Dec. 20, 2011
LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. -
The UMass women's basketball team will be in search of its third straight win on Wednesday morning, Dec. 21, as the squad will take on Siena in an 11 a.m. matchup that will be televised in New York and parts of Massachusetts on Time Warner Cable Sports, channel 3 (SD) and 1803 (HD) in Albany, channel 13 in the Buffalo/Syracuse areas, channel 26 in Rochester and channel 197 in New York City. The game can also be heard on UMass' WMUA 91.1 FM. Pat O'Neil and Cody Chrusciel will have the call.
Scouting Siena
Siena enters Wednesday's contest with a record of 1-6 on the season, including a 1-3 clip at home. The Saints' lone win came against another Atlantic 10 opponent, Rhode Island, on Nov. 19, 73-65.
Lily Grenci leads three Siena players who are averaging double figures in scoring with 15.0 points per-game. Cristina Centeno and Maja Gerlyng follow with 11.4 points-per game each. Grenci and Centeno are also the teams leading rebounders at 6.7 per-game and 6.1 per-game, respectively.
Series History
UMass is 4-1 all-time in the series against Siena, which began on Nov. 21, 1982 with a 66-61 win for the Minutewomen in Amherst. The Minutewomen are 1-1 all-time against the Saints on the road with Siena's lone win in the series coming on Jan. 6, 1994 by a 84-67 margin.
UMass last faced the Saints on Nov. 29, 2005, a 71-53 victory for the Minutewomen in the Mullins Center.
UMass Against Current MAAC Teams (12-5)
Fairfield (3-2)
Rider (1-0)
Marist (0-0)
Canisius (0-1)
Loyola (0-0)
Iona (0-0)
Manhattan (1-0)
Niagara (0-0)
Siena (4-1)
Saint Peter's (3-1)
Last Time Against Siena
Sophomore Kate Mills had her first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Massachusetts women's basketball team (2-3) to a 71-53 win over Siena (1-3) on November 29, 2005 at the Mullins Center. Mills was one of three UMass players to score in double-figures. UMass shot a season-high 52 percent and had 20 assists on its 29 field goals. For Mills, its was a career-high in points and rebounds.
The game started off with both teams scoring early and often. There were nine lead changes in the first eight minutes of the game. Siena led 14-11 with 12:36 left when UMass went on an 18-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a 29-18 lead and force Siena to call a timeout. The Minutewomen went three minutes without scoring, but allowed only two points by Siena. A three-pointer by senior Katie Nelson (Ellicott City, Md.) broke the UMass scoring drought with just under three minutes remaining in the first half and UMass took a 37-26 lead into halftime. The 37 points in the first half were the most UMass points in any half this season.
The Minutewomen shot 59 percent from the field in the first half. Siena also shot well, converting at a 52-percent clip. UMass turned 11 Siena turnovers into 15 points. The Minutewomen had eight turnovers, but Siena scored just six points off them. The Minutewomen had 13 assists on their 17 field goals. Neither team went to the free throw line as there were just seven fouls between the two teams combined.
UMass came out slowly in the second half. The Saints trimmed four points off the lead and began a full-court press. Sophomore Alisha Tatham scored two and a half minutes into the second half to break the Minutewomen's drought. Nelson then hit another three-pointer to give UMass a 13-point lead, 41-28. On the other end, Katelyn Dooley nailed a trifecta to keep Siena in the game. The teams traded baskets for the next few minutes and UMass held a 48--37 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining.
UMass began to pull away after the under-12 minute timeout. A jumper by Nelson with 11:22 left sparked an 8-2 run and UMass built its lead up to a game-high 17 points, 56-39, with 7:15 left. UMass tried to put the game away, but Siena was hanging tough.
After missing seven of its first nine free throws in the second half, the Minutewomen made seven-of-seven in the final four minutes to seal the win.
Every player on the UMass roster got in the game including freshman Erin Calipari who made her collegiate debut.
The Minutewomen shot a season-high 52 percent from the field. Siena shot 45 percent. The Minutewomen held a 31-27 edge in rebounding. UMass also committed just four season-half turnovers and scored 26 points off 21 Siena turnovers.
Mills established her career-high 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field. She also added a career-high 10 rebounds. Sophomore Pam Rosanio added a game-high 19 points on 7-of-11 shooting while also adding five rebounds, four assists and a steal. She did not have a turnover in 36 minutes. Tamara Tatham also hit double-figures with 10 points and six boards. Alisha Tatham had nine points, while Nelson added eight points and three assists.
Wilbraham, Mass., native Laura Menty led Siena with 16 points on 8-of-14 shooting.
Last Time: Second Half Shooting Helps UMass Down Binghamton, 64-55
Behind the strength of 58.3% shooting in the second half, the UMass women's basketball team downed Binghamton, 64-55, at the Events Center on Monday night. UMass' second straight win moved the Minutewomen to 3-8 on the season.
Junior Jasmine Watson chipped in 16 points and nine boards, her fifth time as the leading scorer and fifth as the squad's top rebounder this season. She posted the best shooting percentage of any Minutewoman this season, making 7-of-10 (70%) from the floor.
Junior Shakia Robinson contributed 10 points and nine rebounds, marking her 23rd time in double figures in her career and fifth consecutive. She was the team's leading rebounder for a third straight game and fourth out of the last five. Robinson currently paces UMass with an average of 12.5 points per-game on the year.
Senior Emilie Teuscher added 13 points, aided by 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. It was Teuscher's 10th time in double figures in her career, fourth consecutive and sixth of the season.
Redshirt-sophomore Carolann Cloutier finished with 10 points, her second straight game in double figures and fourth of the season.
As a team, UMass shot a season-best 46.7% (7-for-15) from three-point range against the Bearcats.
The Minutewomen's 13 made free throws was also a season high. That included a 6-for-6 showing at the charity stripe in the final 1:19 of the contest.
For a second straight game, the UMass defense held its opponent to a season-low in field goals made (19 vs. Maine and Binghamton).
The Minutewomen also limited the Bearcats to the fewest rebounds for any UMass opponent this year, 32.
Four UMass players scored in double figures for the fifth time this season and second consecutive game (previously at Holy Cross, Quinnipiac, Boston College and Maine).
Twice The Production For #2
Senior Emilie Teuscher has nearly doubled her scoring and rebounding output from last season , going from 5.2 points per-game as a junior to a 9.5 average this season. On the boards she averaged 2.6 last year and is now up to 4.0 per-game this season. Teuscher had 157 points in 30 games last year and already has 104 in 11 games in 2011-12. She totaled 79 rebounds last season and has 44 thus far this year.
Aiding to her point production, Teuscher has been hot from beyond the arc as of late. In three consecutive games (Boston College, Providence and Maine), she tied her career high for made threes with four in each of those contests.
In her last five games, Teuscher is shooting a blistering 56.6% (17-for-30) from beyond the arc, making more than half the squad's treys in that span.
Teuscher is currently third in the conference in three point percentage for the year (.426) and third in three-pointers per-game (2.3). Just behind her in both categories is Megan Zullo in fifth with .417 shooting and 2.0 threes per-game.
In the UMass record book, Teuscher now ranks seventh in career three-point percentage at .356, having made 69-for-194 in her four years with the Minutewomen. She has also entered the single season list for three-point percentage, currently fourth having made 26-for-60 (.433) from beyond the arc 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 622 career points, 241 assists and is 145-for-386 (.376) beyond the arc. She is currently ranked fourth on the UMass career list in three-point field goals made (145), fifth in three-point percentage and sixth assist average (3.4) and 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 759 career points (12.0 ppg), 427 rebounds (6.8 rpg) and 92 blocks. At Rhode Island this past January, Watson scored a career-best 27 points.
Watson, the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, is currently 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 guards Emily Mital and Ronni Grandison and freshman forwards 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.
St. Joseph's Game 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 matchup against 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. 
