Dec. 7, 2007
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass women's basketball team (3-5) returns home on Saturday, Dec. 8, to take on the Maine Black Bears (1-6) in a noon contest. It will be Alumnae Day and Girl Scouts Day at the Mullins Center. UMass is looking to remain perfect at home, where they are 3-0, and bounce back from an 84-68 loss at St. John's on Tuesday. Maine enters Saturday's game having lost five-straight.
This will be UMass' fourth game against an America East Conference opponent this season. The Minutewomen are currently 2-1 against the conference, with wins over Vermont and Hartford and a loss to Boston University.
Atlantic 10 teams are currently 8-3 versus America East teams this season.
ALUMNAE DAY
Saturday will be Alumnae Day at the Mullins Center as UMass welcomes back Minutewomen of the past. The Alumnae Game will be played at the Curry Hicks Cage after the conclusion of the game vs. Maine.
There will be a ceremony at halftime, as UMass women's basketball will announce the creation of the Christel Zullo Spirit Award. Zullo was a guard who scored 784 points in a career that lasted 1985-89. She lost her life to cancer in February. The award will go to the UMass player each year that exemplifies the energy, enthusiasm, and dedication to the team that Zullo was known for.
BROADCAST INFO
The game will be carried on WMUA 91.1 FM and on UMassAthletics.com with Mike Walsh and Chris Marovelli calling the action. Live stats will also be available via Gametracker at UMassAthletics.com, while streaming video will be on UMass All-Access.
SERIES HISTORY
This will be the 17th time the Minutewomen and Black Bears have squared off, with Maine holding a 10-6 edge. The series dates all the way back to the 1970-71 season.
The last time the teams met was on Dec. 2, 1998, a 64-56 UMass victory at the Mullins Center.
This is the first time UMass Coach Marnie Dacko has faced Maine in her career.
Maine won seven-straight games in this series between 1983 and 1997.
SCOUTING MAINE
The Black Bears are off to a 1-6 start and have dropped five straight. After a season-opening loss at Clemson, Maine picked up its lone win of the year on Nov. 11 versus Dartmouth, 67-53, before losses to Holy Cross, Harvard, Quinnipiac, William and Mary, and Fairfield.
Maine last played on Dec. 2, falling at Fairfield, 76-54.
UMass will be the third game of an eight-game road swing for the Black Bears, which comes after a five-game homestand.
6-0 sophomore forward Brittany Boser is Maine's leading scorer at 11.6 ppg. She averages 6.3 rebounds per game and shoots 55.6% from the field. 6-0 junior forward Colleen Kilmurray is the team's leading rebounder at 7.3 per game and scores 9.7 ppg. 5-8 freshman guard Emily Rouseau has been the threat behind the arc for Maine, shooting 46.2% (12-26) from three-point range.
Cindy Blodgett is in her first year coaching the Black Bears. The 1998 Maine graduate was a four-time All-American and led the nation in scoring two-consecutive seasons. She previously was an assistant at Brown and Boston University.
Maine was 13-15 overall in 2006-07. Its 7-9 record in the America East was good for a tie for fourth-place.
LAST TIME OUT
UMass traveled to Queens, N.Y. on Tuesday to take on Big East foe St. John's. After jumping out to an early 11-4 lead, the Minutewomen fell victim to a Red Storm run midway through the first half that they were unable to recover from, losing 84-68.
Pam Rosanio led UMass with 14 points on 6-for-12 shooting while Stefanie Gerardot finished in double-figures as well with 11 points.
Sakera Young and Cerie Mosgrove both established new career-highs with nine and six points, respectively.
The Red Storm's Monique McLean led all scorers with 22 points and freshman Sky Lindsay added 16.
LAST TIME AT HOME
UMass defeated Hartford, 72-60, on Dec. 1 at the Mullins Center to improve to 3-0 at home. The Hawks had received votes in that week's AP and coaches' polls.
Kate Mills registered her second-straight double-double with 18 points, a career-high 14 rebounds, and six blocks.
Pam Rosanio led all scorers with 22 points and added six rebounds with a game-high five assists.
The Minutewomen shot 50 percent (25-50) from the field while holding the Hawks to 33.3 percent (22-66).
Stefanie Gerardot and Kim Benton each made their first starts of the season and delivered with 11 and eight points, respectively.
Erica Beverly led Hartford with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
MILLS CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER CHARTS
With six rebounds on Tuesday at St. John's, Kate Mills surpassed the 500-rebound mark for her career. She becomes the 13th player in UMass history to amass 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career.
Mills currently has 146 career blocks. With four more she will become just the second player in UMass history with 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 150 blocks in a career. Melissa Gurile had 1,679 points, 830 rebounds, and 182 blocks in a career that spanned 1992 to 1996.
PLAYING TEAM BASKETBALL
A good sign of team basketball is high assist numbers and UMass has certainly achieved that this year. The Minutewomen are third in the Atlantic 10 in assists with 15.9 per game.
In eight games this season junior point guard Sakera Young leads the way with 27 assists. Pam Rosanio is second with 22, while Alisha Tatham and Kate Mills have 20 and 19, respectively.
The Minutewomen recorded an assist on 69 percent of their baskets last year.
So far this season they are on almost the same pace, with 127 assists on 199 field goals (64%).
SHARP SHOOTERS
The Minutewomen boast the top field goal percentage in the Atlantic 10 thus far in 2007-08 with a .437 (199-455) mark. They are also the best in the A-10 from the charity stripe with a .740 (108-146) free throw percentage.
Three of the top-12 field goal percentages in the A-10 are owned by Minutewomen. Pam Rosanio is seventh in the conference at .512 (42-82). Kate Mills is ninth at .500 (58-116) and Alisha Tatham is 12th at .490 (25-51). No other team has more than two in the top-15 (Dayton, Duquesne).
UMass shooters also have put up the conference's top-two shooting performances of the season thus far. Kate Mills' 9-for-11 shooting display in her 22-point game versus Jacksonville on Nov. 23 was the best percentage in a game this season (.818). Stefanie Gerardot shot 8-of-10 in UMass' home victory over Boston College on Nov. 14 on the way to her career-high 20 points.
Pam Rosanio is tied with three players for the best performance from the free throw line in a game this season. She was a perfect 8-of-8 versus Jacksonville on Nov. 23 when she finished with 20 points.
UMass was one of the top shooting teams in the league last season. The Minutewomen finished second in the A-10 shooting 44 percent from the field and were just .005 points behind first-place Temple.
Kate Mills led the league in 2006-07, shooting .538 from the floor (193-of-359).
ROSANIO DOING IT ALL
Now in her senior season, Pam Rosanio continues to be a leader in the backcourt. The Southampton, Pa. native has finished in the top-three on the team in scoring in her first three seasons. She was also named Second Team All-Conference two of those years.
Rosanio is second on the team in scoring at 15.4 points per game and assists with 22. She is third in rebounding at 4.9 per game and second in minutes with 31.0 per game.
In the game at East Carolina, Rosanio logged her 3,000th minute played for UMass. She is the 15th player in school history to reach that plateau and now sits in 12th all-time with 3,083. The last UMass player to eclipse that mark was Tamara Tatham last season (3,509/7th).
Rosanio scored a career-high 25 points versus Vermont on Nov. 9 to become the 17th player in UMass history to reach 1,000.
"When it comes to Pam, I look at her hustle. She's always the first one down the floor and the first one on the break," said Coach Dacko. "She's worked hard at her game, trying to get other opportunities and finding ways to score off the perimeter using screens. Pam's worked on playing effective defense and being able to create some shots for other people. I think she's really going to have an outstanding year."
MILLS LEADING THE WAY
So far in 2007-08, Kate Mills is picking up right where she left off last season, when she eclipsed 1,000 career-points in the season finale. This season she leads the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), blocks (20), and minutes (34.8 per game).
Mills recorded her second-straight double-double and 11th of her career vs. Hartford (12/1).
Mills scored 22 points vs. Jacksonville on Friday while playing only 25 minutes due to foul trouble.
Mills tied her career-high with 28 points at Northeastern on Nov. 17 and was named Atlantic 10 Co-Player of the Week for that week, along with La Salle's Carlene Hightower.
"Kate has grown every year, grown into a leadership role, and grown into really making this her team," said Coach Dacko. "She has been our go-to player. Kate is probably the best perimeter shooter we have as well as the best percentage-wise. Our game is inside-outside, so Kate gets the ball every time down the floor and it's her decision to take it or dish it out. She is also a real stabilizing factor for us defensively."
GERARDOT STEPPING UP
Stefanie Gerardot has taken her game to a new level here in her junior year. Coming into this season she averaged 3.5 ppg and 13.1 minutes per game over her career. This season she is scoring at a 9.4 ppg clip and playing an average of 23.5 minutes per game.
Gerardot scored 11 points in Tuesday's St. John's game to give her double-figures in the last three games.
The Fort Wayne, Ind. native scored a career-high 20 points on 8-for10 shooting, including 4-for-6 from behind the arc, to lead UMass to a 69-66 win over Boston College (11/14).
STARTING TO GET IT WRIGHT
Freshman forward Teya Wright continues to get more minutes coming off the bench for UMass.
The Paterson, N.J. native recorded a career-high 10 rebounds in 18 minutes of action at Boston University on Nov. 28.
Against ECU, Wright grabbed seven boards and four steals.
She set career-highs in minutes (23), and points (11) on Nov. 17 at Northeastern.
"Teya is an outstanding athlete," Dacko said. "She is very gifted. She has a quick release when she's posting up and can get the ball into the bucket. She has a real nose for the basketball and fills the lane. Teya is strong in the post and is going to provide some defensive stability down low."
TATHAM ANSWERING THE CALL
Senior Alisha Tatham has been asked to take on a larger role this season and thus far has responded well. After averaging 25.5 minutes and 6.4 points per game in 2006-07, she is averaging 29.6 minutes and 8.3 points per game this season all while being a key figure on defense. She is also third on the team in assists (20) and field goal percentage (.490).
Tatham has tied her career-high with 14 points in back-to-back games vs. Boston College (11/14) and Northeastern (11/17).
"Alisha is one of the hardest workers I've ever coached in my life," said Dacko. "She brings a great deal of leadership and is a tremendous student-athlete. She is in incredible shape after traveling all over with Canada Basketball this summer. She is very passionate about basketball, her teammates, and her school."
THE BULLDOG: DANGEROUS FROM LONG-RANGE
Kim Benton, aka The Bulldog, is one of UMass' top three-point specialists and is looking to build upon a successful freshman season. Benton nailed 50 three's last year, the third highest total in school history, and shot .350 from long range.
Benton leads the team again this season with 11 field goals from long range.
She's not only a shooter however, as she has 17 assists on the season.
Benton has moved into the starting lineup in the last two games, scoring eight points vs. Hartford and three at St. John's.
"Kim understands the leadership role from the point guard position," Coach Dacko said. "She is a great shooter, but she's not someone who we want to just take outside shots. She has worked on finding other ways to score and helping her teammates score. Defensively, Kim has got to be able to really control the top of the perimeter for us to be successful."
SUCCESS OVERSEAS
2007 UMass alum Tamara Tatham is finding success in her first season playing professionally in Europe. She is a starter for Catz Lappeenranta of the Finnish Basketball Association.
In 15 games this season, Tatham is averaging 15.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, and 3.8 steals per game while shooting 49.7 percent. She is currently her team's leading scorer and ranks ninth in the league.
The Catz are 14-1 and in first-place in the nine-team league.
Tatham averaged 12.8 ppg and 9.0 rpg last season for the Minutewomen.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB
Pam Rosanio joined select company in Nov. 9's season-opening win versus Vermont. She became the 17th player in UMass history to reach the 1,000-point mark. She ended last season with 988 and poured in a career-high 25 in the 69-68 victory.
The last UMass player to reach the 1,000-point plateau was fellow-senior Kate Mills. She reached the mark just last season, in the finale versus St. Bonaventure. Now in their fourth season playing together, Mills (1,130) sits just ahead of Rosanio (1,111) in career points.
The pair continues to climb up UMass' all-time scoring list. Mills is currently 13th and Rosanio sits 14th in career points.
Mills is just two points behind Kathy Coyner for 12th on the career-scoring list. Coyner was a 5-6 guard that played 1997-01.
MILLS NAMED TO A-10 PRESEASON TEAM
Prior to the start of the 2007-08 season, senior forward Kate Mills was named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference Second Team as voted on by the league's coaches and media.
Mills, a Third-Team All-Conference selection at the conclusion of last season, was UMass' leading scorer averaging 16.1 points per game. She also led the club in field goal percentage (.538), free throw percentage (.819), and blocks (64). She finished second on the team in minutes (1004) and rebounds (6.9 per game). Her field goal percentage was also tops in the A-10, while her blocks total was good for second in the conference. In all, Mills finished in the top 15 in the conference in seven individual statistical categories. She recorded her 1000th career point, becoming the 16th player in school history to do so, on March 2 versus St. Bonaventure.
UMASS PICKED TO FINISH 7TH IN ATLANTIC 10 PRESEASON COACHES/MEDIA POLL
The Minutewomen were picked to finish seventh in the A-10 Coaches/Media Poll among the 14-team conference earlier this season. George Washington, the 2006-07 A-10 champ, was unanimously picked to repeat.
Xavier and Charlotte tied in votes for second. They finished third and fourth, respectively, last season. Temple was predicted to drop from second to fourth place while Saint Joseph's slipped from fifth to sixth. Richmond was picked to move up from a three-way tie with UMass and La Salle in 2006-07 to fifth this season.
NEXT GAME: AT VILLANOVA
The Minutewomen will continue their December-weekday tour of the Big East Conference on Tuesday when they head to Villanova to take on the Wildcats in a 7 p.m. contest at The Pavilion. Last Wednesday UMass played at St. John's and Monday, Dec. 31, the Minutewomen will close out 2007 at Providence.
The game will be carried on WMUA 91.1 FM and on live stats will be available on Gametracker at UMassAthletics.com. Villanova.com will have streaming video of the game via All-Access.
