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Feb. 1, 2010 Game Notes | Live Audio | Live Video PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - The University of Maryland Eastern Shore women's basketball team (7-10, 4-3 MEAC), plays Hampton Monday at the William P. Hytche Athletic Center at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Hawks sit in sixth place in the MEAC standings but a win against the Lady Pirates, coupled with a Howard loss at Delaware State, would vault UMES back into the third spot. LAST TIME OUT: Howard's Saadia Doyle and Zykia Brown com- bined for 54 of the Lady Bison's 55 points as HU topped UMES, 55-51, Saturday at the Hytche Center. Doyle tallied a career-high 32 points, spoling a solid 17-point,five-rebound performance from UMES freshman Chelsea Sanders. April McBride picked up her fifth double-double of the season with 10 points and 10 boards. Adobi Agbasi chipped in with arguably her best game of the year with seven points, four blocks and a career-high 10 rebounds. UMES led at the half, 21-18, before Howard exploded fo 37 points in the final 20 minutes. SCOUTING HAMPTON: Hampton has a record of 9-10 and 5-3 in the league and tied for third heading into play Monday. The Lady Pirates boast three players averaging over 10 points per game, led by Quanneisha Perry at 12.5. Perry is also the team's top rebounder, pulling down 8.9 boards per game.The Lady Pirates are outscoring the opposition by 4.4 points per game and have a plus-7.1 turnover margin to lead the conference in both categories Hampton has won five of its last six games and three in a row under interim head coach David Six, who is in his first season. HAMPTON-UMES ALL-TIME SERIES: Monday's game will mark the 35th between Hampton and UMES. The Lady Pirates hold a 28-6 advantage in history.
MCBRIDE: CENTURY WOMAN: Senior April McBride played her 100th career game at Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 18. As one of only two seniors on this year's squad McBride will be the only UMES player achieve the feat in 2009-10. Junior Casey Morton should reach the milestone next season, having played 75 career games. LADY HAWKS IMPROVING DEFENSIVELY: As of Jan. 28, UMES ranked 152nd out of 332 NCAA Division I teams in scoring defense at 62.7 points per game. UMES is also 204th in field-goal percentage defense (40.2) and is fifth in the MEAC in the category. On the other side of the coin, UMES has been outscored by an average of 3.1 points a game, which is 214th nationally. In the season-opening loss at UMBC, the Retrievers made 14 3-point shots, which is the 17th-best total in Division I to date. UMES CONTROLLING THE BOARDS: UMES is third in the MEAC in rebounding margin, outrebounding the opposition by 1.5 boards per game. The Lady Hawks trail only Howard and North Carolina A&T in that category in the conference. UMES is 117th in the country, according to the latest national statistics and are 5-3 this season when holding a rebounding edge. UMES AFTER A WIN SINCE 2002-03 SEASON: The Lady Hawks come into action with a record of 58-31 (.651) following a win since the 2002-03 season. UMES is 2-4 after a win this season. The best record the team posted in that span was in 2007-08 when it was 12-4. HEAD OF THE CLASS: As of Feb. 1, senior April McBride is leading all MEAC seniors in rebounding. McBride is averaging 8.6 rebounds per game which is good for fourth overall in the conference. She is averaging 3.3 offensive rebounds per game which is fifth best in the league and is also fourth in the MEAC in defensive rebounding (5.3 per game). SANDERS MAKING AN IMMEDIATE IMPACT: Redshirt freshman forward Chelsea Sanders is second on the Lady Hawks in scoring after 17 games at 11.6 points per game, ranking her 10th in the MEAC. Sanders is averaging 1.1 3-pointers made per game and is tied for 11th in the conference in that category while currently being 14th in 3-point percentage (24.7). MCBRIDE AMONG MEAC LEADERS: In addition to Sanders' solid numbers, McBride is fifth in scoring average with 15.6 points per game. McBride is seventh in field-goal percentage at 46.3 percent as well as ninth in free-throw percentage at 73.2 percent. She is also eighth in blocks per game (0.8). Finally, McBride is fourth in the MEAC in steals at 2.4 per game. TWENTY-FOURTH CAREER 20-POINT GAME: In scoring 24 points against Morgan State on Jan. 25, April McBride registered the 24th 20-point scoring effort of her career at UMES. Last season, she recorded 10 20-point games. During her sophomore campaign, she notched eight 20-point games and in her first year at UMES she had one 20-point effort. STRUGGLE IN NOV., DEC., FLOURISH IN JAN.: Over the last several years under head coach Fred Batchelor, the Lady Hawks have limped through November and December before blazing through the month of January. That may hold true again this season. In 2008-09, the Hawks went 2-6 in November and December and then went 7-3 in January. In 2007-08, the Hawks were 4-5 through December and went 6-2 in January. In Bathelor's first season with the program (2004-05) the Lady Hawks were 2-8 after two months and then posted a 5-3 mark in January. MORTON WORKING HARD FOR THE LADY HAWKS: NBA statistics guru Harvey Pollack, inventor of numerous basketball statistical categories, maintains what he calls the "working man's stat," which is when a player records at least one of every statistical category in the box score. In the season-opener at UMBC, junior Casey Morton achieved a working woman's stat. She was: 2-of-10 from the field; 1-of-7 from three-point land; 7-of-10 at the line; had one offensive rebound; three defensive rebounds; 12 points; one assist; one block; three steals.McBride joined the club against American on Jan. 4. She was: 4-of-11 from the field; 3-of-4 from 3-point land; 3-of-4 from the line; one offensive rebound; six defensive rebounds; 14 points; two assists; two blocks; four steals. PROTECTING THE HYTCHE CENTER: The Lady Hawks have managed a winning record at home the last seven years. Overall, UMES is 50-36 at the W.P. Hytche Athletic Center since the 2002 campaign. For comparison, the Hawks are 39-50 on the road since the 2002 season. In 2007, the Lady Hawks had nine wins at home. Since Fred Batchelor's arrival on campus, the Lady Hawks 38-26 at home. The Hawks won their final two games last season at home. MORTON: 221 AND COUNTING: Casey Morton tied a career-high with seven assists for the second time this season against N.C. Central on Jan. 27. She ranks 11th in the conference, averaging 2.7 dimes per game and has 46 total this season. UMES AFTER A LOSS SINCE 2002-03 SEASON: With the Lady Hawks' win against N.C. Central Wednesday, they improved to 40-65 (.380) following a loss since the 2002-03 season. UMES is 5-4 after a loss this season. The best record the team posted in that span was in 2005-06 when it was 7-5. THREE IN A ROW?: The Lady Hawks are hoping for their third straight winning season under head man Fred Batchelor. UMES finished 15-14 last season and went 17-13 the year prior. Since 1983-84, the Lady Hawks have never had three straight winning seasons. MCBRIDE NAMED TO MEAC PRESEASON FIRST TEAM: Senior April McBride was named to the Preseason MEAC First Team, as voted upon by conference head coaches and sports information directors. McBride has led the Lady Hawks in scoring and rebounding in each of her three seasons at UMES. McBride was named First Team All-MEAC following her sophomore and junior seasons. HAWKS PICKED SECOND IN MEAC: Conference head coaches and SIDs voted UMES second in the preseason behind predicted league- champion North Carolina A&T. The jump is a dramatic one for the Hawks, who were predicted to finish sixth in the MEAC last season. In 2007, the Hawks were picked to finish seventh in the league. DOWNTOWN DIFFICULTIES: The Lady Hawks are having trouble connecting from 3-point range through 17 games. UMES is shooting just 23.8 percent (63-for-265) from beyond the arc, which is last in the conference. The statistic is especially troubling considering that UMES is taking 27.7 percent of its shots from 3-point range. UMES hit 2-of-9 from beyond the arc versus Iona and just 1-of-8 against Delaware State. The Lady Hawks followed that up with a 3-of-18 showing against Mississippi Valley State and were 1-of-11 versus Georgia State.UMES attempted a season-high 40 3-pointers at UMBC (9-for-40). LAST TIME OUT AGAINST HAMPTON: April McBride had a game-high 15 points, 11 rebounds and three steals and shot 6-of-18 from the field but Hampton defeated UMES, 57-47, at the HU Convocation Center Feb. 9, 2009. Jerika Jenkins (16 points) and Chineyere Ukoh (12) were the only Lady Pirates in double figures. UMES led, 40-33, with 12:13 to play, but the HU defense limited the Lady Hawks to seven points the rest of the way. HAWKS COME AT YOU IN WAVES: Of the 15 players that have seen the floor this season, 10 are averaging more than 10 minutes per game. Six players are averaging at least 15 minutes per contest and five players are averaging at least 20 minutes per game. No UMES player is averaging more than April McBride's 30.5 per night. BUCKNER'S 3-POINT DROUGHT: Latoya Buckner is just 4-of-30 from 3-point range this season. She has missed her last 22-of-26 attempts from deep. She made her only four 3-pointers at UMBC on Nov. 15, at Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 18 and at home against N.C. Central on Jan. 27 and Howard on Jan. 30. MAGIC MAN RETURNS AS COACH: After graduating from UMES in 2008, Richard "Magic" Ashley returns as a graduate assistant coach for the Lady Hawks in 2009-10. He previously worked for the team from 2006-08 as the student assistant and the assistant strength and conditioning coach. Following graduation, he was the top assistant coach for the William Penn High School boy's varsity squad, helping guide the team to a state title. SENIOR MCBRIDE RETURNS TO ANCHOR HAWKS: Senior April McBride is one of the top returnees in the MEAC. She paced the 2008-09 Hawks in scoring (16.2) and rebouning (8.6). McBride ranked fifth in the MEAC in scoring and third in rebounding. She also finished eighth in the conference in field-goal percentage (42.9), third in free-throw percentage (79.1), tied for 12th in the league in steals (1.6) and fifth in blocks (1.2). McBride scored in double figures in 22 of the 25 games she played in. McBride led the Hawks in scoring in 17 games last season. She poured in a career-best 29 points against Morgan State on Jan. 31. Casey Morton IS BACK: Every star needs a compliment and thats exactly what Casey Morton provides for McBride. Morton was the second leading scorer last season, averaging 11.0 points per game. Morton appeared in all 29 games and was in the starting lineup for 28 of the contests. Morton connected on 38 3-pointers, second most on the team behind Tiffany Reid (42). Morton proved to be an excellent fascilitator, leading the Hawks with 90 assists. She also led the team in steals with 47 last season. Two years ago, during his freshman campaign, she was named the MEAC Rookie of the Year. THIRTY-SIX GAMES IN TWO YEARS IN DOUBLE DIGITS: Senior April McBride scored in double figures in 36 games over the last two seasons. She has scored in double figures in 79 games in her three years at UMES. Casey Morton is second in career double-figure games with 45.Morton tallied a season-high 16 points in UMES first win of the season against Delaware State. REBOUNDING PROWESS FROM THE GUARD SPOT: Casey Morton proved last season that she is one of the best rebounding guards in the MEAC. At 5-foot-9, Morton ranked second on the Hawks last season, averaging 3.9 boards per game. She totaled 113 rebounds. During the 2007-08 campaign, Morton totaled 107 rebounds (3.7). In the season-opening loss at UMBC, Morton pulled a season-best six boards against Delaware State. BOMBS AWAY FROM BEYOND THE ARC: UMES attempted 602 3-pointers last season. For comparison, the Hawks' opponents attempted just 307 long balls. It is interesting to note that Tiffany Reid (141) and Josephine McLane (138), who are not on the 2009-10 roster, attempted the most from beyond the arc. Casey Morton was third in attempts with 124. The Hawks' opponents (.308) had a better 3-point percentage than UMES (.284). In the season-opening loss at UMBC, the Lady Hawks fired 40 3-pointers in 40 minutes, connecting on nine (22.5 percent). LADY HAWKS HURT ON BOARDS: UMES was badly outrebounded against UMBC, allowing the Retrievers to pull in 54 boards while totaling only 38. April McBride pulled down a team-high eight boards. It was the first time the Lady Hawks had been outrebounded by 10 or more since February of last season, when Florida A&M won the battle on the glass, 45-34. NEXT UP FOR UMES: After facing Hampton Monday, the Lady Hawks hit the road to play Norfolk State Saturday, Feb. 6 at Echols Hall at 2 p.m. The Spartans hold a 16-7 adavantage in the all-time series but haven't beaten UMES since March 6, 2007 (85-54), a span of three meetings. UMES topped NSU, 95-64, on Feb. 16 of last season for its last win. |
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