University of Massachusets Athletics
Women's Basketball Closes Out Regular Season Sunday At URI
February 26, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Feb. 26, 2005
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
First Round Bye In A-10 Tournament On The Line As UMass Closes Out Regular Season At URI
• Massachusetts (13-13, 6-9) looks to secure a bye in the first round of the A-10 Tournament with a win Sunday afternoon at Rhode Island (7-19, 5-10).
• UMass leads the Rams by a game for second-place in the A-10 East and can clinch a bye with a win this afternoon. A loss, however, could drop UMass as far as fourth depending on the outcome of the Fordham/Duquesne game.
• UMass is coming off a heart-breaking loss Thursday night at the Mullins Center against #16/16 Temple.
• With the score tied at 63, Temple's Cynthia Jordan hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to deny the Minutewomen their upset bid. For Jordan, it was her only field goal of the game.
• URI, meanwhile, lost Thursday at Fordham, 67-65.
• Rhode Island upset UMass 60-59 last Thursday at the Mullins Center on Field Trip Day.
• The Minutewomen enjoyed a 16-point lead in the first half and were up by 10 at halftime.
• URI freshman Safi Mojidi hit the game-winning shot with seven seconds left in regulation. It came just seconds after UMass freshman Pam Rosanio hit to free throws to put the Minutewomen back on top.
• There were 10 lead changes and three ties in the final 5:28.
• Despite the loss, UMass still leads the all-time series, 30-25. It is actually better on the road (14-9) against URI than at home (13-13). UMass has lost four straight to the Rams.
Scouting Rhode Island
• Rhode Island enters the regular season finale one game behind the Minutewomen at 5-10 in league play and 7-19 overall. The Rams are seventh in the league in scoring (59.5 ppg), 12th in scoring defense (67.9 ppg), seventh in field goal percentage (.394), seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.319), second in free throw percentage (.719), 12th in rebounding (32.0-36.7; -4.7) and fourth in turnovers (20.8-21.7; +0.96).
• Peta Kneen leads three Rhody double-figure scorers with 14.4 ppg. Tanya Rhodes is second at 13.0 ppg and has a team-high 7.1 rebounds a game, while Mojidi is third at 12.1 ppg. Rhodes (3.14) and Mojidi (2.50) are first and third respectively in the conference in steals.
Campbell Kid Likes February
• UMass senior Brooke Campbell has shown that she really enjoys the month of February.
• In the six games this month, Campbell is averaging 12.5 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 4.67 apg and 3.33 spg.
• Campbell is shooting 63 percent from the field (33-52).
Stepping Up The D
• On Feb. 11, Massachusetts held Dayton to 30 points en route to a 52-30 win. It was the fewest amount of points allowed by a UMass team since beating UConn, 41-28, on Jan. 30, 1975.
• It also marked the fewest point total that any A-10 foe has ever scored against the Minutewomen.
• That was the third time this year that UMass has held an opponent under 40 points. On Jan. 13, the Minutewomen held Saint Joseph's to 33 points in a 42-33 win. UMass also defeated Providence, 53-39, on Dec. 1, 2004.
• The Minutewomen currently rank first in the Atlantic 10 and 15th in the country allowing a mere 54.8 ppg.
• The Minutewomen have held each of their opponents this season to 67 or less points.
• In addition, all of its opponents have been held below their season averages.
• The Minutewomen are also first in the league and 19th nationally in field goal percentage defense holding their opponents to a .361 clip from the field.
• UMass held three straight opponents to under 30 percent from the field. Toledo shot .299 from the field on Dec. 6, while Hofstra was .286 from the field on Dec. 9. UMass then held Siena to 24 percent shooting from the field on Dec. 12.
• Only eight of the Minutewomen's 26 opponents this season have shot better than 39 percent from the field.
• On Feb. 20, Richmond shot 40 percent from the field against UMass. The Spiders came into the game ranked 25th in the nation shooting 45 percent from the field.
Second Half D
• The Minutewomen have been especially tough defensively in the second half and that has been a major part of its wins.
• In its 13 wins, Massachusetts is holding its opponents to a 28 percent (106-377) clip from the field in the second half. They are shooting 40 percent (123-312) in the first halves of those games.
Play-Off Situation
• For UMass to earn the all-important bye in next week's A-10 Tournament, it will need to defeat Rhode Island. A win clinches second-place, but a loss could slip the Minutewomen as far down as fourth.
• If UMass were to lose, then its seed will depend on the outcome of the Fordham at Duquesne game later this afternoon at 5:00.
• If the Rams win, then UMass would be fourth. UMass, URI and Fordham would all be tied at 6-10 in the league, but UMass would lose the tiebreaker to both of them.
• If Fordham loses, then UMass would be the No. 3 and URI would get two.
Where Did The Defense Go?
• Looking at the UMass/Temple game Feb. 24 on paper, many people would have expected a defensive struggle.
• After all, UMass entered the game as the best defensive team in the conference and 15th in the country, while the Owls were just behind the Minutewomen and 17th nationally.
• UMass and Temple were also 19th and 38th respectively in field goal percentage defense.
• What happened, however, was an offensive shoot-out.
• Temple came away with a 66-63 win on Cynthia Jordan's three-pointer at the buzzer.
• The Minutewomen shot 53 percent from the field in the game while Temple connected at a 48 percent rate. In the second half, UMass was a blistering 61 percent and Temple was 58 percent.
Dramatic Change On The Road
• Prior to its win at Fordham on Feb. 13, 2004, the Minutewomen had gone 19 consecutive road games without a win, the longest streak in school history. Massachusetts lost its final two road games last year and took a streak into this year where it had lost 22 of 23 games on the road.
• UMass has turned that around this year, however, and are 6-6 on the road. Three of its six losses (Maryland, Temple, George Washington) have come to teams at least receiving votes in both polls at the time of the game.
• The Minutewomen had their four-game road winning streak snapped Dec. 29 by #17/17 Maryland. They then suffered a 59-43 set-back to Temple on Jan. 5. The Owls were receiving votes in both polls at the time.
• The last four-game winning streak on the road came during a five-game run in the 1997-98 season. The Minutewomen defeated five straight A-10 foes that year (Temple, La Salle, Rhode Island, Saint Joseph's and St. Bonaventure).
• This was also the first time that the Minutewomen started off the season winning its first four road games since 1979-80.
• The previous time a UMass team won just two straight road games to start a season was in 1997-98. That was also the last time the Minutewomen advanced to the NCAA Tournament. UMass defeated Hartford, 65-33, on Nov. 25, 1997, and Kent, 67-65, on Nov. 28, 1997. The Minutewomen lost their next game to Ohio State, 59-56.
Dishing It Out In Style
• As a team, Massachusetts had 28 assists in the Dec. 6 win against Toledo to set a new school record. This surpassed the previous mark of 27 set on Feb. 24, 1986, against Temple.
• The 28 assists by the Minutewomen were also the most by an Atlantic 10 team since Saint Joseph's had 28 against St. Bonaventure on Jan. 13, 2002.
• Point guard Katie Nelson led the way with seven helpers, just one off her career-high.
• As a team, the Minutewomen are tied fore eighth in the league averaging 13.46 assists a game.
• Nelson also ranks sixth in the league handing out 3.69 helpers a game.
• She tied her career-high by dishing out eight assists Jan. 21 against Duquesne.
• Brooke Campbell set a new career-high by handing out seven helpers Feb. 11 against Dayton. She had six in the previous game against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 6.
Lights, Camera, Action
• UMass is 5-0 this year when on the tube. It has defeated Providence (COX-3), Hofstra (METRO), Saint Joseph's (A-10 TV), St. Bonaventure (A-10 TV) and Dayton (Time Warner Cable) this season already when on TV.
• UMass will make at least one more appearance on television when its Feb. 27 regular season finale is televised by COX-3. The semifinals and championship of the A-10 Tournament will also be televised.
Five For Fighting
• In UMass' 69-58 win against St. Bonaventure Feb. 6, the starting five accounted for every point.
• The last time the Minutewomenn had no bench points was in a 59-51 loss to George Washington on March 3, 1996, in the A-10 Semifinals.
• Every starter recorded at least 11 points against the Bonnies marking the second time this season that UMass had five double-figure scorers. • Five Minutewomen also recorded double-figures at Hofstra on Dec. 9, 2004.
• That was the first time that the five Massachusetts starters all scored at least 10 points since March 2, 2002. The Minutewomen defeated Duquesne, 77-68.
Near Perfect December
• With the Minutewomen's 59-49 win Dec. 12 at Siena, it marked the first time in two years that they had won five games in a row.
• UMass' last five-game winning streak was part of a six-game run from Dec. 1-Dec. 14, 2002. The Minutewomen knocked off Toledo, Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Villanova and Northeastern during that stretch.
• The Minutewomen concluded the month of December with a 6-1 record.
Dacko Likes December
• Massachusetts defeated Elon, 57-50, to finish the month of December 6-1.
• In three seasons at the helm of Massachusetts, head coach Marnie Dacko is 15-6 in the month of December. Just seven of those 21 games have come at home and the Minutewomen won each of those contests.
Big Night For the Freshman
• Freshman Pam Rosanio set a career-high with 24 points Jan. 24 against Saint Joseph's. This came just eight days after scoring a then-career-high 19 points against Fordham on Jan. 16.
• In just her third career game Nov. 23 at Holy Cross, Rosanio showed UMass what may be in store for the next four years. After UMass had blown an eight-point lead with under five minutes left, Rosanio hit a shot with seven seconds remaining in regulation to give UMass its first win of the season.
• The basket by Rosanio capped a then-career-high 16-point night. She was 7-for-14 from the field, 1-for-2 from three-point range and also added two rebounds and two assists.
• Rosanio leads the team in scoring at 11.1 ppg and is a three-time Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week selection.
• She also has three, 20-point games. Most recently, she scored 20 Feb. 24 vs. Temple.
Settling into a starting role
• Kate Mills broke out for a career-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field at Temple, Jan. 5. Mills also grabbed four rebounds against the Owls and had a career-high three steals. She played 30 minutes, 17 more than her previous high.
• She was named A-10 Rookie of the Week on Jan. 9 for her efforts. Mills averaged 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game in UMass' first week of league play.
• Mills earned her first start of the season Feb. 6 vs. St. Bonaventure and responded nicely with 11 points, six rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and three steals.
• She has started in all but one game since then averaging 10.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in those contests.
• The only game she did not start was on Senior Night to allow senior Edris Bailey to get the nod.
• For the season, Mills is averaging 5.7 ppg and 3.2 rpg. She is averaging 18.1 minutes a game and has seen action in every contest thus far.
• Mills has become one of the top shot blockers in the league. She now has 19 in the past 24 games and is second on the team with 20.
• Her 20 blocks this year are the third-most for a freshman in the league and 11th-most overall.
Top Youngsters
• Freshman Pam Rosanio's 11.1 ppg tally not only leads the team, but it is the second-highest average of any freshman in the league. Safi Mojidi of Rhode Island leads the way with 12.1 ppg.
Nelson's Back
• Redshirt junior point guard Katie Nelson returns to the back court after sitting out last year following knee surgery. She came back in style averaging 8.5 points, 4.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds in two games at the Moran Realty Classic (Nov. 19-20) en route to All-Tournament team honors.
• Prior to injuring her knee Jan. 26, 2003 at Dayton, Nelson had started in each of her 48 career games since arriving in Amherst. She averaged 37.1 minutes as a sophomore in 2002-03 and was the only member of either team to play in all 50 minutes of the Minutewomen's, 78-70, double-overtime loss to Florida in the State Farm Classic Dec. 28, 2002. Nelson red-shirted the 2003-04 season.
• Nelson, whose father William is the head men's basketball coach at Johns Hopkins (Md.) University, has already cracked the top two in three-point field goals made and attempted. Nelson currently ranks second all-time in school history with 465 attempts and also with 143 three-point field goals made. Nelson also ranks 10th with a .308 percentage from behind the arc.
• Nelson also earned All-Tournament honors at the Terrapin Classic, Dec. 29-30. She averaged 11.0 ppg and 3.5 apg.
• Nelson is third on the team this year averaging 8.1 ppg and has a team-high 96 assists (3.69 apg).
• Nelson's 263 career assists place her ninth on the school's all-time career chart.
Up And Down At The Line
• Sophomore Tamara Tatham has certainly had a roller coaster ride at the free throw line during a three-game stretch earlier.
• Tatham began the period by going 6-for-6 at the charity stripe against 20th-ranked Boston College on Nov. 27. She then came back the next game and went just 2-for-10 from the free throw line in a win at Providence Dec. 1.
• Tatham had just two freebies Dec. 4 against Syracuse, but they could not have come at a bigger time. The Brampton, Ontario, native had a one-and-one opportunity with just 11 seconds left in regulation and the game tied at 50.
• She calmly drilled the first one to put the Minutewomen up a point. Following a Syracuse timeout, she nailed the second one which turned out to be the game-winner and the Minutewomen got the W.
80 Percent Is Better
• Massachusetts came into the Dec. 12 game at Siena shooting 46 percent from the free throw line. That ranked last in the league and 320th in the nation out of 324 teams.
• UMass might have single-handedly won the game against the Saints because of its shooting from the charity stripe. The Minutewomen were 20-for-25 (.800) from the line against Siena, including 13-for-15 (.867) in the second half.
• Including that game, Massachusetts has fared much better from the line. In the past 18 games, the Minutewomen are shooting 63 percent (185-294) at the charity stripe.
• For the season, Massachusetts is now shooting 58 percent from the free throw line.
Double-Double Campbell
• For the first time in her career, senior Brooke Campbell posted three consecutive double-double performances.
• The Baltimore, Md., native had 16 points and 10 rebounds against Syracuse on Dec. 4. She followed that up with an 11-point, 13-board game against Toledo on Dec. 6 and then 12 points and 14 rebounds against Hofstra on Dec. 9.
• For her efforts, Campbell earned co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors on Dec. 12. Campbell averaged 11.5 points and 13.5 rebounds against Toledo and Hofstra.
• Campbell then posted another double with 10 points and 10 rebounds against La Salle Jan. 7. Her four double-doubles are tied for the eighth-most in the A-10 this season.
• She was also named the Dinn Brothers/UMass Athlete of the Week on Dec. 13. It marked the third straight week that a women's basketball player earned that feat.
• Campbell had her best all-around game of the season Feb. 13 at Xavier. She had a team-high 18 points (16 in the second half) on 8-of-11 shooting from the field. Campbell also grabbed nine boards and tied a career-high with seven steals.
• Campbell had an old fashioned three-point play on three straight possessions of the second half. Two of them were set up by steals in the back court.
• For the season, Campbell is averaging 8.3 points per game and is fourth in the league pulling down 8.3 boards a game.
Solid Debut • Freshman Pam Rosanio had one of the better debuts in a UMass uniform. The Southampton, Pa., native had a game-high 11 points in the Minutewomen's 54-49 opening night loss to Southern California. This was the third-highest point total of any freshman playing in their first game the past 15 seasons.
Top Five Freshman Debuts (Last 15 Yrs)
Rk. Player Pts. Opponent Date
1. Kelly Van Huisen 14 Ohio State 11/24/96
2. Paige Harris 13 Charlotte 11/20/00
3. Pam Rosanio 11 USC 11/19/04
4. Tamara Tatham 10 Sacred Heart 11/21/03
5. Jennifer Butler 9 Clemson 11/19/99
Home Cookin'
• UMass has won 22 of the last 36 games on its home floor including nine of the past 11 non-conference tilts.
• In the annual "Rage In The Cage" contest, the Minutewomen are 3-0. That started in the 2002-03 season and one game a year is played in the historic Curry Hicks Cage. Massachusetts has defeated Villanova, Vermont and Syracuse there.
Grabbing Those Boards
• Massachusetts has used a balanced effort on the glass to rank second in the A-10 in rebounding with 38.5 boards a game. The Minutewomen's +3.8 rebounding margin is third in the league and 62nd in the nation.
• UMass has held the edge on the glass in 18 of its 26 games thus far.
• UMass pulled down a season-high 50 rebounds Feb. 11 at Dayton. It was the most rebounds since grabbing 54 vs. La Salle on March 6, 2003.
They're Thieves
• UMass has quietly started racking up the steals and now have the fourth-most in the league. The Minutewomen have 248 thefts, an average of 9.54 a game.
• Two UMass players are among the leaders. Brooke Campbell has 2.46 spg which is fourth in the league, while Tamara Tatham is 11th with 1.85 spg.
• Campbell had a career-high seven steals Jan. 16 against Fordham as well as Feb. 13 at Xavier, while Tatham had a career-high six thefts Dec. 30 against Elon.
• Campbell is also first in the A-10 with 2.80 steals per league game.
Block Party
• The Minutewomen had nine blocked shots against Toledo on Dec. 6 at the Mullins Center. It was the most blocks by a UMass team since it had 12 against Rhode Island on March 3, 1988.
• The nine swats set a new Mullins Center woman's record.
• Three UMass players currently rank among the league leaders. Patrycja Gulak is eighth with 0.96 bpg, Kate Mills is 11th at 0.77 bpg and Tamara Tatham is tied for 14th at 0.54 bpg.
No Sophomore Jinx
• Sophomore Tamara Tatham is out to prove that there is no such thing as a sophomore jinx. After a very solid freshman year, Tatham is second on the team in both scoring (8.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg) this season.
• Tatham tallied her third double-double of the season Feb. 6 against St. Bonaventure with 15 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
• Her three double-doubles are tied for the 11th-most in the A-10 this season.
• Tatham also has 14 blocked shots which is third on the team and tied for 14th in the league.
• In addition, she has 48 steals which is second on the team and 11th in the league.