UNH Begins Two-Game Road Trip Starting at BU Wednesday (7 P.M.)

Wednesday, November 28

Boston, Mass.

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Boston University

Kari Brekke (Photo by Matthew Troisi)

Photo by: Matthew Troisi

UNH Begins Two-Game Road Trip Starting at BU Wednesday (7 P.M.)

11/27/2018 2:03:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Wildcats looking to build off big home win against Bryant.

DURHAM, N.H. – After a 79-74 win over Bryant on Sunday, the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team ends the month of November with a two-game road trip starting this Wednesday, November 28 at Boston University at 7 P.M.

The Wildcats will follow that up with a game this Friday at the South Florida Bulls in Tampa, Fla. Tip-off is 6 P.M. on Friday night.

The Wildcats return home for four games in December; their next home contest is against the University of New England on Thursday, December 6 at 7 P.M.

UNH STORYLINES

Ashley Storey is averaging 17.7 points a game and leads America East in scoring.
Kari Brekke had a career-high 16 points against Bryant.
She has made 11 of the team's 20 three-point baskets.
UNH made 18 of 19 free throws vs. Bryant.
The Wildcats lead America East in free throw percentage.
Coach Maureen Magarity is in her ninth season as Wildcat head coach.
UNH has won its last four games against Boston University.
Boston University is 2-2 and beat Bryant, 67-65, in its most recent game.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Ashley Storey scored 20 points to lead five players in double figures and the Wildcats picked up their first win of the season, 79-74, on Sunday against Bryant. Kari Brekke with 16 points, Maggie Ahearn with 14, Amanda Torres with 13 and Caroline Soucy with 10 joined Storey in double figures

It was the first time UNH had five players in double figures in a game since a 71-43 win over Sacred Heart on Dec. 18, 2016. Storey with 12 points and Soucy with 10 were among the players in double figures that night. The others were Carlie Pogue with 16, Kat Fogarty with 15 and Aliza Simpson with 10.

Alli Gribbin blocked five shots against Bryant. Pogue was the last Wildcat to block five shots in a game. She did it in a 58-51 win over UMass Lowell on Jan. 14, 2016.

Storey leads the team in scoring (17.7 points per game) and rebounding (6.5). Maggie Ahearn and Kari Brekke each are averaging 10 points a game. Amanda Torres is at 8.3 points per game and Caroline Soucy at 8.2.

Storey leads America East in scoring, is second in field goal percentage (44-83 for 53 percent) and fifth in free throw percentage (17-for-21 for 81 percent).

The Wildcats rank first in the league in free throw percentage at 78.3 percent (65-for-83). They are scoring an average of 60.2 points a game and allowing 69.3 per game.

Maureen Magarity has led UNH to its best two-year run in the history of the program the last two seasons.

UNH went 19-12 overall and 9-7 in America East least season, following up on 26-6 and 15-1 marks in 2016-17. The Wildcats advanced to the America East semifinals each season. The team's 45 victories over the last two years combined is the best two-year win total in school history.

Storey and senior Alli Gribbin, the lone senior on the team, are the Wildcat captains.

SCOUTING BOSTON UNIVERSITY

- The Terriers are 2-2 with wins over Brown (72-51) and Bryant (67-65).
- They have lost to Northeastern (81-51) and Marist (68-57).
- They are coming off a win against Bryant
- The Terriers average 61.8 points per-game and their opponents score 66.3 a game.
- Payton Hauck averages 20 points a game to lead BU.
- Nia Irving averages 10 points a game and leads in rebounding with nine per game.
- Lauren Spearman leads the Terriers with 13 three-pointers.
- Marisa Moseley is in her first year as BU's head coach.
- She's a 2004 Boston University grad and was an assistant the last nine years at UConn.
- Elizabeth Belanger is in her first year as an assistant at BU.
- Belanger starred at UNH through the 2016 season and was an assistant at Southern New Hampshire University last season.
- The Wildcats have won the last four games in the series, including 72-57 last season in Durham.
- The Terriers finished 10-19 overall and 5-13 in the Patriot League last season.
- BU's starting five is Nia Irving, Payton Hauck, Naiyah Thompson, Katie Nelson and Lauren Spearman

HOME COOKING

Only two of UNH's eight games in November were at home. In contrast, the Wildcats play four of their five December games in Lundholm Gymnasium.

UNH plays home games against the University of New England on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m.; against Holy Cross on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.; against Dartmouth on Friday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m. and against Princeton on Saturday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m.

The Wildcats open the America East portion of the schedule with a game at Maine on Wednesday, Jan. 2.

They play their first home league game against Binghamton on Saturday, Jan. 5 at 1 p.m.

Tickets for all home games are available by calling 603-862-4000 or at www.unhwildcats.com.

NEXT UP

After Wednesday's game at Boston University, the Wildcats play at the University of South Florida on Friday at 6 p.m.

The UNH-South Florida game is the first of a doubleheader at the Yuengling Center. The South Florida men play Colgate in the nightcap at 8:30.

The Wildcats return to Lundholm Gymnasium for games against the University of New England on Thursday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. and Holy Cross on Sunday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m.

ASHLEY'S STOREY

Ashley Storey had hit the 20-point mark in a game once in her career coming into the season. She's done it four times in a row going into the Boston University game. She had 21 points against Brown, matched her career high with 22 points against Sacred Heart and Northeastern and had 20 against Bryant.

Storey, who missed all of last season while she rehabilitated from surgeries, added a career-best 12 rebounds against Sacred Heart for the second double-double of her career.

Her first career 22-point night was against Binghamton on Feb. 6, 2016. Her first double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) came against Stony Brook on Jan. 4, 2017.

Storey also is second in America East with 2.5 steals a game.

"She's just so long and she moves really well," said coach Maureen Magarity. "Her arms are so long. Someone will think they have an easy pass into the post and she'll get in there and deflect it."

HOW YOUNG IS YOUNG?

So just how young are these Wildcats?

UNH has one senior on the roster with three juniors, two sophomores and seven freshmen.

The average age of the Wildcats on opening day, Nov. 9, was 19 years, eight months and 12 days.

FOR STARTERS

Juniors Ashley Storey and Caroline Soucy, sophomores Maggie Ahearn and Amanda Torres and freshman Kari Brekke started each of the first four games of the season for the Wildcats.

The five starters had a total of 26 starts as Wildcats going into the season. Storey started 17 games in the 2015-16 season and Torres started nine games last season.

By contrast, UNH's five starters in its final game last March had a total of 273 starts between them.

THE FRONTCOURT

Ashley Storey, 6-foot-3, returns to lead the team in the frontcourt. Storey started 17 games her freshman year and was named to the America East All Rookie team after averaging 5.4 points and 3.4 rebounds She averaged 4.9 points and 4 rebounds as a sophomore before missing last season.

"We expect a lot from Ashley," Magarity said. "She's come back much stronger and on the court she hasn't missed a beat. We're going to rely on her to rebound and score. She can score in a lot of different ways and can run the floor very well for a big kid."

Sophomore Maggie Ahearn, 6-foot-2, sat out last season after transferring to UNH from Providence College. She played five games as a freshman at Providence.

Storey and Ahearn are joined up front by three freshmen: 6-foot Faith Bonett, 6-foot-2 Ivy Gogolin and 6-foot-3 Mary Foster.

THE BACKCOURT

Sophomore Amanda Torres, 5-foot-7, is the lone returning starter from last season.

"Amanda had a great freshman year and gained a lot of valuable experience when she ended up as the starting point guard," Magarity said. "She needs to step up even more with her leadership this year. She pushes the ball in transition and gets the team going. She's very aggressive off the bounce and her first step is really quick and her outside shooting continues to improve."
Alli Gribbin, a 5-foot-11 senior captain, junior Caroline Soucy, 5-foot-9, and junior Sarah Clement, 5-foot-8, are the upper classmen in the backcourt.

The freshmen guards are 5-foot-6 Kari Brekke, 5-foot-9 Kali Grimm, 5-foot-10 Mariah Gonzalez and 5-foot-5 Sarah Serbascewicz.

THE COACH

Maureen Magarity, in her ninth year as head coach, has led UNH to winning seasons in each of the last two and four of the last five seasons.

She guided the team to a record-smashing mark of 26-6 overall and 15-1 in America East in 2016-17. The 26 wins were three more than the Wildcats had ever won in a season and the league record was the team's best ever and earned the school's first America East women's basketball regular season championship.

Along the way, the team set a school record with 13 consecutive wins.

UNH went 19-12 overall and 9-7 in the league last year. The 45-18 overall record over the last two seasons was the top mark for any two-year stretch in program history.

Magarity has a 131-117 overall record and stands fourth in all-time wins at UNH. She is two wins out of the third spot and five out of the No. 2 spot on the list.

Sue Johnson (133-150 record from 1997 to 2007) holds down the No. 3 spot in wins. Cecilia DeMarco (136-86 from 1977-86) is at No. 2. Kathy Sanborn (170-126 from 1986-97) is at the top of the list.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

UNH played Minnesota and North Dakota State for the first time to open the season.

The Wildcats played in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,625 at Minnesota as the Golden Gophers celebrated the return of former school and WNBA standout Lindsay Whalen as head coach.

The opening weekend was not the first time UNH teams had squared off with the Golden Gophers and North Dakota State Bison.

Among the encounters:

The UNH women's hockey team beat Minnesota, 4-1, in the semifinals of the American Women's College Hockey Alliance tournament in 1998.
The Wildcats went on to win the AWCHA title, before the NCAA sponsored the event, with a 4-1 win over Brown.
The Minnesota men's hockey team beat UNH, 5-1, in the NCAA championship game in 2003 in Buffalo.
The UNH football team fell at North Dakota State in the semifinals of the NCAA Division I FCS tournament on Dec. 20, 2013.
The Bison went on to win the national championship. They have won six of the last seven FCS national titles.