Wildcats Face Black Bears in First Round of America East Playoffs (Wednesday, 7 P.M., ESPN+)

Wednesday, March 6

Bangor, ME

7 PM

University of New Hampshire

Maine

Tickets

Ivy Gogolin was a conference selection for the All-Rookie Team (Photo by Matthew Troisi)

Wildcats Face Black Bears in First Round of America East Playoffs (Wednesday, 7 P.M., ESPN+)

3/5/2019 3:17:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Tickets Watch - ESPN+Live Stats WBB Quarterfinal Game Notes

New Hampshire and Maine face off in the 88th iteration of the Border War.

DURHAM, N.H. - Freshmen Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis.) and Ivy Gogolin (Hopkinton, Mass.) – both of whom picked up prestigious America East honors Tuesday – lead the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team into the league tournament Wednesday night in Bangor, Maine.

Brekke was a unanimous pick as America East Rookie of the Year, the first Wildcat to receive the award in more than a decade.

Brekke and Gogolin were both named to the league's All-Rookie team.

UNH is the No. 8 seed in the tournament and plays No. 1 seed and defending tournament champion Maine in a quarterfinal game Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Cross Insurance Center in Bangor.

The tournament format has changed this year and instead of playing the quarterfinals and semifinals at a natural site, the games are at the home of the higher seed in the matchup.

This is the first time in 20 years and only the second time in program history that the Wildcats have placed two players on the All-Rookie team.

Brekke is the first Wildcat named Rookie of the Year since Denise Beliveau in 2007-08. She is the UNH player to win the award.

Gogolin saw limited minutes in the first half of the season and stepped up into a starting and major role in the frontcourt when junior forward Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) was sidelined with a foot injury in early January, just after the start of conference play.

Brekke averages 10 points a game to lead America East freshmen in scoring.

She averages 11.4 points a game in America East games. Junior guard Caroline Soucy (Beverly, Mass.) averages 9.9 points in league games and Gogolin averages 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in conference games.

Maine is 22-7 overall and was 15-1 in the league during the regular season, The Black Bears swept the regular season series against the Wildcats and have won their last 11 games.

UNH is 6-23 overall and 3-13 in the league and coming off a 55-47 loss to UMBC.

STORYLINES

Freshman guard Kari Brekke was named America East Rookie of the Week on Tuesday.
Kari Brekke averages 10 points a game to lead league freshmen in scoring.
Ivy Gogolin joined Brekke on the America East All-Rookie team.
Leading scorer Ashley Storey has missed the last 14 games and is out indefinitely with a foot injury.
Coach Maureen Magarity is tied for second in career wins at UNH with 136.
Maine junior Blanca Millan, the America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year, averages 17.6 points a game.

THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Freshman guard Kari Brekke (Appleton, Wis.) was named America East Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Freshman forward Ivy Gogolin (Hopkinton, Mass.) joined Brekke on the All-Rookie team, giving the Wildcats two players on the squad for the first time in 20 years and only second time in their history.

The Wildcats take a 6-23 overall record and 3-13 mark in America East into Wednesday night's America East tournament quarterfinal game against Maine in Bangor.

UNH is coming off a 55-47 loss to UMBC on Saturday.

Junior guard Caroline Soucy (Beverly, Mass.) scored 18 points to lead the Wildcats against UMBC. Gogolin had eight points and 10 rebounds.

Brekke is averaging 10 points a game to lead America East freshmen in scoring.

Brekke leads the team in made three-pointers and is 48-for-144 (33.3 percent) from beyond the arc. UNH has 128 three-point baskets as a team.

The Wildcats have lost their last five games after a two-game win streak.

Their most recent win, at Binghamton, 54-53, on Feb. 9, was No. 136 at UNH for head coach Maureen Magarity and moved her into a tie for No. 2 on the program's list for career victories.

The Wildcats have played their last 14 games without leading scorer Ashley Storey. The 6-foot-3 junior forward leads the team in scoring at 17.1 points per game and averages 6.1 rebounds per game. Storey is out indefinitely with a foot injury.

Gogolin has averaged 10.2 points and 6.6 rebounds a game in the last 14 games while replacing Storey in the starting lineup.

Magarity has a 136-135 record in her eight-plus seasons with the Wildcats. She is tied with Cecilia DeMarco at No. 2 in career wins. DeMarco went 136-86 from 1977-86.

Soucy averages 9.1 points a game and sophomore guard Amanda Torres is at 6.9.

Torres is fifth in America East free throw shooting (72-for-103 for 69.9 percent).

Brekke is 44-for-54 in free throws (81.5 percent) but does not have enough shots to qualify for the league rankings.

Brekke is tied for 15^th in the league in assists at 2.3 per game and is third in minutes played at 36.2 per game.

The Wildcats are scoring an average of 53 points a game and allowing 64.7 per game.

Magarity 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 last 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 two years combined were 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 MAINE

- The Black Bears are 22-7 overall and 15-1 in America East.
- They won their second consecutive regular season championship this year.
- Maine won the tournament title last year.
- The Black Bears beat New Hampshire in the tournament semifinals each of the last two seasons.
- Maine junior guard Blanca Millan was named the America East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year this season.
- The Black Bears had four players named to all-America East teams.
- Millan and senior forward Tanesha Sutton were named to the first team.
- Senior guard Parise Rossignol was named to the second team.
- Sophomore guard Dor Saar was named to the third team.
- Millan averages 17.6 points per game.
- Sutton averages 14.1 points per game and Rossignol 11.4.
- Sutton averages 7.2 rebounds per game.
- Sutton leads the league in field goal percentage (154-306 for 50.3 percent).
- Rossignol leads the league in three-point percentage (61-for-48 for 41.2 percent).
- Rossignol and Saar each have made 62 three-pointers and Millan has 55.
- Millan leads the league in steals at 2.8 per game.
- Maine leads the league in three-pointers with 8.2 per game.
- The Black Bears lead the league in scoring at 67.2 points per game.
- Maine is third in scoring defense at 58.6 points allowed per game.

BREKKE'S ROOKIE OF THE YEAR; GOGOLIN HONORED, TOO

Kari Brekke was a unanimous pick as America East Conference Rookie of the Year for her performance during the season.

Brekke was joined on the 2018-19 All Rookie team by freshman forward Ivy Gogolin.

"I'm so proud of how Kari and Ivy have both stepped up this season into bigger roles than were expected at the beginning of the year," said coach Maureen Magarity. "I'm really excited to see their continued growth and development over the next few years!"

This season marks only the second time in program history and first time in 20 years that the Wildcats have two players named to the All-Rookie team. The last time there were two was the 1998-1999 season when Aubrey Danen and Kiki Proctor were selected.

Brekke is the fourth Rookie of the Year in program history and first since Denise Beliveau in 2007-08. The program's other Rookies of the Year were Laura Seiden in 1989-90 and Kris Kinney in 1985-86.

A starter since day one, Brekke is the only Wildcat who has started and played in each of the team's 29 games.

She is averaging 10 points a game to lead all America East freshmen in scoring and was named Rookie of the Week three times during the season, including twice in February.

Gogolin saw limited minutes in the first half of the season and stepped up into a starting and major role in the frontcourt when junior forward Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) was sidelined with a foot injury in early January, just after the start of conference play.

Gogolin averaged 8.9 points and 5.9 rebounds in America East games.

She earned Rookie of the Week honors on Feb. 25 after matching her career high with 23 points in a game at Hartford.

Brekke and Gogolin are part of a very young Wildcat team that includes a class of seven freshmen.

The Wildcats lost four of their five starters, their top five scorers and seven seniors total to graduation off last year's team and then dealt with a rash of injuries, forcing their young players into increased roles.

SIDELINED

The depth of the Wildcats – especially in the frontcourt – has taken a major hit this season.

Junior forward Ashley Storey (Cumberland, Maine) has been out of the lineup since the UMass Lowell game on Jan. 9. She is out indefinitely with a foot injury.

Three Wildcats – including two frontcourt players – are out for the year with knee injuries.

Sophomore forward Maggie Ahearn (Marshfield, Mass.) started seven of the first eight games of the season and played in nine games total before being injured. She averaged 8.7 points and a team-high 6.6 rebounds in her nine games.

Ahearn sat out last season as a transfer from Providence College.

Freshman forward Faith Bonett (Moorestown, N.J.) played in the first three games of the season as a backup and then was injured during practice.

Junior guard Sarah Clement (Falmouth, Maine) has missed the entire season as she rehabilitates from offseason surgery.

ASHLEY'S STOREY

Ashley Storey was one of the leading scorers in America East at 17.1 points per game when she was sidelined and also was among the league leaders in several other categories.

Storey had hit the 20-point mark in a game once in her career coming into the season.

She's done it seven times this year, including four times in a row from the Brown game through the Bryant game. She had 21 points against Brown, matched her career high with 22 points against Sacred Heart and Northeastern and had 20 against Bryant. She set a new career high with 23 points against Holy Cross and matched that, too, against Central Connecticut State.

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 double-double (13 points, 10 rebounds) came against Stony Brook on Jan. 4, 2017.

Storey also leads the team with two steals per 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."

WEEKLY HONORS

Freshman forward Ivy Gogolin was named America East Rookie of the Week on Feb. 25.

It was the first time Gogolin has won the award and the fifth time a Wildcat has won it this season. Three different players have been named Rookie of the Week.

Gogolin matched her career high with 23 points against Hartford on Feb. 20.

Freshman guard Kari Brekke has been named Rookie of the Week three times this season and freshman guard Kali Grimm has won the award once.

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 136-135 overall record and is tied for the No. 2 spot in program wins.

Cecilia DeMarco (136-86 from 1977-86) shares the second spot on the list. Kathy Sanborn (170-126 from 1986-97) is at the top of the list.

THOSE DOUBLE-DOUBLES

Make that nine double-doubles from five different players for the Wildcats this season.

Caroline Soucy had her second straight double-double and third of the season against Vermont on Feb. 13 and Ivy Gogolin had her second of the season the same night.

Soucy had 17 points and a career-high 12 rebounds against Vermont and Gogolin had 15 points and a career-high 12 rebounds as well.

Soucy's followed up her (11-point, career-high 11 rebound) double-double against Binghamton on Feb. 9.

It marked the first time a Wildcat had consecutive double-doubles in exactly two years. Carlie Pogue did it with 32 points and 17 rebounds against Binghamton on Feb. 12, 2017 and again with 19 points and 10 rebounds against Maine on Feb. 15.

Soucy and Gogolin gave UNH double-doubles in the same game for the second time this season. Soucy and Maggie Ahearn did it in a 74-62 win over Holy Cross on Dec. 9.

Alli Gribbin had a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds) against UMBC on Jan. 26.

Gogolin had 12 points and 10 rebounds for a double-double against Hartford on Jan. 23.

Only three of the five players with double-doubles were active as the season neared its end.

Ahearn had two double-doubles in the nine games she played and Storey had one before being sidelined.

RAINING TREYS

The Wildcats made 10 of the 16 three-point shots they attempted against Holy Cross, their highest total for made threes in seven years. They matched that number with 10 three-pointers against Stony Brook on Jan. 12.

The last time the Wildcats had as many as 10 three-pointers was Dec. 3, 2011 when they hit 12 in a loss to Harvard.

Ashley Storey made all three of the three-pointers she took against Holy Cross. Caroline Soucy also made three and Kari Brekke had a pair. Maggie Ahearn and Alli Gribbin each made one three-pointer in the game.

Kali Grimm and Caroline Soucy each had four three-pointers against Stony Brook.

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.

JACKIE CAME BACK

Acclaimed author and former UNH basketball captain Jackie MacMullan, '82, signed copies of her latest book, "Basketball: A Love Story" before the Holy Cross game.

The book was inspired by the ESPN series of the same name and is in the form of an oral history and includes interviews with well over 100 of the biggest names in basketball, from Bill Russell and Bob Cousy to Larry Bird, from Rebecca Lobo to LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

MacMullan donated $5 from each book purchased to the UNH women's basketball program.

DOUBLING UP

The Bryant game 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.

Ashley Storey had 20 points, Kari Brekke 16, Maggie Ahearn 14, Amanda Torres 13 and Caroline Soucy 10 against Bryant.

Against Sacred Heart two years ago, Storey with 12 points and Soucy with 10 were among the players in double figures. 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.

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.

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.

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