University of New Hampshire Athletics
University of New Hampshire
University at Albany
Women's Hoops Travels to League-Leading University at Albany (Feb. 11, Noon)
2/10/2016 12:06:00 PM | Women's Basketball
DURHAM, N.H. - The University of New Hampshire women's basketball team travels to league-leading University at Albany for an Education Day game that tips off at noon on Thursday.
STORYLINES:
THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE: The Wildcats fell to 8-15 overall and 2-8 in America East play after Monday's road loss to Maine, 59-55. Senior guard Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass) netted a team-leading 21 points. Belanger also led the 'Cats in field goals made with eight, including three from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Aliza Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) dished out a career-high 11 assists, nine of them in the second half. Simpson's previous career-best was four assists.
New Hampshire was able to get to the free throw line six times during the contest, whereas Maine went to the charity stripe 15 times. UNH made four foul shots and Maine made 12. The Wildcats edged the Black Bears on the boards, 30-29.
Belanger leads the Wildcats in scoring (17.3 points per game), rebounds (7.2 rebounds per game), three pointers made (34),and free-throw percentage (.856). Sophomore center Carlie Pogue (Cincinnati, Ohio) is second on the team in both scoring (10.5 points per game) and rebounds (5.3 rebounds per game). Junior guard Kristen Anderson (Greene, Maine) paces the offense with 3.5 assists per game.
UNH is averaging 58.2 points per game and giving up 60.4 points per game. New Hampshire is second in the America East in free-throw percentage (.738). As a team, the Wildcats grab 36.7 rebounds per game and hold a +3.0 rebounding margin.
SCOUTING ALBANY: Albany is riding a 12-game win streak into Thursday's Education Day game against UNH. In their most recent contest, the Great Danes defeated Binghamton 64-58 to improve to 20-3 overall and remain undefeated in the America East with an 11-0 record. Senior forward Shereesha Richards led the way with 20 points and 9 rebounds in the contest. Junior guard Zakiya Saunders registered a team-high 5 assists.
Albany's offense features three players who are averaging double-figures in scoring. Richards leads the America East with 22.7 points per game. She is nearly averaging a double-double by pulling down a team-leading 9.9 rebounds per game. Junior guard Imani Tate is second on the team in scoring (17.6 points per game), rebounds (5.7 per game), and assists (3.5 per game). Zakiya Saunders is third on the team with 11.2 points per game. Saunders also runs the show on offense with a league-leading 7.6 assists per game.
As a team, Albany leads the America East in scoring with 69.4 points per game as well as field goal percentage (.486). The Great Danes are also aggressive on the defensive end. They average 9.9 steals per game, which is tied for the most in the America East.
Katie Abrahamson-Henderson is in her sixth season at the helm of the Great Danes. She is a three time America East Coach of the Year. Under the direction of Abrahamson-Henderson, Albany has been to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. GREAT DANES: The Great Danes hold an 18-14 record over the Wildcats and have won the last 10 matchups, including the first contest between the teams earlier this year. UAlbany defeated the Wildcats 78-52 on Education Day at Lundholm.
DUE NEXT: The Wildcats return home for their Breast Cancer Awareness game on Sunday, Feb. 14 against Stony Brook University. Tickets are available for the Stony Brook contest and all UNH home games. More information may be obtained at UNHWildcats.com/tickets or by calling 603-862-4000, ext. 5.
BELANGER'S ON FIRE: Senior guard Elizabeth Belanger (Acton, Mass.) has been on a tear for the Wildcats. She scored a career-high 29 points against North Carolina on Dec. 29 and has eclipsed that number twice since. She had 32 points with nine rebounds against Stony Brook, 17 points with eight rebounds against Maine and 32 points again with seven rebounds against UMass Lowell. The UMass Lowell game was especially impressive. Belanger made 12 of the 16 field goals she attempted, including three of her five three-pointers. She made five of her six free throws. And oh yes, for good measure, she had four of UNH's six steals in the game. Against Hartford, Belanger contributed her fourth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds and also had three steals, two blocks and two assists. She had 19 points and 12 assists against Binghamton on Feb. 6 for her fifth double-double. An America East All-Conference First Team selection last year, Belanger is well on her way to collecting more honors.
CAREER CLIMBING: Elizabeth Belanger hit the 1,000-point milestone on a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter at Lundholm Gymnasium against Penn on Nov. 22. She became the 19th player in program history to accomplish the feat and ranks 7th in program history with 1,337 career points.
Below are the Top 10 UNH all-time scorers.
1. Kris Kinney 1985-89 2,231
2. Laura Seiden 1989-93 1,602
3. Sheila Danker 1993-97 1,539
4. Maren Matthias 2000-04 1,503
5. Orsi Farkas 1996-00 1,434
6. Denise Beliveau 2007-12 1,365
7. Elizabeth Belanger 2012- 1,337
8. Danielle Clark 2003-07 1,331
9. Candace Williams 2006-10 1,277
10. Theresa Redmond 1979-83 1,252
SHE REBOUNDS, TOO: Belanger has not only climbed into the Top 10 in career scoring for the Wildcats, she's Top 10 in rebounding as well. Her six rebounds against Maine give her 669 for her career and move her into 9th place all-time. Kelly Butterfield is ranked 8th with 678 boards.
CLEAN GLASS: UNH pulls down 36.7 rebounds per game this season. In 23 games this season, New Hampshire has been only outrebounded three times. The Wildcats own a +3.0 margin on the glass, which is good for third-best in the America East.
UP FRONT AND PERSONAL: The front court of Elizabeth Belanger, Corinne Coia and Carlie Pogue have backboned the scoring for UNH this season. The trio registers 37.4 points per game this season, accounting for 64.3 percent of New Hampshire's points. The 'Cats inflict much of their scoring near the rim. New Hampshire is 7-5 this season when outscoring its opponent in the paint. Since the start of the 2013-14 season, the Wildcats are 33-11 when they win the scoring battle in the paint.
LEAD AT HALF AND NEVER LOOK BACK: The Wildcats have led eight times entering the locker room and won seven of those eight games this season.
SIMPSON DISHES: Aliza Simpson (Londonderry, N.H.) had nine of her 11 assists in the second half on Monday night to help UNH rally back into its game against Maine. The 11 assists were two shy of the team's record of 13, set by Christine Gulas against Connecticut on Feb. 21, 1984. Simpson was the New Hampshire Gatorade and NHIAA Player of the Year in 2013-14. She averages five points and three assists a game and is second on the team in assists with 55. Simpson hit for a season-high 12 points against Boston University on Dec. 5 and then matched that number two games later vs. Boston College on Dec. 13. She had her career-high of 11 rebounds against Dartmouth on Nov. 16.
STOREY'S ROOKIE AWARD: Freshman Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) scored a career-high 22 points to lead the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team to a 64-49 win over Binghamton on Saturday and for her efforts was named the America Rookie of the Week, as announced by the league on Monday. The Rookie of the Week honor was the first weekly league award, either Player of the Week or Rookie of the Week, collected by a Wildcat this season.
A 6-foot-3 forward, Storey made 10 of her 12 field goals and both of her foul shots against Binghamton and also had four rebounds, two blocked shots and a steal in the game. Averaging 4.7 points and 2.8 rebounds a game, Storey is making 49.0 percent of her field goals to lead the Wildcats in that category. Her 15 blocked shots are second on the team to sophomore Carlie Pogue's (Cincinnati, Ohio) 16. Storey first entered the starting lineup on Jan. 2 against Yale and she has started the last 11 games.
CP32: A member of the America East All-Rookie Team in 2014-15, Carlie Pogue is right back at it as a sophomore. The 6-foot-2 center has scored in double figures in 13 games this season and is second on the team in scoring with 10.5 points a game. She is also second in rebounds with 5.3 a game. Pogue put up a season-high 22 points against Siena on Dec. 9. She posted a double-double against Northeastern with 13 points and a season-high 11 rebounds.
BOOTH DOES AS WELL: Sophomore guard Peyton Booth (Wadsworth, Ohio) also made her inaugural start against Yale. She scored a career-high nine points against Vermont on Jan. 27 and did not miss a shot. She made the one three-pointer she took and had three two-point field goals. Booth had a career-high eight rebounds against Manhattan.
SPARK OFF THE BENCH: Senior guard/forward Stephanie Spoto (Pittsford, N.Y.) has enjoyed a good start to the 2015-16 season coming off the bench. She has averaged 4.3 points and 3.8 rebounds, setting new personal bests in scoring three times this season. She first hit a career-high in scoring with 10 points in an 81-69 win at Sacred Heart (Nov. 18). She bested her career-high in the scoring column with a 12-point effort against Manhattan (Nov. 24) in a 72-57 victory. In the win against Manhattan she also matched her personal best on the glass with eight rebounds. Spoto has registered 16.6 minutes per game this season and earned her first start of the season at Maine (Feb. 8). Her tenacity off the bench is represented by the fact that she is the only Wildcat with more offensive rebounds (46) than defensive boards (42).
PASS THE ROCK: Kristen Anderson dished out a career-high nine assists in the 81-69 win at Sacred Heart on Nov. 18. The junior guard leads the team with 63 helpers this season. Anderson has 239 career assists.
COIA CAME BACK: Corinne Coia (North Smithfield, R.I.) returned to the squad after being sidelined by an injury for the 2014-15 season. She scored in double figures in her first six games of the year and is third on the team in scoring with 9.6 points a game and also third in rebounding at 4.2 a game. She scored a season-high 21 points against Sacred Heart on Nov. 18 and also had eight rebounds in that game.
Coia has missed the last four games with an injury. In her first full season playing for UNH in 2013-14, the America East All-Conference 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). Coia transferred to UNH after starting her collegiate career at the University of Rhode Island.
20-20: Elizabeth Belanger and Corinne Coia each scored over 20 points in the win at Sacred Heart on Nov. 18. It marks the first time two UNH players scored 20 or more points in a game since Coia and Kelsey Hogan '14 accomplished the feat on Feb. 22, 2014.
FROM THE 603: Two student-athletes on the 2015-16 roster hail from New Hampshire. They are junior Kat Fogarty (Peterborough) and sophomore Aliza Simpson (Londonderry).
MARIST MATES: The Wildcats have two players lending a major hand in practice this season while they sit out as transfers. Guard Brittni Lai and forward Kat Fogarty both played for Marist the last two seasons before deciding to transfer to UNH. They have two years of eligibility remaining, starting next season. Lai averaged 4.4 points and 2.7 rebounds in 21.4 minutes a game last season at Marist. Fogarty played 17.1 minutes a game last season and averaged 4.4 points and 4 rebounds per contest.
Lai and Fogarty strengthen the Marist connection on the team. UNH head coach Maureen Magarity and assistant coach Brendan Copes were captains of their teams at Marist and graduated from the school in 2003.
WILDCATS IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Four of New Hampshire's games this season will be televised. UNH and Maine renewed its rivalry in Durham on Jan. 18, which was 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.
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 five seasons at New Hampshire, Magarity has led the Wildcats to back-to-back semifinal appearances in the America East tournament in 2013 and 2014. In the 2013-14 season, she 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
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 five 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.
ROAD WARRIORS: UNH traveled a total of 2,743.4 miles in its season-long five-game road swing. The 'Cats began the road trip at Boston College on Sunday, Dec. 13 (1 p.m.). New Hampshire then trekked to Bryant University on Sunday, Dec. 20 (1 p.m.). After a visit to the Tar Heel State on Tuesday, Dec. 29 (2 p.m.) against the University of North Carolina, UNH traveled to Yale University to close out its non-conference schedule Saturday, Jan. 2 (2 p.m.). New Hampshire capped off the road trip at Binghamton University to open the America East schedule Saturday, Jan. 9 (4 p.m.).
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
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
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