen leads the way pulling down 7.0 boards a contest.
Utah State is averaging 50.5 ppg and allowing 72.0 ppg. It is shooting .288 from the field, .147 from three-point range and .571 at the free throw line. The Aggies have committed 52 turnovers in the two games and are being out-rebounded 48.5-44.5.
Scouting The Eagles ... American University is 3-1 this season. It has defeated UNC-Asheville (52-48), Howard (81-56) and Mount St. Mary's (72-62), while falling at Loyola (64-59). Chanel Spriggs leads the team in scoring at 14.8 ppg and is also pulling down 6.0 rebounds a game. Kim Salem is second with a 10.3 ppg average, while Chanel Hunt is third in scoring at 9.0 ppg and is grabbing a team-high 8.0 boards a game.
American University is averaging 66.0 ppg and allowing 57.5 ppg. The Eagles are shooting .448 from the field, .361 from three-point range and .616 at the free throw line. They have committed 98 turnovers and are out-rebounding the opposition, 36.8-33.2.
Scouting the Wildcats ... The University of Arizona is 3-2 this year. They are ranked 25th in the USA TODAY/ESPN Coaches poll and are receiving votes in the latest Associated Press poll. The Wildcats own wins over Northern Arizona (89-67), Navy (67-61) and Hawaii (66-57). They have lost to No. 16/19 UC-Santa Barbara (75-65) and Virginia (70-65). All-America candidate Shawntinice Polk leads the team with 16.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg. Dee-Dee Wheeler is second on the squad averaging 16.2 ppg, while Aimee Grzyb is third at 11.4 ppg.
Arizona averages 70.4 ppg and is allowing 66.0 ppg. They are shooting .449 from the field, .284 from three-point range and .671 at the free throw line. The Wildcats are averaging 16.4 turnovers a game and own a 38.2-29.6 edge on the glass.
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 had 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 ... 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.
Tough D ... One of the positives for Massachusetts this season has been the play by the defense. The Minutewomen have allowed just 55.8 points per game this season to lead 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 six games, UMass opponents are shooting .384 from the field and committing 18.2 turnovers a game.
Fiesta Bowl Ties ... UMass head coach Marnie Dacko and Arizona head coach Joan Bonvicini both played basketball together at Southern Connecticut State University in the 1974-75 season. Dacko was a freshman while Bonvicini was a senior. They are both members of the Connecticut Women's Basketball Hall of Fame as well. In addition, junior guards Monique Govan of Massachusetts and Dee-Dee Wheeler from Arizona both played together at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy in Chicago.
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 leading the team and is 20th in the A-10 averaging 10.7 points per game and 8.8 rebounds a game. Her tally on the glass is good for third-best in the conference. Campbell is also averaging 1.3 assists, 0.5 blocks and 1.8 steals per game. She was also named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week on Dec. 3.
Block Party ... Through its first six games, Massachusetts has swatted 16 opponents' shots, an average of 2.7 a game to rank in a fifth-place tie in the A-10. Tamara Tatham leads the way with five blocked shots, good for seventh in the league. Cleo Foster, Edris Bailey and Brooke Campbell each have three, while 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 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 8.8 boards a contest. It has also been the highest single-game rebound tally in the league this season. She has grabbed double-digits on the glass in three of the past four games. Overall, UMass is out-rebounding its opponents, 36.3-33.0 and are third in the league with a +3.3 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 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 4.2 points in 12.5 minutes. She is shooting .412 (7-17) 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 second on the team and 22nd in the league in scoring with 10.5 points per game. She is also averaging 4.8 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.8 blocks and 1.2 steals per game. The Brampton, Ontario, native has reached double-figures in scoring in five of the six games 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 17 points vs. Vermont on Dec. 3 and is third on the team pouring in 8.0 points per game. She is also averaging 3.2 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 5-1 this year instead of 2-4. Massachusetts has enjoyed a halftime lead in five of its six games this season, including a nine-point advantage on Nov. 25 at Syracuse which it saw evaporate. In those five games, UMass is shooting .485 (63-130) from the field in the first half, but just .336 (44-131) 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 fourth on the team averaging 7.5 points, while also pulling down 3.0 rebounds per game.
Vermont Recap ... Senior Judit Zsedenyi scored a career-high 17 points as the University of Massachusetts women's basketball team (2-4) defeated the University of Vermont (3-2), 54-49, Dec. 3 at the Curry Hicks Cage. Massachusetts had a 16-point halftime lead and were up by as many as 20 points in the second half, but had to hang on down the stretch for its second straight victory. A Zsedenyi three-pointer at the 17:40 mark of the second half put Massachusetts up by 20 points at 38-18, but Vermont went on a ferocious come-back. The Catamounts cut the lead to five points at the 9:57 mark on a Lani Boardman trey. The Minutewomen responded with an 8-0 run of their own spanning the next 2:01 to build the lead back to 13 points at 48-35. Sophomore Ashley Sharpton nailed two three-pointers during that stretch.
Vermont came right back, however, with a 12-0 run and cut the UMass lead to just a point, 48-47, at the 3:04 mark. A lay-up by UVM's Aaron Yantzi brought the Catamounts as close as they had been since it was 2-2 way back in the first half. On the ensuing possession, UMass junior Edris Bailey scored to put UMass back up by three. Then after a Catamount turnover, Zsedenyi gave UMass a five-point cushion with a bucket. Vermont cut it back to three on a pair of free throws by Yantzi with 1:10 left, but junior Brooke Campbell secured the win with a basket at the :39 mark.
In the first half, the Minutewomen broke open a 2-2 game with a 13-0 run over a 4:13 span. UMass led 30-14 at the intermission. Zdedenyi led the Minutewomen with 17 points, two rebounds and two assists. Campbell added 12 points, eight boards and three steals. Senior Cleo Foster had a career-high nine assists. Freshman Tamara Tatham had eight points, six rebounds and three steals in the win.
Vermont's Lani Boardman led all scorers with 19 points. Aaron Yantzi had 16 points as well for the Catamounts who shot .388 (19-49) from the field. It also committed 22 turnovers. The Minutewomen shot .442 (23-52) from the field and turned the ball over 19 times. Vermont was 10-for-12 from the free throw line, while UMass was just 1-for-6 at the charity stripe.
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 16-17 (.485) at UMass and 96-121 (.442) overall in nine-plus seasons as a head coach. She is now four wins shy of 100 in her career.
From Here ... After this weekend, the Minutewomen continue their stretch of six out of seven road games. They return east for back-to-back Sunday matinees. UMass will play at Northeastern on Dec. 14, in a game which will be televised live on CN8. It then visits the University of Hartford on Dec. 21. Both contests begin at 2:00 p.m. After the holiday break, Massachusetts will host UNC-Greensboro on Tuesday, Dec. 30 at the Mullins Center. Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. 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.