Dec. 9, 2010
Watch | Listen | GameTracker
Season Stats | PDF Notes 
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass women's basketball team will begin its longest homestand of the season on Saturday, Dec. 11, as the squad will play host to Binghamton at 4:30 p.m. The contest against the Bearcats (4-4) marks the first of three straight for the Minutewomen (1-8) in the Mullins Center and is the opening half of a UMass Basketball doubleheader with the men's team squaring off against Seton Hall at 7 p.m.
Scouting Binghamton
Binghamton (4-4) enters Saturday's contest having won only one road game this season, while posting three at home. At neutral sites, the Bearcats are 0-1 thus far.
The Bearcats won their last contest against Siena, 72-59, as Andrea Holmes led the squad with 21 points. Thus far this season, opponents have tallied 494 points against Binghamton, an average of 61.8 per-contest.
Andrew Holmes paces Binghamton with 15.9 points per-game, along with a team-high 33 assists. Jasbriell Swain has led the way on the defensive end for the Bearcats, corralling 7.6 rebounds per-game and adding a team-high 23 steals.
Other threats for the Bearcats include Kara Elofson, who has posted a team-leading .478 field goal percentage while averaging 11.8 points per-game, good enough for third-best on the team.
Head coach Sharon Dawley carries a 9-6 record coaching against the Bearcats into Saturday's match up, the first meeting between UMass and Binghamton. Previously while at Vermont, Dawley's Catamounts played the Bearcats as a part of their America East conference schedule.
Welcome Back
Sophomore Jasmine Watson saw her first action of the season on Dec. 8 at Boston University and had nine points less than seven minutes into the contest. Watson finished just shy of a double-double with 13 points and a team-leading nine rebounds. The center also hit her first career three-pointer in the contest.
Dating back to last season, Watson has scored in double figures in 14 of the last 18 games she has played.
Triple Threat
Continuing its reputation as one of the best three-point shooting teams in the Atlantic 10, UMass is curretnly tied for first in the conference with a 38.8 (66-for-170) three-point percentage and is third in made threes with an average of 7.3 per-contest.
Individually, Zullo and Mosgrove rank in the top-10 in the conference in three-point percentage and have combined for nearly 60% of the team's treys. Zullo is sixth in the A-10, shooting 46.9% from beyond the arc (23-for-49) and Mosgrove is 10th, shooting 41.0% (16-for-39). Zullo also ranks second in made threes, with an average of 2.6 per-game and is on pace to eclipse her total of 54 from last season.
Center Of Attention
Sophomore Jasmine Watson, UMass' top returning scorer, was named to the preseason Atlantic 10 third team this fall.
The league's reigning Rookie of the Year, Watson played in all 30 games in 2009-10, starting the final 16. She finished second on the squad in scoring last season with 307 points, an average of 10.2 per-game, and brought down a team-best 176 rebounds (5.9 per-game). She also registered 38 blocks for an average of 1.3 per-game.
Watson, who was named A-10 Rookie of the Week a school-record four times, finished her rookie campaign as the leading freshman scorer in the Atlantic 10. In conference play, Watson averaged a team-best 13.0 points per-game to rank 10th in the conference.
The center scored in double figures 16 times in 2009-10 and had two 20-point games and two double-doubles, including a season-high 21 points against Fordham on Feb. 6. She was the team's leading scorer on six occasions and the leading rebounder 11 times.
Watson is just the third player in program history to log 300+ points and 150+ rebounds as a freshman. She joins Melissa Gurile and Octavia Thomas in that elite group. Both Gurile and Thomas finished their UMass careers with 1,500+ points and 800+ rebounds.
A Little Help From My Friends
Against Boston College on Dec. 5, the Minutewomen handed out 26 assists on 29 baskets, the most since the program record of 28 in a game was set on Dec. 6, 2004, against Toledo.
Individually, Megan Zullo is third in the Atlantic 10 in assists per-game with a 5.0 average and began the week ranked 38th nationally. She currently has 45 in nine games.
Three Minutewomen (Zullo, Kelly Robinson and Abbey Lalime) have posted 5+ assist games this season, the most recent being Zullo and Lalime with seven and five, respectivley against Boston College. Zullo has seven career 5+ assist games.
Offense Turning It On
The Minutewomen have been heating things up offensively as of late, shooting above 50% in three of the past four games. Against East Carolina, the squad put up a season-high 83 points and shot a season-best 54.7% (29-for-53) against Boston College last Sunday.
UMass saw four players score in double figures against ECU and Brown, while Sophomore Shakia Robinson and Megan Zullo both scored 20+ against Boston College.
Robinson Earns Pair Of Honors
Sophomore forward Shakia Robinson was named both co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week and co-UMass Athlete of the Week on Dec. 6.
Robinson shared her Atlantic 10 honor with Xavier's Amber Harris after averaging 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and shooting 18-for-35 (72%) in a 1-1 week for the Minutewomen. It marks the first conference Player of the Week honor for UMass since Kate Mills was recognized by the league on Feb. 11, 2008.
In the Minutewomen's first victory of the season, a 78-55 win over Brown on Dec. 1, Robinson contributed 18 points and seven rebounds in 26 minutes on the floor to go along with two steals.
She followed up with her first career double-double on Sunday against Boston College, logging a team-leading 25 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 78.6% from the floor (11-for-14) and playing a career-high 39 minutes.
Home Sweet Home
UMass' three seniors, Stephanie Lawrence, Cerie Mosgrove and Megan Zullo have all been quite comfortable playing on their home court this season all shooting above 42 percent at home in the Mullins Center.
Mosgrove is averaging 14.7 points per-game at home, while Zullo is averaging an eye-popping 9.6 assists per-game in Amherst and has scored 13.0 points per-game.
Reaching New Heights
Returning players Shakia Robinson and Emilie Teuscher both made their first career starts in the season opener against George Mason. Robinson set new career high in steals (5) and scored in double figures for the first time. It also was a first for Robinson leading the team in scoring and rebounding. She improved upon her career high in rebounds just three games later, hauling in 11 boards at Seton Hall, and posted her first career double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds against Boston College.
Teuscher eclipsed her career highs in points and rebounds against Boston College with 13 and seven, respectively.
Sophomore Dee Montgomery registered career highs in rebounds (6) and steals (3) against George Mason, while earning her first career start vs. Maryland and playing a personal-best 27 minutes against the Terps.
Three players set career highs in minutes played at Seton Hall, Robinson and Teuscher with 36 and senior Stephanie Lawrence with 28. Robinson then bested that outing with 39 minutes played against BC.
Senior Cerie Mosgrove corralled a career high eight rebounds at East Carolina and matched her career high in points (19), she surpassed her personal best a game later vs. Brown, totalling 20 points in that contest.
True Minute Women
Seniors Cerie Mosgrove and Megan Zullo and sophomore Shakia Robinson have been fixtures on the floor for UMass this season, all averaging 31+ minutes per-game. Zullo is the team leader in minutes played (38.8 average) and also ranks first in the Atlantic 10 in minutes per-game. She has been on the floor for 349 of 360 possible minutes this season. Mosgrove is currently seventh in the A-10 with 32.7 minutes per-game.
Robinson leads the Minutewomen in scoring with 12.7 points per-game, while Zullo follows with 12.3 points per-game and Mosgrove is contributing 12.2 points per-game.
One of the three has led the team in scoring in eight out of nine games with Zullo and Mosgrove finishing as the leading scorer three times, and Robinson twice. The trio has combined for 15 double-digit scoring performances this season, with Zullo scoring in double figures six consecutive games.
Rookies Doing Their Part
Freshmen Talen Watson and Kelly Robinson have each seen time in the starting lineup this season. Watson began her career by scoring six points against George Mason. Another freshman, Sara English, came off the bench in that contest to make her first appearance in a UMass uniform.
In game two at Providence, Watson, English and Robinson, joined by classmate Abbey Lalime, combined for half of the team's point total. Led by Watson's team-best 11 points, the group registered 24 points against the Friars. Lalime had six points in her collegiate debut.
English managed seven points in six minutes against LSU. Lalime posted her first double-figure scoring performance with 11 at East Carolina while also grabbing five rebounds and dishing three assists. Against Boston College, Lalime logged her first five-assist game with five against the Eagles.
What A Difference A Year Makes
Sophomore Shakia Robinson passed her freshman year playing total of 139 minutes just five games into the 2010-11 season. She passed her 2009-10 rebound total (27) five games in, as well, and has well surpassed her point total, improving from 18 last year to 114 through nine games this season.
Junior Emilie Teuscher has posted new career highs for a season in virtually every statistical category, while 239 of her 369 career minutes have been played this season. Teuscher has 57 points in nine games, not only surpassing her 2009-10 total of 21, but nearly doubling her career total of 34 entering this season. She currently has 36 rebounds after grabbing a total of 11 through her first two campaigns with the Minutewomen.
15 For 30
Sophomore Shakia Robinson poured in 30 points on Nov. 28 at East Carolina, shooting 13-for-19 and 4-6 at the free throw line. It not only marked a career high for Robinson, but was the first 30-point game for a UMass player since Jen Butler had 31 against Temple on Jan 6, 2003, and is tied for ninth-most all-time in a single game by a member of the Minutewomen.
Robinson was 8-for-10 and had 18 points in the second half alone, which equaled her point total from her entire freshman season.
Robinson is just the sixth player in program history to log a 30-point game, joining Butler, Melissa Gurile, Barbara Hebel, Julie Ready and Octavia Thomas. All five of those players finished their UMass careers with 1,400+ points and rank in the top-10 in career scoring.
The UMass single game record for points is 38, set by Gurile on Dec. 11, 1993 against Providence.
Zullo Sets Mullins Assist Record
Senior Megan Zullo recorded a remarkable 13 assists on 21 UMass baskets (19 possible assist opportunities since two field goals in the contest were her own), setting a new women's Mullins Center record for a single game on Nov. 12 vs. George Mason. Her previous career high was seven against Fordham on Feb. 6, 2010.
The total is second all-time in program history for a single game, trailing only her aunt, the late Christel Zullo, who dished 15 assists against Temple on Feb. 14, 1986.
The previous Mullins Center record was last set by Diatiema Hill during the 2009-10 season with 11 assists on Senior Day vs. Saint Joseph's.
UMass Women's Basketball Radio Show On WMUA
Throughout the 2010-11 season, catch up on what's going on with the Minutewomen as WMUA broadcasters John Windheim and Matt Lopes talk with head coach Sharon Dawley and other special guests from the UMass women's basketball team on the UMass Women's Basketball Coach's Show, Mondays from 5 to 5:30 p.m. on WMUA 91.1 FM and www.wmua.org.
Upcoming show dates include: 12/13, 12/20, 1/10, and 1/17.
A New Era
Sharon Dawley, the former women's basketball coach at the University of Vermont, was named as the 10th head coach in progam history on April 6, 2010. Dawley joins Minutewomen after a highly successful tenure with the Catamounts that included two consecutive America East titles (2008-09 and 2009-10) and three straight postseason berths.
In seven seasons at Vermont, Dawley posted a mark of 128-86 (.598) and holds a career record of 266-156 (.630) in her 17th season as a head coach. She became the winningest coach in Vermont women's basketball history when the Catamounts upset No. 7-seed Wisconsin in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on March, 21, 2010, the program's first NCAA tournament victory.
A native of Revere, Mass., Dawley was inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in October of 2009.
Dawley earned her first victory as UMass head coach on Dec. 1, 2010, a 78-55 win over Brown at home in the Mullins Center.
The Supporting Cast
Joining head coach Sharon Dawley on the sidelines are Steve Lanpher, Jen MacAulay, Morgan Valley and Alison Brown.
Both Lanpher and MacAulay came to UMass from Vermont along with Dawley, while Brown was one of Dawley's former players at UVM. Lanpher's background includes 10 years of head coaching experience and nearly 20 seasons overall.
Valley is a native of Vermont, but joins Dawley's staff from Towson. She was a member of three NCAA national championship teams at the University of Connecticut and won two BIG EAST titles while playing for the Huskies from 2000-04. She helped the squad to a four-year record of 139-8.
From Near And Far
UMass' 13-player roster is comprised of individuals from 11 different states and provinces. Senior Cerie Mosgrove is the lone representative from the state of Massachusetts, hailing from Needham.
Megan Zullo and Millie Niggeling are the first Minutewomen in program history from their respective home states of North Carolina and Iowa.
New Faces
The Minutewomen have welcomed six new players to the fold this fall: freshman guards Abbey Lalime, Kelly Robinson and Talen Watson, freshmen centers Sara English and Millie Niggeling and sophomore guard Carolann Cloutier.
Among the high school accompishments of this group, Talen Watson helped Arundel High School to a state title, Lalime was tabbed the Vermont Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Year and Niggeling won two state championships at Bishop Heelan High School.
Cloutier, a transfer from Old Dominion, played with Team Canada at the World University games before college.
Both Cloutier and Niggeling with redshirt the 2010-11, season, Cloutier's is per-NCAA transfer rules.
Three Party
The 2010-11 UMass roster contains three of the best three-point shooters in program history as seniors Stephanie Lawrence, Cerie Mosgrove and Megan Zullo all have etched their names into the UMass record book in various three-point shooting categories.
Lawrence sunk 20 of 52 shots from beyond the arc in 2009-10, for a .385 shooting percentage. Her single season mark from a year ago stands eighth all-time.
Mosgrove has 109 career treys, good for fifth all-time. She also ranks seventh in career three-point attempts (320) and eighth in career three-point percentage (.341). Mosgrove registered 51 threes as a sophmomore in 2008-09, fifth-most all-time for a single season.
Zullo was the UMass leader with 54 three-pointers last season, shooting 54-for-150 (.360) from beyond the arc. Her career percentage (.387) ranks third all-time for a career, while her single season total for threes made stands third. Against Quinnipiac on Dec. 6, 2009, Zullo made six treys for a career high. She leads the team this season with 23 threes and is shooting 47.7% from beyond the arc.
Youth-Full Roster
Nine of the 13 players on the Minutewomen roster are either freshmen or sophomores, accounting for nearly 70% of the team.
Senior Cerie Mosgrove is the squad's most tenured player with 92 career games played and 32 starts. She entered the 2009-10 season as the lone member of the team with over 1,000 minutes played and is the program's active leading scorer with 460 points.
Just four players on the UMass roster had seen time in the starting lineup prior to the 2010-11 season. Megan Zullo and Jasmine Watson, the team's two returning starters, both played their first campaigns with the Minutewomen last season.
Challenging Road Ahead
The Minutewomen's 2010-11 schedule features tough competition from the ACC, America East, BIG EAST, Colonial, Conference USA, Ivy, Mid-American, Northeast, Patriot and SEC before beginning the always-challenging Atlantic 10 schedule.
Out of UMass' 28 opponents, 14 are coming off 2010 postseason appearances in the NCAA and WNIT. According to Realtimerpi.com, the Minutewomen entered the season with the 39th-toughest schedule out of 347 Division I teams. 
