Women's Basketball Welcomes Colby-Sawyer For Season Opener (Nov. 13; 5 p.m.)

DURHAM, N.H. -- The University of New Hampshire women's basketball team is set to begin the 2015-16 season, welcoming Colby-Sawyer College for its season opener on Friday, Nov. 13 (5 p.m.) as part of a basketball doubleheader for Pack the Gym Night. Following the women's basketball game, the men's basketball team takes on Lyndon State College at 7:30 p.m. The first 150 students at each game will receive a free UNH basketball t-shirt.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Wildcats open the 2015-16 season after posting a 17-12 overall record and 9-7 in America East play last year. UNH was picked third in the 2015-16 America East Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving 44 points and a first-place vote.

Maureen Magarity enters her sixth year as head coach of the Wildcats. America East Preseason All-Conference honoree Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass.), leads the charge along with eight other letterwinnners, including 2014 America East Preseason All-Conference selection Corinne Coia (North Smithfield, R.I.). Coia was sidelined the entire 2014-15 season with an injury. Other starters returning to the squad includes junior guard Kristen Anderson (Greene, Maine) and sophomore center Carlie Pogue (Cincinnati, Ohio). Pogue looks to build on a stellar freshman campaign as she was tabbed to the America East All-Rookie Team last season. Anderson led the team in 3-point makes (42) and attempts (126) in 2014-15.

The roster is bolstered with six newcomers, four of whom are freshmen. The rookie quartet consists of Raven Brathwaite (Boston, Mass.), Alli Gribbin (Keller, Texas), Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) and Sam Sabino (Rumson, N.J.). Juniors Kat Fogarty (Peterborough, N.H.) and Brittni Lai (Irvington, N.Y.) round out the newcomers for the 'Cats, both transferring from Marist College. Fogarty and Lai will sit out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer regulations.

SCOUTING COLBY SAWYER: The Chargers, a NCAA Division III opponent out of the North Atlantic Conference, enter the 2015-16 season after recording a 16-11 record and 12-6 in league play. Colby-Sawyer reached the semifinals in the NAC tournament.

The Chargers return 14 letterwinners to their roster for the 2015-16 campaign. Junior guard Lexi Iannone headlines the returners. Iannone is the leading returner in scoring as she averged 9.9 points per game to garner Second Team All-Conference honors. She is a threat from beyond the arc, drilling a team-high 53 3-pointers to pace the Chargers. Junior forward Kristin Ellis will be relied upon for rebounding once again. She led the team with 8.2 rebounds per game and had 10 games of double digit rebounds. The Chargers are coached by George Martin.

INSIDE THE SERIES: The two Granite State schools meet for the first time in the all-time series.

SEASON OPENERS: UNH has won its last four season openers. The Wildcats have been able to start the season in the win column both on the road and at home the past four seasons, posting two wins in Lundholm Gymnasium and two away from Durham.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS: The 'Cats compiled an 8-4 record in non-conference play in 2014-15. The eight wins outside of league play matched the most victories under the direction of head coach Maureen Magarity, last accomplishing the feat in the 2011-12 season.

6-OH-E: Belanger earned the nod as a member of the America East Preseason First Team. Belanger started in 28 games and led the Wildcats in points (15.8) and rebounds (6.5) per game last season. She registered double figures in the scoring column a team-high 24 times to tally the third highest scoring average in the league. An America East All-Conference First Team honoree, the guard reached double figures in the scoring column in 15 of 16 America East games and eclipsed 20 points or more in four league contests. Belanger poured in 20 points or more six times throughout the 2014-15 season.

COIA IS BACK: Coia returns to the squad after being sidelined by an injury for the 2014-15 season. In her first full season playing for UNH in 2013-14, the America East All-Second Team honoree played in 30 games with 25 starts. She averaged 11.8 points per game and ranked first on the squad in field goal percentage (.475). The 6-foot-4 forward eclipsed at least 10 points in a team-high 21 of 30 games and paced the Wildcats with six double-doubles. Coia was also a key contributor in America East frays, averaging 11.7 ppg, 5.9 rebounds per game and shot 50 percent from the field.

CP32: A member of the America East All-Rookie Team in 2014-15, Pogue was a force to be reckon with in conference play last year. The 6-foot-2 center averaged 11.0 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds per game against America East opponents. A five-time America East Rookie of the Week recipient, she was the first UNH freshman to receive five conference Rookie of the Week honors in a season since Denise Beliveau accomplished the feat during the 2007-08 season. In her rookie season, Pogue played in all 29 games while starting in eight.

GRANITE STATE OF MIND: Two student-athletes on the 2015-16 roster hail from New Hampshire. They are junior Kat Fogarty (Peterborough) and Aliza Simpson (Londonderry).

WILDCATS IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Four of New Hampshire's games this season will be televised. UNH and Maine renews its rivalry in Durham on Jan. 18, which will be featured on ESPN3. New Hampshire is back on ESPN3 six days later on Jan. 24 in a rematch of the America East quarterfinals at Hartford. The game between UNH and UMBC at Lundholm Gymnasium on Jan. 30 will be featured on WBIN Classics. In the following game (Feb. 6), New Hampshire and Binghamton will air on Fox College Sports. Additionally, every game of the 2015 America East Women's Basketball Championship will air on the ESPN networks, including the championship game.

CONTROLLING THE PAINT: New Hampshire was 15-3 last season when outscoring its opponent in the paint. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Wildcats are 26-6 when they win the scoring battle in the paint.

MILESTONE WATCH: Belanger is on pace to break the 1,000-point threshold this season. Entering the senior campaign, the co-captain currently ranks 19th in program history with 940 points. Below are the UNH all-time scoring records 16 through 20.

POINTS
16. Kelly Butterfield 1981-85 1,030
17 Marcie Lane 1989-94 1,008
18. Heidi Plencner 1998-02 1,000
19. Elizabeth Belanger 2012- 940
20. Kathy Sanborn 1975-79 930
Danielle Clark 2003-07 930

MO' WINS MO' YEARS: On April 24, 2014, head coach Maureen Magarity agreed to a five-year extension with the UNH women's basketball team.

In four seasons at New Hampshire, Magarity has led the Wildcats to back-to-back semifinal appearances in the America East tournament. Most recently, the fourth-year head coach guided the Wildcats to a personal-best 19-12 overall record and 12-4 in conference play, the most wins in a single season since the 1998-99 season (19-8, 13-5 AE).

UNH has not had a 20-win season since the 1983-84 season. Here is a look the at the past seasons in program history with at least 19 wins:

1982-83 23-7
1983-84 20-8
1987-88 19-8 (11-3)
1998-99 19-8 (13-5)
2013-14 19-12 (12-4)*

* Coached by Maureen Magarity

OH CAPTAIN MY CAPTAIN!: Members of the Wildcat basketball team have voted seniors Elizabeth Belanger and Corinne Coia captains for the 2015-16 season.

LEADER OF THE 'CAT PACK: The 2015-16 season marks the sixth season for head coach Maureen Magarity, who became the sixth head coach in program history in May 2010 and the youngest coach of a Division I team - men's or women's - in the country. Magarity quickly made a positive impact on the program with a 73-76 record in her first four seasons; in comparison, UNH was a combined 33-87 the four years prior to her arrival. In 2014-15, New Hampshire finished the 2014-15 season with an overall record of 17-12 and 9-7 against America East opponents. The Wildcats finished the season fourth in the league standings and reached double digit wins for the fourth consecutive year. Magarity led the Wildcats to a 19-12 record and 12-4 in America East play, the most wins in a single season since the 1998-99 season. Additionally, Magarity directed New Hampshire to its second consecutive appearance in the America East semifinals, topping Vermont 85-79 (March 7). In just her second year at the helm in Durham, Magarity guided the Wildcats to their second postseason appearance (beyond conference postseason play) in the program's 37-year history when UNH advanced to the 2012 Women's Basketball Invitational. New Hampshire finished the year with a 16-14 overall record to mark the team's first winning season since 2006 and most wins since 2002. In her first season, Magarity led the Wildcats to a 9-20 overall record and they doubled their conference wins from the previous season.

500 AND COUNTING: Now in its 41st year as a varsity program, the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team has an overall record of 546-522 for a .511 winning percentage. UNH recorded the 500th victory in program history Feb. 22, 2012 with a 65-53 win against Maine on Senior Day at Lundholm Gymnasium. Here is a look at the century milestones:

Mark Date Opponent Result Game Record
1st 2/12/75 Maine-Gorham64-60 1 1-0
100 1/25/83 at Yale 75-56 155 100-55
200 12/09/90 UMass 66-60 336 200-136
300 2/25/96 at Boston U. 85-60 523 300-223
400 3/01/03 Stony Brook 70-67 (OT) 717 400-317
500 2/22/12 Maine 65-53 983 500-483

WILDCATS ON THE AIR: In 2015-16, select UNH basketball games can be heard on three channels spanning the Seacoast and Manchester. Jim Jeannotte, 23-time New Hampshire Sportscaster of the Year, handles the play-by-play. Mike Murphy, a five-time winner of the New Hampshire Sportscaster of the Year award, does the color commentating.

The Wildcat Sports Radio Network will broadcast a total of 14 UNH women's basketball regular-season games during the 2015-16 season and will air the games during the America East Championships. The Wildcat Sports Radio Network affiliates include:

WPKX-AM - 930 - Rochester
WGIR-AM - 610 - Manchester
Live Stream - Stretch - UNHWildcats.com

Here is the complete schedule:

Nov. 13 vs. Colby-Sawyer
Nov. 22 vs. Penn
Nov. 24 vs. Manhattan
Dec. 2 vs. Northeastern
Dec. 5 vs. Boston University
Dec. 9 vs. Siena
Dec. 20 at Bryant
Jan. 13 vs. UAlbany
Jan. 18 vs. Maine
Jan. 21 vs. UMass Lowell
Jan. 30 vs. UMBC
Feb. 6 vs. Binghamton
Feb. 14 vs. Stony Brook
Feb. 20 vs. Hartford
Feb. 25 vs. Vermont

UP NEXT: UNH squares off against intrastate rival Dartmouth College on Monday, Nov. 16 (7 p.m.) in Hanover. New Hampshire returns to the confines of Lundholm Gymnasium on Sunday, Nov. 22 (1 p.m.) against the University of Pennsylvania.

For tickets, visit UNHWildcats.com/tickets or call (603) 862-4000.

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