University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Set For St. Joes Thursday
February 19, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2003
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Game Day... Following Sunday's tough 69-57 homecourt loss in which it led for much of the game, Massachusetts opens up a two-game set in the City of Brotherly Love Thursday night against Saint Joseph's. The Minutewomen, who have now lost three games in a row and six of their last seven, are just one game over .500 at 12-11. UMass' 4-8 conference record is good for fourth place, one-half game behind Fordham. Meanwhile, the Hawks come into tonight's game with a 14-9 overall record. Despite losing at home to Fordham on Sunday, Saint Joseph's clinched the A-10 regular season East Division title. Saint Joseph's has dominated this series, 36-5, including a 68-61 win at the Mullins Center on Jan. 8. Massachusetts, which is just 2-18 against Saint Joseph's on the road, has lost seven straight games to the Hawks and nine of the last 10. The last time the Minutewomen defeated SJU on the road was Feb. 14, 1998 (55-46).
Scouting The Hawks ... Saint Joseph's enters this evening's game with a 14-9 overall record and it has already clinched the A-10 East title with a 9-3 mark. It is currently ninth in the conference in scoring at 61.6 ppg, while its defense ranks eighth allowing 64.1 ppg. The Hawks are fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.441; 530-1203), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.342; 117-342) and ninth in free throw percentage (.669; 240-359). The Hawks are pulling down 33.2 rebounds a game and committing 18.0 turnovers a contest.
Center Irina Krasnoshiok leads Saint Joseph's and is seventh in the conference in scoring with 15.1 ppg. She is also second on the team pulling down 5.8 rpg. Forward Stephanie Graff leads the team in rebounding at 7.3 rpg and is second pouring in 11.6 ppg. Guard Erin Brady is third on the team in scoring at 11.3 ppg, while her 5.48 apg ranks first in the team and second in the league.
The Series ... Saint Joseph's has dominated this series which dates back to the 1977-78 season. SJU holds a 36-5 edge over Massachusetts, including an 18-2 mark at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. The Hawks were victorious already this season, 68-61, on Jan. 8 at the Mullins Center. Massachusetts has lost seven straight to its Philadelphia rival and nine of the last 10. The last time the Minutewomen defeated Saint Joseph's on the road was Feb. 14, 1998 (55-46).
Last Game Against the Hawks ... In the first meeting this year, Saint Joseph's defeated Massachusetts, 68-61, on Jan. 8 at the Mullins Center. Massachusetts opened up the second half on a 7-1 run, erasing a four-point deficit and taking its first lead since 3-2 early in the first half. A three-pointer by senior Ebony Pegues gave the Minutewomen a 41-40 lead, but Erin Brady scored a basket on the other end to give SJU the lead again. On the ensuing possession, UMass senior Jen Butler made one of two free throws to tie the game at 42, but a field goal by the Hawks' Irina Krasnoshiok gave them the lead back for good. UMass played good defense the remainder of the second half, but made just five field goals over the last 16:19 and shot just .280 (7-25) in the half. After SJU built a six-point lead at the 11:56 mark (52-46), the Minutewomen cut it to one a minute later. UMass had two chances to retake the lead but was unable to record a field goal. The Hawks used a quick 6-0 spurt to go back up by seven (58-51) and UMass was unable to get any closer than five the rest of the way. UMass had four players reach double figures, led by Butler's 16. She also pulled down 16 boards and dished out four assists. Sophomore Katie Nelson added 12 points and four assists with no turnovers, while Pegues had 14 points and five assists.
Who Needs A Break?? ... In its first nine games, Massachusetts was sitting pretty at 8-1, but Head Coach Marnie Dacko certainly regrets the two-week lay-off that the Minutewomen took prior to the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla., Dec. 28-29. Since the two-week hiatus, Dacko's troops have gone just 4-10. During the 8-1 start, the Minutewomen averaged 64.2 ppg and allowed a mere 55.9 ppg, while spending much of the time ranked in the RPI top 10. Since then, however, the Minutewomen are scoring 62.0 ppg and allowing 64.0 ppg. In the first month of the season, the Minutewomen shot .412 (215-522) from the field and .675 (112-166) at the foul line, but have since connected at just a .383 (334-872) rate from the field and a dismal .590 (131-222) at the charity stripe. In its 10 losses since the break, the Minutewomen have lost by an average score of 7.9 points, but two of those contests went into overtime, including one double-overtime affair.
She's Not A Thief ... With a season-high seven steals Feb. 13 at George Washington, Jen Butler became the school's all-time leader with 218 as she continues to rewrite the UMass record book. Butler has now amassed 225 thefts and is third in the A-10 this season averaging 2.35 spg. In conference games this year, she leads the way averaging 2.67 steals a game.
The Next 1,000-Point Scorer ... When senior Nekole Smith converted a lay-up, her eight and ninth points of the game, at the 3:58 mark of the first half Jan. 18 against St. Bonaventure, she became the 14th Minutewoman to eclipse the 1,000-point plateau. Smith finished with 12 points in UMass' 70-48 win over the Bonnies and now has 1,105 for her career, good a 10th-place tie on the all-time scorers list. The Ann Arbor, Mich., native is enjoying a break-out season as she is second on the team and 12th in the conference in scoring with a 14.0 ppg average. Smith entered the season averaging 8.9 ppg. She is also first on the team and tied for seventh in the A-10, connecting at a .500 (135-270) clip from the floor. She currently sits in seventh place all-time with a career .484 (461-952) field goal percentage. On Jan. 12 at Fordham, Smith scored a career-high 23 points to lead all scorers and has tallied double figures all but four times this year.
Increasing Attendance ... The success that the Minutewomen have enjoyed this season is starting to show at the box office. In the 66-51 win over La Salle on Feb. 2, a season-high 931 fans came through the Mullins Center turnstiles. That was the highest UMass home attendance since 1,170 fans witnessed a 66-42 win over Fordham on Feb. 24, 2000. For the year, Massachusetts is averaging 697 fans per home game. That is nearly a 153 percent increase over last year's season average of 456 fans a game. The Minutewomen have played before more than 2,000 fans twice this year (at Xavier and at Florida).
30/20 Vision ... With a 14-point, 14-rebound effort in the Feb. 13 65-59 overtime loss at George Washington, Jen Butler posted her Atlantic 10-leading 18th double-double. The senior All-America candidate has already recorded three 30-plus point games and has grabbed at least 20 rebounds on four separate occasions. She has been named the A-10 Player of the Week and Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week three times this year.
Passing's The Name Of The Game ... Massachusetts currently ranks fourth in the conference averaging 16.17 assists per game. The Minutewomen, who average 23.9 field goals per game, record an assist 68 percent of the time. Two Minutewomen rank in the top eight for assists in the conference as Ebony Pegues is fifth handing out 4.57 helpers a game, while Katie Nelson is eighth with 3.95 apg. In the 16 games where Nelson plays at least 31 minutes, her average jumps to 4.50 assists per game. Massachusetts is the only A-10 school with two players in the top 10 for assists. The Minutewomen are averaging 16.3 apg in wins and 16.0 apg in losses, but are 5-1 when recording at least 19 helpers. In the first nine games of the season, in which UMass went 8-1, it has 14.9 apg. In the 14 games since then, it has recorded 17.0 apg, but gone 4-10 over that stretch.
Balance Out Those Miscues ... Massachusetts may turn the ball over a lot (16.7 TO/G), but it can sure balance them out with assists. The Minutewomen rank third in the league with a 0.96 assist to turnover ratio. Katie Nelson leads the league with a 2.59 ratio following her career-high eight helpers and one turnover Jan. 24 at Xavier. Her 28 turnovers before suffering an injury are the fewest of any player in the top 15. She did record one in three minutes at GW Feb. 13 when trying to make a comeback.
No Blowouts Here ... No one can say that the Minutewomen are not in ball games this season. Out of its 11 losses thus far, UMass has had a lead in the second half eight times. Massachusetts has jumped out to at least a four-point lead by halftime seven times as well and has held double-digit advantages on three occasions. During UMass' recent streak in which it has lost six of seven games, the Minutewomen jumped out to quick leads six times. UMass led Xavier, 26-19 mid-way through the first half Jan. 24, but the Musketeers fought back to tie it at halftime. Two days later at Dayton, UMass went on top 15-5, 3:57 into the game, but the Flyers went into the locker room up by two. Jan. 30 against URI, the Minutewomen were up 9-3, but the Rams came charging back and led by six points at halftime.
UMass went to the State Farm Classic in Gainesville, Fla. Dec. 28-29, sitting pretty at 8-1, but lost two tough games to Florida and Michigan. The Minutewomen blew a 15-point first half lead against the Gators and were up by 14 at the half against Michigan. Feb. 9 at St. Bonaventure, the Minutewomen cut a 12-point Bonnies lead to a point at the 9:43 mark of the second half, but missed an opportunity to take the lead on four consecutive possessions and eventually lost by six points. On Feb. 13, in our nation's capital, the Minutewomen overcame a 10-point halftime deficit at George Washington and had a late lead only to lose in overtime. The Minutewomen were up two points with under four minutes left and had several chances to go up by two possessions, but were plagued by turnovers. Last Sunday at home against Richmond, Massachusetts led by as many as seven points in the second half, but a 13-0 run by the Spiders late in the game handed UMass its eighth conference loss. The Minutewomen went 6:47 all told in the final nine minutes without a point.
Struggling At The Line ... In the 68-60 loss at Dayton Jan. 26, Massachusetts made just one trip to the free throw line. With the exception of senior Nekole Smith converting on an old-fashioned three-point play at the 16:38 mark of the first half, UMass did not go to the free throw line despite getting the ball to the post nearly every possession down the floor. The one trip to the charity stripe tied for the fewest ever in a conference game. On Feb. 3, 2000, Rhode Island was 0-1 from the line against Saint Joseph's. The Minutewomen started the season red-hot at the line, but have since struggled and now find themselves last in the league with a .626 (243-388) percentage at the line. The Minutewomen are a dismal .604 (116-192) from the line in conference season. During its 8-1 start to the season, UMass shot .675 (112-166) at the charity stripe.
Last Time Out ... Senior Jennifer Butler scored 15 points and had 19 rebounds and seven steals, but a seven-minute scoring drought gave the University of Richmond (17-7, 8-5) a 69-57 win over the University of Massachusetts (12-11, 4-8) in Atlantic 10 Conference women's basketball action before 873 fans Feb. 16 at the Mullins Center. The conference loss for UMass was its sixth in the last seven games. Leading 52-48 with 8:14 remaining in the game, the Minutewomen seemed poised for their 13th win of the season, but a 13-0 run by the Spiders over the next 4:24 gave Richmond its largest lead of the game at nine, 61-52. It was three minutes later at the 1:27 mark, a span of 6:47, before sophomore Monique Govan was finally able to end the scoring drought for the Minutewomen.
Richmond went on an 8-0 run take an early 12-4 lead, but after a Minutewoman timeout at the 15:48 mark, they controlled play for the rest of the half. Butler's basket at the 10:38 mark evened the score at 17. After a basket by senior Kristin Cannon gave the Minutewomen their largest lead of the game at 36-29 with less than 20 seconds left, Richmond's Cammy Desmond drained a three-pointer just before the half to give the Spiders momentum heading into the locker room. UMass built its lead back to seven to open the second half, but Richmond took advantage of too many Minutewoman turnovers and poor free throw shooting to keep within striking distance. For the game, UMass committed 22 turnovers and shot just 6-12 (.500) from the free throw line. Butler was 3-8 (.375) at the charity stripe, all in the second half. After connecting at a .571 (4-7) rate from three-point range in the first half, UMass was just 1-11 (.091) in the second. Massachusetts held a 38-27 advantage on the boards. Senior Nekole Smith led the Minutewomen with 16 points, while Butler added 15 points, 19 rebounds, seven steals, three blocks and two assists. Govan had nine points and four assists off the bench.
Desmond paced five Richmond double-figure scorers with 20 points. Kate Flavin and Elise Ryder each had 14. Ryder was 4-5 (.800) from three-point range in the second half. Six of the eight Spiders who played had at least two steals, led by Ebony Tanner's five.
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 2002 Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal. She is the 13th player in A-10 history to join the 1,000/1,000 club. She currently leads the nation, pulling down 14.4 boards a game and is third in the conference with a 16.9 ppg average. Butler has recorded a double-double in 19 of 23 games this season and now has 60 in her standout career.
In addition, Butler has grabbed 661 rebounds in 60 career A-10 contests (10.6 rpg). This places her third on the all-time conference chart. She needs just 45 more boards, or 11.3 per game in the regular season, to take over the top spot from Rutgers' Sue Wicks (1985-88).
Injury Update ... Massachusetts, which has been plagued by injuries as of late, is going to need some major contributions from the bench if it intends in making a late-season run. Sophomore Katie Nelson, who injured her knee Jan. 26 against Dayton, tried to return Feb. 13 at GW, but was forced to leave the game after playing just three minutes in the first half. She will likely miss the rest of the season. Freshman Cindy Gonzalez recorded multiple-basket games against La Salle and St. Bonaventure, but left the game against the Bonnies late in the first half with an ankle injury. She is day-to-day. Junior Cleo Foster, who has been bothered with a leg injury all season, will likely be out until the A-10 Tournament. Head Coach Marnie Dacko is looking for sophomore Monique Govan, who scored nine points against Richmond Feb. 16, senior Kristin Cannon, and junior Judit Zsedenyi to fill the void at the guard position.
Tough D ... In 23 games this year, the Minutewomen are yielding a mere 60.8 points per contest, good for third in the Atlantic 10. They have held the opposition at or under 51 points on nine occasions (Sacred Heart 48, Saint Peter's 49, Vermont 48, New Hampshire 50, Rhode Island 45, Villanova 50, Memphis 46, St. Bonaventure 48 and La Salle 51), winning each game. The Minutewomen have held six schools to their season-low for points at the time of the game (Villanova, Saint Peter's, Sacred Heart, Vermont, Rhode Island and La Salle 51, which tied its low mark). On Feb. 13, the Minutewomen held GW, the conference's top scoring team (72.2 ppg) to 65 points, 55 in regulation.
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. 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. The 1978 Southern Connecticut State University graduate is currently 12-11 (.522) at UMass and 92-115 (.444) overall in seven-plus seasons as a head coach. Of the 55 new Division I head coaches, Dacko has made the eighth-best turnaround as the 2001-02 Minutewomen went just 12-18.
What's On Tap ... Massachusetts will remain in the City of Brotherly Love for a huge game at Temple on Sunday, Feb. 23. Tip-off at the Liacouras Center is slated for 2:00 p.m. The Minutewomen are currently tied with Fordham for third-place in the A-10 East, one game behind Temple. After that, UMass will close out the regular season with a pair of games at the Mullins Center. On Thursday, Feb. 27, the Minutewomen will entertain Fordham at 7:00 p.m., and then host Duquesne on Sunday, March 2 at 12:00 p.m. Prior to the game against the Dukes, UMass will briefly recognize the seven seniors on its roster. The Duquesne game will also be dollar fan appreciation day where fans may purchase tickets, hot dogs and soda for a dollar. The game will televised by the A-10 Television Network.