Nov. 25, 2011
AMHERST, Mass. -
The UMass women's basketball team returns home on Saturday, Nov. 26, after playing two straight on the road and will be hosting its first SEC team since 1998 as Ole Miss will be taking on the Minutewomen in the Mullins Center at 1 p.m. UMass will be looking to snap a three-game skid after opening the season with a win at home against Boston University, while the Rebels make their first trip to Amherst carrying a 3-1 mark on the year.
Scouting Ole Miss
Ole Miss enters Saturday's matchup with UMass at 3-1 on the year and is coming off a 51-43 win at Southeast Missouri State. The squad also holds victories over North Florida (68-59) and South Alabama (54-49).
Sophomore Valencia McFarland (12.8 ppg) and senior Nikki Byrd (11.8 ppg) lead the Rebels in scoring through four games on the year. McFarland was named to the preseason All-SEC Second Team earlier this fall.
Byrd is Ole Miss' top rebounder with 10.8 rebounds per-game and recorded her seventh career double-double against SEMO with 14 points and 13 rebounds. It was her second consecutive double-double.
UMass Against The SEC
Auburn (0-0)
Alabama (0-2)
Ole Miss (0-0)
Georgia (0-2)
Kentucky (0-2)
Florida (0-3)
LSU (0-1)
Tennessee (0-0)
Arkansas (0-1)
South Carolina (0-0)
Mississippi State (0-0)
Vanderbilt (0-2)
Series History
Saturday will mark UMass' first ever meeting against Ole Miss and is 0-13 all-time against SEC teams. The Minutewomen most recently faced an SEC opponent last season at the Seton Hall Classic, falling to LSU, 63-51. Five UMass players scored seven or more in that contest, led by current senior Megan Zullo's nine points.
The Minutewomen last hosted an SEC team on Nov. 29, 1998, an 80-57 loss to #6 Georgia.
Last Time: Comeback Falls Short At Holy Cross, 76-64
Freshman Emily Mital hit a long-range three to cut the deficit to four with 1:31 remaining, however Holy Cross made its free throws down the stretch to hold off the UMass women's basketball team, 76-64, in the Hart Center on Tuesday evening, Nov. 22.
Freshman Aisha Rodney paced UMass with her first double-figure scoring performance of her career with 15 points to go along with seven rebounds and three steals.
Mital finished with 10 points, her first time in double figures with the Minutewomen.
Senior Emilie Teuscher corralled a team-best 10 boards, a new career high. She also equaled her previous career high for minutes played, 37. Her previous career high in rebounds was seven against Boston College on Dec. 5, 2010.
With 10 points, junior Jasmine Watson scored in double figures for a third straight game. She is now five points away from passing Martha Ready (667 points) for 32nd on the UMass career scoring list. Watson also had five-plus rebounds four the fourth time this season. She currently leads the squad with an average of 8.5 rebounds per-game.
Redshirt-sophomore Carolann Cloutier registered five or more assists for a fourth straight game and is now averaging 5.3 helpers per-contest.
Four UMass players scored in double figures for the first time since Feb. 2, 2011 vs. Duquesne.
The Minutewomen posted their highest shooting percentage to date (41.3%) and their highest scoring output, but were out-rebounded for the first time this season.
Many Happy Returns
The Minutewomen have just five members of their 12-player squad that saw action at UMass in 2010-11. However, four out of the five (Dee Montgomery, Emilie Teuscher, Jasmine Watson and Megan Zullo) were starters for the Minutewomen last season.
UMass brings back five of its top-six returning scorers or 65% of the team's point production from a year ago. Those five were also five of the top-six rebounders, accounting for 594 of the team's 1091 boards in 2010-11 or 54%.
Zullo Back For More
Guard Megan Zullo returns for the Minutewomen in 2011-12 after being granted a sixth year by the NCAA. Zullo was awarded the additional year of eligibility due to the injuries she sustained as a freshman at North Carolina State and as a junior.
Zullo played all 30 games last season and averaged 10.5 points per-game, good for fourth on the squad and was third in the Atlantic 10 win an average of 4.5 assists per-game. Her total of 135 helpers was the ninth-best single season total of all time in program history, while her tally of 70 three-pointers is second-most on the single season list. She set UMass records for minutes played in a season in 2010-11 with 1,136 and minutes average (37.9).
Through two seasons and counting with the Minutewomen after coming from N.C. State, Zullo has totaled 580 career points, 220 assists and is 135-for-358 (.377) beyond the arc. She is currently ranked fourth on the UMass career list in three-point field goals made (135), fifth in three-point percentage and assist average (3.5), and sixth in minutes average (32.0).
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, 2010 vs. George Mason, last year's season opener.
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.
Earlier this fall, Zullo was named to the College Sports Madness Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Conference second team.
All That Jas
Junior Jasmine Watson, UMass' top returning scorer, has been named to the preseason Atlantic 10 third team for a second straight year.
After missing the first eight games of 2010-11, Watson came back from injury to lead the team in scoring and rebounding with averages of 14.4 and 7.6, respectively, while also contributing 1.7 blocks per-game.
She posted seven double-doubles on the year and was the team's top scorer in seven games. In conference play, Watson averaged 14.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per contest, good for 12th and sixth in the league, respectively.
Through two seasons and counting at UMass, Watson has totaled 663 career points (11.8 ppg), 378 rebounds (6.8 rpg) and 85 blocks. At Rhode Island this past January, Watson scored a career-best 27 points.
Watson, the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, begins her junior season seventh on the program's all-time list for career blocks and ranks third in blocked shots average.
From Near And Far
UMass' 12-player roster is comprised of individuals from 11 different states and provinces, including three international players.
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 six new players that will see the floor for the first time this season: freshman guard Emily Mital, freshman forwards Ronni Grandison, Kim Pierre-Louis and Aisha Rodney and two players who sat out as redshirts in 2010-11, center Millie Niggeling and guard Carolann Cloutier.
Among the high school accomplishments of the freshman group, Rodney was a four-time all-state selection at Grosse Pointe South High School in Michigan and Mital was an all-state honoree as a senior and as a junior out of Frisco Liberty High School in Texas.
Cloutier, a transfer from Old Dominion, played with Team Canada at the World University games before college. Niggeling was a four-time all-state selection at Bishop Heelan and helped the team to two Iowa state titles.
Pair Of Telecasts To Air Live in Boston
Nelligan Sports Marketing has reached an agreement with WBIN-TV that will allow UMass fans in the greater Boston area to watch approximately a dozen live broadcasts of UMass games, including two women's basketball games. The contests will be produced by the UMass Sports Network.
In addition to every home game airing locally on CBS 3 Now, the Minutewomen's matchups against Maine on Dec. 11 and Saint Joseph's on Jan. 7 will air on WBIN-TV.
WBIN-TV, the only locally owned and operated TV station in the Boston/Manchester market, reaches 2.4 million households and over 5 million people in 500 towns in eastern and central Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is available on Comcast channel 18 (811 in HD), FiOS channel 6 (506 in HD), DirecTV channel 50/950 and Dish Network channel 50/8777.
UMass Women's Basketball Radio Show On WMUA
Throughout the 2011-12 season, catch up on what's going on with the Minutewomen as WMUA broadcasters Ryan X. Murray and Pat O'Neil 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.
Mosgrove Playing Overseas
Recent graduate Cerie Mosgrove is continuing her basketball career overseas. The 6-0 guard, who completed her fourth year with the Minutewomen in 2010-11, signed with T71 Dudelange of the Luxembourg-Diekirch League this past summer.
Mosgrove led the nation in three-point percentage in 2010-11, finishing her senior campaign 78-of-157 from beyond the arc for a 49.7% clip, and won the National Women's 3-Point Shooting Championship in Houston, Texas.
She set UMass records for threes made, three-point percentage and free throw percentage (.864) in 2010-2011 and ranks third all-time for career three-point field goals made (171) and career three-point percentage (.390).
The guard set career highs in every statistical category in her final campaign with the Minutewomen, including points (408) and rebounds (195). She finished second on the squad in scoring (14.4 ppg) and rebounding average (6.5 rpg). In her four-year career at UMass, Mosgrove totaled 758 points and 336 rebounds.
Tatham Sisters Help Canada To Bronze At FIBA Americas
UMass women's basketball alums Tamara and Alisha Tatham recently helped Team Canada to a bronze medal at the FIBA Americas Tournamen this fall. Canada will now move on to the World Olympic Qualifier in June for a chance to secure a position in the 2012 Olympics.
Canada defeated Cuba, 59-46, in the bronze medal game, aided by six rebounds from Tamara Tatham. She also contributed five points, while Alisha Tatham played five minutes and recorded one blocked shot.
Alisha Tatham has been a member of the Canadian National Team for eight years and has played in 64 international contests. Tamara Tatham has been with Team Canada for six years, appearing in 59 games.
A 2007 graduate, Tamara Tatham plays professionally with the Halle Lions in Halle, Germany. The 6-1 forward finished her career with the Minutewomen 10th all-time in scoring (1,186 points) and ranks in the top-10 for career steals (4th, 190), rebounds (5th, 755), blocks (8th, 115) and free throws (8th, 282), as well.
Tamara's younger sister, Alisha, graduated from UMass in 2008 and appeared in 116 career games with the Minutewomen. She totaled 524 points with 281 rebounds and 147 assists. She currently plays for Point Chaud Sprimont in Belgium. 
