2010-112010-112010-11 WOMEN’SWOMEN’SWOMEN’S BASKETBALLBASKETBALLBASKETBALL NN EWSEWS && NN OTESOTES 399 Campus Drive, First Floor, Somerset, NJ 08873 Women’s Contact: Ralph Ventre Phone: 732-469-0440/Fax: 732-469-0744 E-Mail: [email protected] Bryant • Central Connecticut State • Fairleigh Dickinson • Long Island • Monmouth • Mount St. Mary’s Quinnipiac • Robert Morris • Sacred Heart • St. Francis (NY) • Saint Francis (PA) • Wagner NEC Women’s Basketball Women’s Basketball Facts & Figures (Week 7/8 - January 3, 2011)

Recent Results School NEC Pct. Overall Pct. Streak Home Away Neutral Wednesday, December 22 1. Fairleigh Dickinson 2-0 1.000 8-4 .667 W5 4-1 4-3 0-0 SACRED HEART 69, Harvard 60 Robert Morris 2-0 1.000 5-7 .417 W1 0-2 4-5 1-0 New Hampshire 75, QUINNIPIAC 63 Duquesne 84, SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 69 Monmouth 1-0 1.000 9-3 .750 W1 6-1 3-2 0-0 Delaware State 62, ST. FRANCIS (NY) 41 Sacred Heart 1-0 1.000 7-5 .583 L1 4-2 2-2 1-1 FAIRLEIGH DICKSINSON 51, CENTRAL CONN. ST. 46 Saint Francis (PA) 1-0 1.000 6-7 .462 W1 3-0 2-7 1-0 Tuesday, December 28 Quinnipiac 1-0 1.000 4-8 .333 W1 3-1 1-5 0-2 Syracuse 94, SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 60 7. Long Island 0-1 .000 8-4 .667 W4 4-2 4-2 0-0 Saint Bonaventure 62, SACRED HEART 54 Wagner 0-1 .000 7-5 .583 W3 2-2 4-3 1-0 Lafayette 56, QUINNIPIAC 54 (Philadelphia, PA) Bryant 0-1 .000 3-8 .273 L1 2-2 1-5 0-1 Wednesday, December 29 Mount St. Mary's 0-1 .000 3-9 .250 W2 1-3 2-6 0-0 MOUNT ST. MARY’S 72, San Jose State 69 Central Conn. St. 0-2 .000 7-5 .583 L1 3-0 4-4 0-1 Brown 75, MONMOUTH 71 St. Francis (NY) 0-2 .000 2-10 .167 L1 2-6 0-4 0-0 WAGNER 68, Vermont 40 (Hanover, NH) QUINNIPIAC 62, New Hampshire 61 (Philadelphia, PA) *- Denotes that team has clinched NEC Tournament berth. Top eight teams in final standings qualify for NEC Tournament. Kent State 66, ROBERT MORRIS 60 Pennsylvania 66, ST. FRANCIS (NY) 38 Choice Hotels NEC Co-Players of the Week Samford 76, CENTRAL CONN ST. 57 (Jersey City, NJ) Megan Mahoney, Wagner Thursday, December 30 Syracuse 90, BRYANT 31 Sr., G, 5-7, Staten Island, NY/St. Peter’s HS (Fordham) MONMOUTH 60, Binghamton 51 Mahoney was a driving force behind Wagner's three-game win streak that began back on December 21. Contributing in a WAGNER 69, Dartmouth 52 number of ways to double-digit victories over Saint Peter's, Vermont, and Dartmouth, the 5-foot-7 senior guard averaged 17.3 LONG ISLAND 69, Jacksonville 59 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 3.0 steals per contest. She shot 51.5 percent (17-for-33) from the field, including a 4- FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 45, Howard 44 for-7 clip from three-point range, during the three-game span. In her final home game of 2010, the native Staten Islander poured Friday, December 31 in 19 points to help Wagner down MAAC member Saint Peter's. Mahoney was even more impressive when the Seahawks CENTRAL CONN. ST. 78, Saint Peter’s 66 contested Dartmouth's Blue Sky Classic one week later. Leading Wagner to a pair of victories that and a tournament title, Mahoney Long Island 58, North Florida 40 averaged 16.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists and earned a place on the All-Classic Team. She tallied 18 points, seven ST. FRANCIS (NY) 57, Stony Brook 54 rebounds, six assists, and a season-high five steals in a 68-50 win over Vermont before notching her first career double-double MOUNT ST. MARY’S 79, San Francisco 77 (OT) against tournament host Dartmouth. Mahoney scored 15 points and pulled down a career-high 13 boards in a convincing 17- Sunday, January 2 point road win over the Big Green. She also tied a career high by dishing out seven assists in the 69-52 victory. SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 66, ST. FRANCIS (NY) 54 ROBERT MORRIS 55, Coppin State 51 Ashley Palmer, Long Island #6 West Virginia 63, CENTRAL CONN. ST. 37 Jr., F, 5-10, Oxford, PA/Oxford Area Upcoming Games Palmer averaged a double-double to help the NEC preseason favorite Blackbirds notch a pair of double-digit wins down in the Monday, January 3 Sunshine State. The two-time all-NEC honoree averaged 19.5 points and 12.0 rebounds during road victories at Jacksonville BRYANT at Army 5:00 pm and North Florida. Spearheading a winning effort on back-to-back nights, Palmer shot a steady 55 percent (12-for-22) from WAGNER at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm the floor and a near-perfect 94 percent (15-of-16) from the line. She scored 19 points and secured a season-high New Jersey Tech at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm 16 boards in a 69-59 triumph over Jacksonville on December 30. Palmer reached the 20-point mark one day later at North Tuesday, January 4 Florida, but finished two rebounds shy of another double-double. Her 20 points, eight rebounds, and three steals helped LIU SAINT FRANCIS (PA) at LONG ISLAND 7:00 pm extend its win streak to four games with a 58-40 triumph on New Year's Eve. Attempting to rank amongst the NEC's top-10 MOUNT ST. MARY’S at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm leaders in both scoring and rebounding for a third straight season, Palmer is averaged 13.3 points (8th) and 9.7 rebounds Wednesday, January 5 (2nd) per game. BRYANT at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week Friday, January 7 QUINNIPIAC at MONMOUTH 12:00 pm Artemis Spanou, Robert Morris SACRED HEART at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 7:00 pm Fr., F, 6-0, Rhodes, Greece Saturday, January 8 Spanou closed the out the 2010 calendar year by setting a career high for scoring before ringing in the New Year by notching LONG ISLAND at CENTRAL CONN. ST. 1:00 pm a double-double. For the third time this season, her efforts landed the freshman forward Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week ST. FRANCIS (NY) at BRYANT 1:00 pm honors. Starting in all four of Robert Morris' games over the past two weeks, Spanou averaged 12.0 points and 8.8 rebounds ROBERT MORRIS at MOUNT ST. MARY’S 3:00 pm while shooting 53 percent (9-of-17) from three-point range. She was one shy of a double-double (12 points, 9 SAINT FRANCIS (PA) at WAGNER 4:00 pm rebounds) as the Colonials began the four-game stretch with a 73-47 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the Florida Gator Holiday Classic. Spanou poured in a career-high 22 points in a 66-60 setback at Kent State, which improved to 5-0 at home, on December 29. Helping the Colonials rediscover their winning ways four days later at Coppin State, the 6-foot forward tallied 10 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in a 55-51 triumph. Northeast Conference NEC Notebook 2010-11 League Leaders (Overall) Team Scoring Offense Individual Scoring NEC Makes Strides in Non-Conference Contests Saint Francis (PA), 67.8 ppg Sam Leach (SFPA), 16.6 ppg Fairleigh Dickinson and Bryant will officially put a lid on non-conference play this week. Team Scoring Defense Individual Rebounding The lone two Northeast Conference teams with non-league games remaining on their sched- Fairleigh Dickinson, 55.0 ppg Ashley Palmer (LIU), 9.7 rpg ules, FDU and Bryant play their final non-NEC contests on January 3. Riding a five-game win streak, Pete Cinella's FDU Knights will host NJIT before NEC rivals Sacred Heart and Team Scoring Margin Individual FG Pct. Quinnipiac come to town this weekend. Meanwhile, Bryant, which has played only once in Monmouth, +4.6 ppg Kelly Clark (WAG), .571 the last 13 days, will visit West Point for a meeting with Patriot League member Army. The Team Rebounding Margin Individual Free Throw Pct. Bulldogs have already defeated two Patriot League opponents - Colgate (Dec. 11) and Holy Long Island, +8.2/g Erin Rooney (MON), .968 (30-31) Cross (Dec. 19) - during what has been a successful showing for the Northeast Conference Team FG Pct. Individual Assists against its rival peer conferences. As of January 2, NEC teams have accounted for a 61-67 Wagner, .408 Brittany Lilley (SFPA), 6.36 apg (.477) record in non-conference games. The improvement in win percentage, which is up from last year's non-league mark of 49-80 (.380), is evident in the conference-by-confer- Team FG Pct. Defense Individual Steals ence RPI rankings. The Northeast Conference ranks 21st out of 32 NCAA Division I leagues Central Conn. St., .328 Danielle Douglas (BRY), 2.55 spg in overall RPI, positioned ahead of numerous regional peers. The Ivy League (23), Metro Team Free Throw Pct. Individual 3-point FG Pct. Atlantic Athletic Conference (24), America East (27), and Patriot League (28) all trail the Fairleigh Dickinson, .716 Marie Archambault (WAG), .472 NEC in the RPI standings.

Team 3-point FG Pct. Individual Blocks Saint Francis (PA), .372 Esther Wallace (FDU), 2.75 bpg New Season Tips Off Out with the holiday season and onto conference play. Such is the story in NEC women's Team Turnover Margin Individual -TO Ratio basketball this week. Sacred Heart hosts Wagner on January 3 in the first of XXX league Monmouth, +1.50/g Felicia Barron (QU), 1.26 games on the slate. As of January 2, every NEC team had contested at least one conference game thus far this season, but no more than two. Robert Morris, the 2009-10 NEC regular season champion, and Fairleigh Dickinson have both won each of their first two league games to sit tied atop the conference standings. Sacred Heart has an opportunity to join those two 2-0 teams by defending its home court against Wagner, which lost its NEC opener at Quinnipiac back on December 4. Defending NEC champion Saint Francis (PA) played its first league game of the 2010-11 schedule on January 2, posting a 66-54 win over St. Francis Northeast Conference (NY) in Brooklyn Heights. and the Red Flash will look to make 2009-10 League Leaders (Overall) it two in a row on January 4 when they travel a few city blocks down to Long Island. LIU, the Team Scoring Offense Individual Scoring NEC preseason favorite, will be looking for its first league win after dropping its NEC opener Saint Francis (PA), 68.7 ppg Britney Hodges (SFPA), 17.7 ppg to Robert Morris on December 5. Team Scoring Defense Individual Rebounding Robert Morris, 57.1 ppg Callan Taylor (SHU), 9.4 rpg LIU Flies High in Coach's Return to Sunshine State Long Island ended an 11-day hiatus by posting back-to-back road victories on its quick trip Team Scoring Margin Individual FG Pct. Robert Morris, +9.3 ppg Mary Durojaye (RMU), .577 (97-168) through the northern part of Florida. Playing for the first time since their 59-43 win over Stony Brook on December 19, the Blackbirds notched double-digit wins at Jacksonville Team Rebounding Margin Individual Free Throw Pct. (Dec. 30) and North Florida (Dec. 31). The two-game swing was a homecoming of sorts for Long Island, +5.1/g Ashley Olsen, .871 (61-70) LIU head coach Gail Striegler, who guided Central Florida to three consecutive Atlantic Team FG Pct. Individual Assists Sun championships (2003-05) last decade. Striegler, who took over at LIU for the 2008-09 Robert Morris, .440 Kiara Evans (LIU), 6.44 apg season, was also part of UCF's transition into Conference USA. She currently has the Black- birds flying high during her third season in Downtown Brooklyn. Coming off a 22-win Team FG Pct. Defense Individual Steals campaign that ended in the 2010 NEC Championship Game, Long Island has earned the Robert Morris, .362 Angela Pace (RMU), 2.66 spg moniker of 2010-11 NEC preseason favorite and carries a four-game win streak into the New Team Free Throw Pct. Individual 3-point FG Pct. Year. Sacred Heart, .729 Maggie Cosgrove (SHU), .455 (76-167)

Team 3-point FG Pct. Individual Blocks Sacred Heart, .381 Anna Galite (RMU), 1.79 bpg

Team Turnover Margin Individual Assist-TO Ratio Saint Francis (PA), +3.12/g Angela Pace (RMU), 2.36 NEC Notebook 2010-11 Northeast Conference vs...

Mount Right at Home in Bay Area America East 12-7 Mid-American 1-3 Mount St. Mary's had lost seven straight games heading into its first-ever visit to the Golden ACC 1-4 MEAC 6-3 State, but the Mount's woes were nothing a trip to California couldn't cure. The Mount Atlantic Sun 2-0 Missouri Valley 0-0 Atlantic 10 1-7 Mountain West 1-0 snapped its longest losing streak in program history by posting back-to-back wins in the Bay Big East 1-11 NAIA 0-0 Area, and did so in style. Mount St. Mary's had scored no more than 65 points in any game Big Sky 0-1 Ohio Valley 0-0 this season before eclipsing the 70-point mark in victories over San Jose State and San Big South 0-0 Pac 10 0-1 Francisco. Bryan Whitten's Mountaineers escaped San Jose with a 72-69 win behind a Big Ten 0-0 Patriot 8-13 sensational performance from sophomore Selina Mann (Gainesville, VA/Battlefield). Big 12 0-0 SEC 1-2 Big West 0-0 Southern 0-1 Mann poured in a career-high 26 points at San Jose State and delivered the game-winning Colonial 1-4 Southland 2-0 basket two days later at San Francisco. The Mount, which received 26 points from senior Conference USA 0-0 Summit 1-0 Mary Dunn (Whippany, NJ/Morris Catholic), battled back from a 17-point second- Division II 0-0 SWAC 0-0 half deficit to force overtime at San Francisco and posted a 79-77 win after 45 minutes of Division III 0-0 Sun Belt 0-0 action. Mann's layup with 1.9 seconds remaining lifted the Mount to its first overtime win Great West 2-0 WCC 1-0 Horizon 0-0 WAC 1-0 since the 2006-07 season. Independent 1-0 Ivy 9-7 Taylor Meets Millenium Milestone MAAC 10-4 Overall 62-68 Aside from the final score, Sacred Heart junior Callan Taylor (Overland Park, KS/Blue Valley North) will hold a fond memory of the Pioneers' 62-54 setback to Saint Bonaventure. It was against the Bonnies that Taylor dropped in 21 points to become the 15th player in Northeast Conference Television school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau. Taylor is the third fastest Pioneer to reach Date Time Opponents Carrier 1,000 points as the junior needed 74 games to accomplish the feat. The Kansas native also Jan. 29 11:30 am Long Island at Monmouth MSG, FCS ranks 13th all-time at SHU for rebounding with 595 boards. Feb. 12 6:00 pm Robert Morris at Saint Francis (PA) FCS, FSN-Pitt, ESPN3 Feb. 14 5:00 pm Quinnipiac at Sacred Heart MSG, FCS Feb. 26 11:30 am Central Conn. St. at Long Island MSG, FCS, Cox Red Flash Take First Step toward Repeat Mar. 13 3:00 pm NEC Women's Championship Game ESPNU Saint Francis (PA) opened the New Year by defeating a NEC opponent for the first time since taking down Long Island in the 2010 NEC Championship Game. In midst of seven-game Network Legend MSG - Madison Square Garden road swing, the Red Flash snapped a three-game slide by winning their NEC opener at St. FSN-Pitt - Fox Sports-Pittsburgh Francis (NY) (Jan. 2). Saint Francis (PA) tipped off its seven-game trip with win at Howard ESPN3 - ESPN3.com FCS - Fox College Sports before falling to No. 7 West Virginia, Duquesne, and Syracuse. The Flash will not return Cox - Cox Cable (CT only) home to Loretto until January 15. They are 3-0 this season in the Stokes Center, including The Northeast Conference will televise four women's basketball regular wins over Pitt and Kent State. Saint Francis (PA), which was tabbed fourth in the 2010-11 season games on a host of regional cable networks. For the third year running, the NEC Women's Championship Game will reach a National TV NEC preseason poll, has won a league-record 10 NEC Tournament crowns. audience via ESPNU. In addition to its cable TV package, the NEC will broadcast eight league games on the world wide web in a partnership with Monmouth Off to Super Start as Gaitley Meets Milestone Pack Network. Log onto NortheastConference.TV for more details. Monmouth's 60-51 win over Binghamton may have looked like just another game, but it was a lot more than that on two different levels. Closing their non-conference schedule in 2011 NEC Tournament Bracket triumphant fashion, the 2010-11 Hawks are responsible for the program's best non-confer- All Games Played at Higher Seed ence showing in 25 years as a Northeast Conference member. Monmouth reached new March 5 March 8 March 13 heights by winning eight of its 11 non-league contests this season. Not only did the 61-50 (Quarterfinal) (Semifinal) (Championship) win over Binghamton put an exclamation point of Monmouth's remarkable non-confer- #1 Seed Game 1 ence showing, but it also landed head coach Stephanie V. Gaitley her 450th career victory. Time TBA #8 Seed Gaitley, in her 25th season as a head coach and her third at Monmouth, is now 450-263 Game 5 overall and 43-30 with the Hawks. #4 Seed Time TBA Game 2 Time TBA #5 Seed 2011 "Winning a lot of games means you're getting old and you have had a lot of good players," Game 7 NEC Champion 3:00 pm EST said Gaitley after reaching the milestone. "I want to thank all of our current players and all #2 Seed NCAA my former players and assistants for being part of this milestone. You're only as good as (LIVE on ESPU) Tournament Game 3 Automatic Bid those you surround yourself with." Time TBA #7 Seed Game 6 #3 Seed Time TBA Meanwhile, reigning NEC Rookie of the Year Alysha Womack (Springfield, PA/Cardinal Game 4 Time TBA

O'Hara) averaged a team-high 20.0 points per game during the two-day Hawk Holiday #6 Seed Classic. She is leading Monmouth in scoring for a second straight season (14.8 ppg). All games will be played in the home facilities of the higher seed. NEC Women’sNEC Women’s Basketball Basketball 2009-102007-08 FINAL Standings FINAL Standings NEC Preseason Prognostications

School NEC Pct. Overall Pct. Long Island Captures NEC Preseason No. 1 Ranking 1. Robert Morris* 17-1 .944 23-9 .719 In what marks the 10th anniversary of their only Northeast Conference Tournament title, the 2. Long Island* 14-4 .778 22-10 .688 Long Island Blackbirds are expected to return to the top. Long Island, which came up one win 3. Sacred Heart* 12-6 .667 19-11 .633 short of last year’s conference crown, stands as the coaches’ pick to achieve NEC women’s 4. Monmouth* 11-7 .611 16-14 .533 basketball supremacy in 2010-11. St. Francis (PA)* ^ 11-7 .611 17-15 .531 The Northeast Conference announced the results of its annual preseason poll along with the 6. Bryant 10-8 .556 13-16 .448 unveiling of a five-member All-NEC Preseason Team during a media teleconference on Novem- 7. Central Conn. St.* 8-10 .444 12-18 .400 ber 4, eight days before the 2010-11 season officially tips off. 8. Quinnipiac* 7-11 .389 12-18 .400 9. Mount St. Mary's 6-12 .333 10-18 .357 LIU garnered six first-place votes in the annual survey of the league’s 12 head coaches, winning Wagner* 6-12 .333 9-21 .300 what was a tight race for the moniker of NEC women’s basketball preseason favorite. 11. Fairleigh Dickinson 5-13 .278 9-20 .310 12. St. Francis (NY) 1-17 .056 2-27 .069 One of four teams to receive first-place votes, Robert Morris pulled in three top nods to claim * NEC Tournament participants - ^ NEC Tournament champion second in the poll. Despite the lack of a first-place vote, Sacred Heart accrued enough points to take third ahead of defending NEC Tournament champion Saint Francis (PA) and its pair of No. 1 nods. Monmouth received the lone remaining top vote to finish fifth. 2010-11 NEC Preseason Nutmeg State rivals Quinnipiac and Central Connecticut wound up sixth and seventh, respec- tively. Set for its second season as a conference member, Bryant earned the No. 8 spot followed Coaches Poll by Fairleigh Dickinson in ninth. Wagner was tenth in front of Mount St. Mary’s in eleventh and 1. Long Island (6) St. Francis (NY) in twelfth. 2. Robert Morris (3) The preseason poll once again failed to deliver a unanimous favorite, marking the eighth 3. Sacred Heart straight season of divided opinion. Not since 1999, however, has the coaches’ vote been as 4. Saint Francis (PA) (2) fragmented as it was in 2010. For the first time in 11 years, four different teams received a first- 5. Monmouth (1) place nod. 6. Quinnipiac 7. Central Connecticut State Long Island hopes to buck what has become a five-year trend. Not since the 2004-05 season 8. Bryant has the coaches’ poll correctly predicted the tournament champion. That Saint Francis team, 9. Fairleigh Dickinson which was the last to live up to its No. 1 preseason billing, entered the 2004-05 season with a less-experienced core that than of the 2010-11 Blackbirds. 10. Wagner 11. Mount St. Mary’s Preseason Poll Notes: Long Island last held the moniker of preseason favorite heading 12. St. Francis (NY) into the 2007-08 campaign. The Blackbirds finished fourth in the regular season standings First place votes in parentheses ( ). that year and advanced all the way to the NEC title game. … Sacred Heart's No. 3 preseason poll position falls right in line with the program's 11-year history of NEC membership. Ed Swanson's Pioneers have never finished lower than third place in the NEC regular season 2010 NEC Tournament Results standings. … Robert Morris has garnered at least one first-place vote in each of the past six preseason polls. Last year, the Colonials reached the 20-win mark for the fifth time in six March 6 March 7 March 14 seasons. … The year the LIU Blackbirds won their lone NEC title (2000-01), they were (Quarterfinal) (Semifinal) (Championship) tabbed sixth in the preseason poll. #1 Robert Morris #1 Robert Morris Game 1 New Season Brings Back Old Tournament Format (W, 68-52) #8 Wagner The 2011 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Tournament will employ a new format Game 5 #5 Saint Francis (PA) #4 Monmouth (W, 80-79) that really isn't that new. The eight-team postseason event will return to the high-seed hosting (W, 61-49) Game 2 set-up, which the league last used in 2006. All seven games (quarters, semis, and final) will #5 Saint Francis (PA) take place at on-campus home sites. The top four seeds, as determined by the NEC regular #5 Saint Francis (PA) #5 Saint Francis (PA) Game 7 (W, 77-68) season standings, will earn the privilege of hosting a quarterfinal round contest on March 5. #2 Long Island NCAA The two highest remaining seeds will play the semifinal games on their home courts on March Tournament #2 Long Island 8. The NEC Championship Game, which will reach a national audience for the fourth con- Game 3 Automatic Bid (W, 70-63) secutive season on ESPNU, is slated for March 13 at 3:00 pm in the home facility of the highest #7 Quinnipiac (W, 61-55) Game 6 seed remaining. In each of the past three seasons, the NEC hosted all quarterfinal and #3 Sacred Heart #2 Long Island (W, 63-51) semifinal round games at one, pre-determined host site. Game 4 #6 Central Conn. #6 Central Conn.

All quarterfinal and semifinal games were played at 's Maurice Stokes Center in Loretto, PA. The Championship Game was played in LIU’s Wellness Center in Brooklyn, NY being that Long Island was the highest remaining seed. Bryant (3-8, 0-1 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: at Army (Jan. 3); at MONMOUTH (Jan. 5); vs. ST. FRANCIS (NY) (Jan. 8); vs. LONG ISLAND (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: L, 90-31 at Syracuse (Dec. 30)

Bryant contested only one game between Dec. 20 and Jan. 2, a 90-31 loss to Big East power Syracuse. … The game marked the first meeting ever between Bryant and Syracuse as well as the first time Bryant has faced a member of the Big East Conference. … Freshman Naana Ankoma-Mensa (Brampton, Ontario) paced the Bulldogs with six points while sophomore Meredith Soper (Winthrop, MA/Arlington Catholic) pulled down a team-high six rebounds and dished out three assists. … The Black and Gold wrap up non-conference play with a trip to West Point, NY to face Army (Jan. 3) before heading back to NEC action on with a visit to Monmouth (Jan. 5). … Bryant, which has already earned wins over Holy Cross and Colgate, will look for its third win over a Patriot League member this season when it visits Army.

Central Connecticut State (7-5, 0-2 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: vs. LONG ISLAND (Jan. 8); vs. ST. FRANCIS (NY) (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: L, 51-46 vs. FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (Dec. 22); L, 76-57 vs. Samford (Dec. 29); W, 78-66 at at Saint Peter’s (Dec. 31); L, 63-37 at #6 West Virginia (Jan. 2)

The Blue Devils won one of four games over the last two weeks, a span that started with a loss to NEC rival FDU. … Senior Leanne Crockett (Manchester, CT/Manchester) posted a double-double of 20 points and 25 rebounds in CCSU's lone win of the four-game stretch - a 78-66 triumph over MAAC member Saint Peter's. Crockett's 25 boards set CCSU's single-game record, breaking the previous mark of 21 set by Tajuana Sands in March 1987 (Sands was a former teammate of current Blue Devil coach Beryl Piper). Putting together one of the best statistical lines in school history against Saint Peter's, she alos logged six assists, four steals, and three blocks. … Senior Kerrianne Dugan (Waterford, CT/Waterford) had a streak of 95 consecutive starts snapped against St. Peter's. Dugan came off the bench in that game to score 14 points in Central's win. … Dugan (11.8 ppg) leads CCSU in scoring thus far this season, while Crockett (9.7 rpg) sits tied atop the NEC leader board in rebounding.

Fairleigh Dickinson (8-4, 2-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: vs. New Jersey Tech (Jan. 3); vs. SACRED HEART (Jan. 7); vs. QUINNIPIAC (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: W, 51-46 at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (Dec. 22); W, 45-44 at Howard (Dec. 30)

The Knights have been idle since their win over North Jersey rival Saint Peter’s (Dec. 12). ... FDU carries a three-game win streak into its next game, which takes the Knights up to Central Connecticut (Dec. 22). ... The Knights posted three consecutive wins, including their first NEC victory during teh Week of Dec. 6. ... FDU’s 6-4 record marks the program's best program season start since the 1991-92 campaign. … The Knights' current three -game win streak is their longest since 2007. … The Knights the week by posting a road win at Ivy League member Yale. They won their NEC opener at home against Bryant before completing a 3-0 week by defeating intrastate rival Saint Peter's. ... Freshman guard Danielle Pankey (Middletown, NJ/Middletown South) ranks second amongst the NEC’s rookie scoring leaders (8.7 ppg). ... New Jersey product Mariyah Laury (Orange, NJ/Orange) ranks second overall amongst NEC scoring leaders (15.7 ppg).

Long Island (8-4, 0-1 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: vs. SAINT FRANCIS (PA) (Jan. 4); at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (Jan. 8); at BRYANT (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: W, 69-59 at Jacksonville (Dec. 30); W, 58-40 at North Florida (Dec. 31)

Long Island improved to 8-4 while wrapping up its non-conference slate with a pair of road wins in Jacksonville, FL. … Junior Ashley Palmer (Oxford, PA/Oxford Area) averaged a double-double (19.5 ppg, 12.0 rpg) in the victories over Jacksonville and North Florida. … On Dec. 30 , the Blackbirds visited Jacksonville, handing the Dolphins a 69-59 defeat. The Blackbirds shot 90 percent (27-for-30) from the charity stripe to seal the win. Palmer and Kiara Evans (Norcross, GA/Louisville) amassed game highs of 19 points each in the win. Palmer added a season-high 16 rebounds for her third double-double of the season. Evans finished with nine boards, six assists and four steals. … Back in her home state, sophomore Tamika Guz (Miami, FL/Miami Norland) tallied a season-high eight points at Jacksonville. … In a 58-40 win at North Florida on Dec. 31, the Blackbirds held the Ospreys off the scoreboard for the final 10 minutes of the first half and used a 21-2 run to take command of the game. Palmer scored a game-high 20 points and snared a game-high eight boards. … Long Island limited North Florida to just 13 points in the first half, the lowest single-half total by an opponent this season. The 13 points were two shy of Long Island's modern record for fewest allowed in a half. North Florida's 40 total points were the fewest by a Long Island opponent this season. … LIU, which was tabbed the NEC preseason favorite, looks for its first league win when Saint Francis (PA) visits Downtown Brooklyn in a rematch of the 2010 NEC Tournament title tilt on January 4. Monmouth (9-3, 1-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: vs. BRYANT (Jan. 5); vs. QUINNIPIAC (Jan. 7); vs. SACRED HEART (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: Hawk Holiday Classic: L, 75-71 vs. Brown (Dec. 29) - W, 60-51 vs. Binghamton (Dec. 30)

Monmouth split a pair of games at the 2010 Hawk Holiday Classic last week, falling to Brown before bouncing back against Binghamton. … Junior guard Alexis Canady (Forestville, MD/Bishop McNamara) was named to the All-Holiday Classic Team after averaging 16.0 points per game. She also recorded a team-high nine assists and hit 10-of-11 (90.9%) free-throw attempts over the two-game span. … Sophomore Alysha Womack (Springfield, PA/Cardinal O'Hara) led Monmouth in scoring at the tournament, averaging 20.0 points per game in the two contests. Womack hit 47.2 percent (17-of-36) of her field goals. … Sophomore while classmate Gabby Singer (Harrisburg, PA/Central Dauphin) connected on 4-of-9 of her three-point tries. … MU finished the nonconference portion of its schedule with an 8-3 record, accounting for the most non-league wins since the Hawks began competing in the Northeast Conference a quarter-century ago (1986-87). … This week, the Hawks host Bryant (Jan. 5) and Quinnipiac (Jan. 7).

Mount St. Mary’s (3-8, 0-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: at QUINNIPIAC (Jan. 4); vs. ROBERT MORRIS (Jan. 8); vs. SAINT FRANCIS (PA) (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: L, 76-51 at SACRED HEART (Dec. 20); W, 72-69 at San Jose State (Dec. 29); W, 79-77 at San Francisco (Dec. 31)

Mount St. Mary's won back-to-back games in California over the Christmas holiday - defeating San Jose State and San Francisco. … After not scoring more than 65 points in the first 10 games this season, the Mountaineers posted two 70-point performances, including a season-high 79 points at San Francisco. … The Mount rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to force overtime at USF. … The 79-77 win over the Dons marked the Mount's first overtime victory since a 66-58 decision against William & Mary on Dec. 8, 2006. … The back-to-back wins snapped a seven-game losing streak. … The Mount had four players score in double figures in the overtime win at San Fran, the first time that has happened since Feb. 28, 2009 against Robert Morris. … Mount St. Mary's dropped in Northeast Conference opener, falling to Sacred Heart, before snapping its slide out west. … Sophomore G Selina Mann (Gainesville, VA/Battlefield) elevated her play out in the Golden State. She poured in a career-high 26 points at San Jose State and then scored the game-winning bucket with 1.9 seconds left in overtime at San Francisco. Mann finished with 14 points, a career-best eight assists and five steals in the win at USF. … Senior F Mary Dunn (Whippany, NJ/Morris Catholic) recorded a career-high 26 points and eight rebounds against San Francisco. The senior recorded 16 of her personal best in the final 14:36 to help the Mountaineers rally from a 17-point deficit, including the game-tying basket with 14 seconds left in regulation. The senior became the fourth player in program history to start 100 games in her career. … Freshman G Ashley Christie (Miamisburg, OH/ Archbishop Alter) averaged 10.3 points per contest against Sacred Heart, SJSU, and San Fran. … Sophomore F Tara Lonergan (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) notched a career-high 13 points at San Jose State before earning her first collegiate start at San Francisco. … Mount St. Mary's finished the non-conference slate with a 3-8 mark and restarts Northeast Conference play at Quinnipiac (Jan. 4).

Quinnipiac (4-8, 1-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: vs. MOUNT ST. MARY’S (Jan. 4); at MONMOUITH (Jan. 7); at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: L, 76-66 at Yale (Dec. 20); L, 75-63 at New Hampshire (Dec. 22); SJU Invitational: L, 56-54 vs. Lafayette (Dec. 28) - W, 62-61 vs. New Hampshire (Dec. 29)

Quinnipiac posted a 1-3 record over the last two weeks of play. … The Bobcats fell to regional rivals Yale and New Hampshire before heading down to the Saint Joseph's Invitational in Philadelphia. At Saint Joe's, QU dropped a neutral court decision to Lafayette, 56-54, before earning a rematch against New Hampshire in the tournament's third-place game. … Senior forward Lailah Pratt (Palmyra, NJ/Palmyra) provided the difference in the 62-61 win over New Hampshire, which snapped the Bobcats' three-game slide. She broek a 61-61 tie by sinking a free throw with 00:02 remaining. … Junior Jacinda Dunbar (Edison, NJ/Cardinal McCarrick) poured in a career-high 26 points in the win over UNH. … Fifth-year senior Courtney Kaminski (Dudley, MA/Shepherd), a preseason all-NEC pick, recorded her first double-double of the season with 14 points and 11 rebounds against New Hampshire on Dec. 29. … Freshman Ellen Cannon (West Chester, PA/Villa Maria) made her mark in Quinnipiac's first game against UNH as she finished four three-pointers, compiling 14 points… Felicia Barron (Springfield, MA/ Central) currently leads the Bobcats with 11.2 points per game. … Freshman Brittany McQuain (Independence, MO/Chrisman) leads Quinnipiac with 5.6 rebounds per game. … Quinnipiac tips off the New Year by hosting NEC rival Mount St. Mary's (Jan. 4). Robert Morris (5-7, 2-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: at MOUNT ST. MARY’S (Jan. 8); at WAGNER (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: Gator Holiday Classic: W, 73-47 vs. Texas A&M-CC (Dec. 20) - L, 70-50 at Florida (Dec. 21); L, 66-60 at Kent State (Dec. 29); W, 55-51 at Coppin State (Jan. 2)

Robert Morris went 2-2 over the holiday stretch. The Colonials earned victories over Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Coppin State, while suffering a pair of road setbacks at Florida and Kent State. … The Colonials have played the 65th toughest schedule in the nation as of January 1. … Freshman Artemis Spanou (Rhodes, Greece) recorded her third double-double of the year against Coppin State (10 points, 14 rebounds). Spanou set single-game season-highs for points (22 - Kent), rebounds (14 - Coppin) and three-pointers (6 - Kent) over the past two weeks. … Senior Kristine Silaraja (Ventspils, Latvia/Barton County CC) was named to the Gator Holiday Classic All-Tournament Team after averaging 15.0 points and 3.0 steals while shooting 55.0 percent (11-20) from the field in games against Texas A&M-CC and Florida. … Senior forward Mary Durojaye (London, England) posted a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds) against Florida, which featured fellow England National Team member Azania Stewart. … Robert Morris concludes a school-record nine-game, 48-day road trip road trip with a pair of conference games this weekend. RMU travels to Mount St. Mary's before taking on Wagner. Sacred Heart (7-5, 1-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: vs. WAGNER (Jan. 3); at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON (Jan. 7); at MONMOUTH (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: W, 76-51 vs. MOUNT ST. MARY’S (Dec. 20); W, 69-60 at Harvard (Dec. 22); L, 62-54 vs. SAINT BONAVENTURE (Dec. 28)

The Pioneers ran their win streak to four games, beating Mount St. Mary's and Harvard, before suffering its first loss in 23 days. Falling for the first time since visiting No. 1 UConn on December 5, SHU dropped a 62-54 decision to A-10 member Saint Bonaventure (Dec. 28) … Senior sharpshooter Maggie Cosgrove (Andover, MA/Andover) hit five first-half treys against the Crimson and now has 214 makes during her career. … The Pioneers easily defeated the Mount in their NEC opener and were helped by a 19-for-22 (86.4%) showing from free throw line. … Sophomore Morgan Merriman (Seattle, WA/Lakeside) tallied 12 points and eight rebounds vs. Mount. … Sacred Heart forced 20 turnovers and shot 52 percent in second half against Harvard. The Pioneers broke a 46-46 tie by going on a 10-0 run in the 69-60 victory over the Crimson. … Both of Sacred Heart's home losses this season are against Atlantic 10 members. … The Pioneers end non-league play having won six of 11 contests, including a victory over SEC member Auburn.

St. Francis (NY) (2-10, 0-2 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: at BRYANT (Jan. 8); at CENTRAL CONNECTICUT STATE (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: L, 62-41 vs. Delaware St. (Dec. 22); L, 66-38 vs. Penn (Dec. 29); W, 57-54 vs. Stony Brook (Dec. 31); L, 66- 54 vs. SAINT FRANCIS (PA) (Jan. 2)

The Terriers hosted four games over the past two weeks and came away with a skid-snapping win over Stony Brook. SFNY salvaged the four-game homestand by posting a 57-54 win over the local rival. … Freshman guard Jasmin Robinson (Brooklyn, NY/Medgar Evers) had a career day against Stony Brook. The Brooklyn native, starting in just her second career game, recorded a career and game-high 21 points on 6-of-10 shooting. In addition, the former Medgar Evers standout shot 90 percent from the free-throw line (9-of-10) in 34 minutes of action. … Sophomore forward Autumn Lau (Mt. Wolf, PA/Northeastern HS) is on pace to reach the 1,000 career point plateau during her collegiate career. She has amassed 505 points in fewer than two seasons in Brooklyn Heights. Lau will need to average 9.0 points per game over the next 55 contests. … The Terriers moved to 2-0 in games decided by five points or less this season by notching the three-point win over Stony Brook.

Saint Francis (PA) (6-7, 1-0 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: at LONG ISLAND (Jan. 4); at MOUNT ST. MARY’S (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: L, 84-69 at Duquesne (Dec. 22); L, 94-60 at Syracuse (Dec. 28); W, 66-54 at ST. FRANCIS (NY) (Jan. 2)

The Red Flash dropped a pair of non-conference road games, but rebounded by winning their NEC opener at St. Francis (NY). ... After posting notable home wins over Pitt and Kent State, Saint Francis (PA) came up short on the road against Duquesne and Syracuse. ... The defending NEC champion tipped off its 18-game NEC slate with a 12-point win in Brooklyn Heights. They will remain in New York City to face Long Island (Jan. 4) in a rematch of the 2010 NEC Tournament title game. ... Two-time all-NEC guard Samantha Leach (Mount Sterling, OH/Miami Trace) leads the NEC in scoring (16.6 ppg). ... Saint Francis (PA) owns the NEC’s top-ranked scoring offense (67.8 ppg), which features the conference’s best three-point shooting unit. The Red Flash rank first on the NEC leader board in three-point field goals (84) and three-point percentage (.372).

Wagner (7-5, 0-1 NEC) Upcoming Schedule: at SACRED HEART (Jan. 3); vs. ROBERT MORRIS (Jan. 10) Last Week's Results: W, 74-64 at Saint Peter’s (Dec. 21); Blue Sky Classic: W, 68-40 vs. Vermont (Dec. 29) - W, 69-52 at Dartmouth (Dec. 30)

After winning three straight games, Wagner finished the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 7-4 record. … The seven wins are the most by a Wagner team in non-conference play since the Seahawks became a member of the NEC in 1986-87. The most non-NEC wins by a Wagner team previous to this season was six in 1996-97. … Wagner's three-game winning streak is the program's first since the 2003-04 season. … With three road wins, Wagner has already matched last season's road win total. … Senior guard Megan Mahoney (Staten Island, NY/ St. Peter's) filled up the stat columns in leading Wagner to its three straight wins. The 5-7 guard shot 52 percent (17-of-33) from the field and averaged 17.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 3.0 steals in leading Wagner to wins over Saint Peter's (64-54), Vermont (68-50) and at Dartmouth (69-52). In two games at the Blue Sky Classic, Mahoney averaged a double-double, 16.5 points and 10.0 rebounds, and was named to the All-Tournament team along with teammate Marie-Laurence Archambault (Quebec, Ontario/Montmorency) who averaged 16.0 points and was 7-of-16 from three-point range. The sharp-shooting Archambault was ranked No. 12 in the nation in three-point accuracy at 48 percent according to the latest NCAA statistics. … Wagner's 68-40 win over Vermont marks the largest margin of victory for the Seahawks since February 1, 2003 when Wagner defeated Robert Morris by a 32-point margin, 75-43. … The 40 points were the fewest allowed by the Seahawks this season and are the fewest allowed by Wagner since December 1, 2001 when the Seahawks posted a 46-40 victory over Manhattan. … Junior center Kelly Clark (Neptune, NJ/ St. Rose) is one of the NEC's most improved players. After averaging 5.2 ppg as a sophomore, the 6-foot- 3 Clark paces the Seahawks in scoring at 13.7 points per game and was fifth in the nation in field goal accuracy according to the most recent NCAA statistics. Clark is currently shooting an NEC-best 57.1 percent from the field. … Wagner is exhibiting tremendous balance offensively as four players average in double figures.