After an inconsistent start to the season Cassidy scored in double figures in 11 of 16 regular season conference games.

Cassidy also was recognized for her academic success. As a sociology and Media and Communications double major, she accumulated a 3.35 GPA and earned a spot on the 2010 women’s basketball all-academic team.

On the men’s side, Chauncey Gilliam earned third-team all-conference honors while Adrian Satchell was named to the all-rookie team.

Gilliam led UMBC with 13.5 points and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 41.8% from the field. He also had 3.7 rebounds per game.

Gilliam shined in conference play, scoring in his final 12 games and averaging 15.3 points and 4.1 rebounds against America East opponents.

Satchell started all of the teams 29 games in his freshman season and averaged 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. He led the team with a 50.7 field goal percentage, which also lead all freshman in the America East Conference.

Carlee Cassidy led the team with 18 points and had eight rebounds in what would be the final game of her career, while Michelle Kurowski scored 13 points and had eight rebounds.

UMBC was able to slow the game down to a pace favorable for them, but they just were not able to hit shots. Erin Brown shot six threes and none of them hit the rim.

After being down by only two points with two minutes remaining in the first half, Boston U went on an 8-0 run to end the half, which completely killed UMBC at break and after the half they came out very flat and still could not get anything done offensively.

The defense played well but Boston U’s Alex Young hit four threes and scored 23 points while the they outrebounded UMBC 43-35.

Further coverage of this event will be featured in the March 9 issue of The Retriever Weekly.

Gilliam is UMBC’s leading scorer with 13.5 points per game and has increased his scoring average to 15.3 points per game in conference play. He has scored in double digits in 12 straight games, and 23 times this season. In an upset of Hartford he scored a career high 26 points and against New Hampshire in the season finale he recorded his first double-double of the season (11 points, 10 rebounds).

His competition is Binghamton’s Greer Wright (15.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg), Hartford’s Joe Zeglinski (16.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg), Stony Brook’s Tommy Brenton (7.7 ppg, 9.6 rpg), and Vermont’s two-time player and defensive player of the year Marqus Blakely (17.4 ppg, 9.3 rpg)

To Vote For Chauncey Gilliam Click Here

Cassidy is a two-time All-Conference selection, and two-time America East scoring champion. She is UMBC’s all time three-point shooter with 245, which is tied for the second-most in America East History. Her 1,600 career points is second all-time at UMBC and 23rd all time in the America East. She currently leads the team with 13.3 ppg and has 4.1 rpg and 2.1 apg. She has also made 2.4 three-pointers per game. On her senior day she scored 25 points with nine rebounds in a comeback win in which UMBC was down by 23 points in the second half.

Her competition is Boston U’s Aly Hinton (9.2 ppg, 5.9 rpg), Boston U’s Krystyn McIntrye (0.8 ppg, 0.8 rpg), Vermont’s May Kotsopoulos (17.8 ppg, 2.7 apg), and Vermont’s Courtnay Pilypaitis (15.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg).

To Vote For Carlee Cassidy Click Here.

CLICK HERE to cast your vote.

On the men’s side, sophomore guard Chauncey Gilliam and Chris De La Rosa have been nominated for the award. That ballot will run one extra day, until Thursday, February 25 at 12 p.m.

CLICK HERE to cast your vote.

In a place the women’s basketball team has never found success before, they bounced back from a miserable three-game losing streak in a big way with a 65-63 victory over Boston University at Chase Gym.

“We had such a bad stretch of three games at home and it’s unfortunate it came at that time with three home games after we played well for a stretch, but it happens,” said coach Phil Stern. “It’s such a long season and there is up’s and down’s.”

With nine lead changed in a game that neither team led by more than eight points the team found that energy that they were missing against Vermont and in order to try to get that spark back Stern continued to make changes to the starting lineup and his offensive and defensive schemes. Junior guard Chelsea Barker made her second straight start, but both Erin Brown and Michele Brokans were moved back to the bench in order to get Meghan Colabella and Michelle Kurowski back in the start lineup.

“We just changed it up a little bit,” Stern said. “Carlee [Cassidy] and Chelsea were bringing it up [the court as point guards] but [Katie Brooks] and Brokans still played 25 minutes. We played a little differently on the defensive end [with] a lot of switching man…it worked out.”

But in her new role as a part-time point guard Cassidy thrived. She recorded game highs with 18 points and six rebounds. Her 18 points came off five three-pointers, which were half of the team’s total, and three free throws. She also had five rebounds.

“We came out and made some shots early, which is really important for us since we’re a really good shooting team that hasn’t been shooting well,” Stern said. “Any time you make 10 three’s in a game you’re giving yourself a chance to win.”

The team’s 10th three-pointer turned out to be the biggest. With just under two minutes left in the game Brooks nailed her only three-pointer of the game, which put UMBC up by two points. The Terriers then missed their next three shots and a free throw. Their second attempt from the charity stripe cut UMBC’s lead to just one point with 24 seconds left, but the Retrievers made four of their next free throws to give UMBC the two points win.

After being going at the half, 37-37, the Terriers only managed to score two points in the paint. While they are a guard oriented team and “try to do a lot on the perimeter and try to shoot a lot of three’s,” according to Stern, much of that could be contributed to Topé Obajolu, who was not only a factor on defense, swatting in two blocks, but she also scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds and shot 75% from the free throw line.

Since the start of conference play, Obajolu has been on a role. In 13 non-conference games she was averaging just 5.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game and was struggling from the free throw line going just 6-of-20 (30.0%) from the free throw line. However, in seven conference games she has more than doubled her offensive production, averaging 12.1 p.p.g. with 5.6 r.p.g. She has also been exceptionally well from the free throw line, going 25-of-28 (89.3%).

“Even last year at times she showed signs of being a good player but she was a freshman and was just feeling her way,” Stern said. “She’s just real confident now that every time she touches the ball she can score. She can make a 16 or 17 foot jumper and she can make good post moves; she’s dangerous.

“Now that she’s making her foul shots we’ll throw the ball into her more because she wasn’t making her shots before and it was hard to throw it in…she’s a big player for us right now.”

Last season the women’s basketball team only managed to win one road game all season, and were losing by an average of 20 points per road contest, but this year they are 0-4 at home against conference opponents and 3-0 on the road against conference opponents.

“The fact that we’re 3-0 in [conference games] shows we have a lot of maturity,” Stern said. “We’ve gone to tough places we haven’t won a lot and have won.”

With a 3-4 overall conference record the team is going to be in search of their first home conference victory when they face the 5-14 Stony Brook Seawolves at 7:00 on Thursday, January 28.

It is very rare to see a victory when only five players manage to score in a game, but for the UMBC women’s basketball team those five players outscored the Maine Black Bears, 61-52, for their first conference victory.

Carlee Cassidy recorded her first double-double of the season with a game-high 19 points and game-high 11 rebounds. While Stern said she has been improving her shot selection over the course of the season, she shot an astonishing 57.4% in the game off an 8-14 performance from the field and 2-8 performance from three-point range.

Sophomore’s Michelle Kurowski and Erin Brown each added to their good starts to the seasons with 17 and 15 points, respectively. Brown also recorded seven rebounds and had a team high three three-pointers.

The two other players to score for UMBC were Topé Obajolu, who had six points and four rebounds, and Katie Brooks, who scored four points.

For a second straight game it was the defense that showed up big and kept the game in hand. While a slow start on offense nullified the defensive effort against Hartford, this time the offense was able to limit their turnovers and allowed the defense to lead them to a win.

While Kristin Baker scored 17 points for the Black Bears the Retriever defense only allowed 35 points from the rest of the team while Maine shot just 32.7% from the field.

With the win the Retrievers have evened their conference record and will travel to Albany on Wednesday January 13 to play in a 12:00 game.

Albany, who was picked to finish last in the America East in the pre-season polls, is coming off a rough loss to Vermont, but has certainly surprised everybody as they are 7-7 this season. They are a guard-oriented team that does not have a true number one scoring option, but rather they have a very balanced offense with six players able to take the reigns in a particular game.

On Sunday, the women’s basketball team finished their six game road trip but their first appearance in 2010 did not go as hopped as they suffered a 74-44 defeat to Virginia Tech, the finial non-conference opponent of the season.

UMBC’s record no stands at 6-7 as they return home for the start of conference play against Hartford on January 6.

The Retrievers’ momentum from two straight wins earlier this week was ended by the much more athletic Hokies, who led the entire game. Sophomore guard Michelle Kurowski was the only Retriever to score in double figures as she scored 13 points in the contest. Carlee Cassidy and Erin Brown each added eight points and Katie Brooks had seven and a team leading seven rebounds and three assists.

Virginia Tech quickly built a ten point lead at the 13:24 mark in the first half, with a score of 17-7. From that point on Virginia Tech doubled their lead to do into the locker rooms with a 46-26 advantage.

The Hokies continued to build on that leas as the second half got underway. With the score standing at 55-28, with 16:37 to play in the game, the Retrievers attempted a rally, going on an eight point run across two minute. However, that effort was not enough as the Hokies were able to build the lead back up to a gam high 32 during a stretch in which UMBC did not score from the field in a little over 10 minutes. Their only point during the stretch was a free throw from Brooks.

The Retrievers shot just 30% from the field and were beaten in second chance points, 19-2.

Comments can be sent to bwrigh1@umbc.edu.

Fresh off the holiday season, the Retrievers headed to Bronx, New York to compete in the Fordham Holiday Classic. UMBC, as well as East Carolina, Binghamton, and host Fordham, all took part in the Classic, now in it’s third year.

The women’s basketball team closed out 2009 in a very impressive manner, which allows for a fresh start in 2010. UMBC went 2-0 in New York, picking up wins over East Carolina and Fordham to even their record at 6-6.

Tuesday brought a gritty contest with an end result of a 62-56 win over Fordham. The Retrievers played from behind for most of the game, falling behind by as many as 15 points with 5:18 left in the first half but UMBC cut the deficit to 31-18 before going into the locker room at intermission.

UMBC caught fire in the second half, shooting 52% to draw closer to the Rams. The lead traded hands seven times in the second half before the Retrievers took the lead for good with 3:25 in the game thanks to a 20-6 run to start the half, and 12-6 run to get the lead.

Carlee Cassidy scored 16 of her game high 18 points in the second half of play to surge the Retrievers. Cassidy also accomplished yet another milestone by moving into second place on the Retrievers all-time scoring list with 1,391. Cassidy averaged 22.5 points while playing in her home state as she made nine three pointers, including two against the Rams.

Michelle Kurowski, who was also making a home-coming, scored all 12 of her points in the second half to go along with her team high seven rebounds. Michele Brokans added six points and five assists and Katie Brooks scored nine.

Just a few hours before beating Fordham, UMBC snapped a four game losing streak with a 66-58 victory over East Carolina, a squad that garnered a few votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches’ Poll. In order to deal East Carolina just their second loss of the year, UMBC overcame a 13-points deficit with seven minutes to play in the first half and took the lead for good with just under 12 minutes to play in the game on the back of 59% shooting in the second half.

The Retrievers rode the efforts of Cassidy, who knocked down seven three-pointers as a part of her 27 point performance against the Pirates. With her seven field, goals from beyond the arc, Cassidy joins exclusive company by becoming the seventh player in America East history to eclipse 200 three-pointers.

Kurowski contributed her fifth double-double of the season by posting 16 points and 10 boards. Kurowski and Cassidy combined to play all nine off the Retrievers’ free throws as well. Brooks was the only other Retriever to score in double figures as she scored 11 points.

UMBC shot 46% to East Carolina’s 33% and had a lead as large as 11 with 3:37 to play in the second half.

The six game road trip will conclude for the Retrievers on January 3 as they face Virginia Tech in their final non-conference game of the season.

Comments can be sent to bwrigh1@umbc.edu.

The 4-4 UMBC women’s basketball team traveled to the Reitz Arena for a match up with the 3-5 Loyola Greyhounds. UMBC was leading by five with fewer than five minutes left in the first half, but two big runs by Loyola led the Greyhounds to an 81-74 victory.

Michelle Kurowski led all scorers with her 25 points, while Meghan Colabella, Chelsea Barker, and Katie Brooks also scored double figures. To go along with her 25 points Kurowski added 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double in what has been an incredible start to the season for the sophomore. Senior Carlee Cassidy only recorded one point in the loss, coming off of 1-3 free throw shooting. She was 0-5 from the field.

Loyola was led by Erica Diclemente who put up a career high 19 points and eight rebounds. The Greyhounds shot just over 48% from the field and the 81 points was the most they’ve scored beating UMBC 80-71 on December 21, 2008. Loyola also got 12 points from Miriam McKenzie and Kaitlin Grant nearly posted a double-double with nine points and 12 rebounds. A big part of their scoring was also the 31 points they got from their bench.

With 4:55 left in the first half UMBC had taken a five point lead and looked to be in good shape going to the half. But with all that time left Loyola took advantage and went on a 15-6 run to lead 40-36 at the half. After back and forth action in the second half, the Greyhounds went on a 14-4 run with 12:20 left and from that point never let UMBC come within eight points of the lead. Loyola also made a season high 23 free throws against the Dawgs.

Coming up for UMBC is a trip to West Virginia on Tuesday, December 22nd. They have four straight road games before their next home game for the Retrievers is January 6 at 5 pm against America East Rival Hartford in their conference opener.

Comments can be sent to daniel23@umbc.edu.

With just eight seconds remaining two-time America East Conference scoring champion Carlee Cassidy went up for a game winning dunk but the ball just rimmed out. Coppin State’s Chanelle Downing grabbed the rebound, sealing the victory for the Golden Eagles.

Neither team shot well. While the UMBC defense held Coppin State to just a 33.8% shooting, the offense shot and abysmal 30.5%, and turned the ball over 25 times.

Four Retrievers turned in games with double-digits in scoring. Sophomore Michelle Kurowski led the charge with 11 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Cassidy added 10 points and had six rebounds. Meghan Colabella was just one point away from a double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds.

Off the bench were Erin Brown and Katie Brooks who each scored 11 points and combined for 12 rebounds. This season Brooks started the first seven games, but Phil Stern decided to make a change at the point guard spot and give the job back to two-year starter, Michele Brokans.

While Brokans is more of a natural point guard, she is not a scoring threat. If Brooks can cut down her turnovers and stop making bad passes she can definitely work her way back into the starting five because of her added scoring ability.

Now with an even 4-4 record, the Retrievers will continue their road stretch with four more games to close out the 2009 years and head into conference play.