2007-082007-08 WOMEN’SWOMEN’SWOMEN’S BASKETBALLBASKETBALLBASKETBALL NN EWSEWS && NN OTESOTES 200 Cottontail Lane, Vantage Court North, Somerset, NJ 08873 Women’s Basketball Contact: Ralph Ventre Phone: 732-469-0440/Fax: 732-469-0744 E-Mail: [email protected] 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 Northeast Conference Women’s Basketball Facts & Figures (Week #10 - January 14, 2008) Last Week’s Results School NEC Pct. Overall Pct. Streak Home Away Neutral Monday, January 7 1. Sacred Heart 5-0 1.000 10-6 .625 W4 7-1 3-4 0-1 CENTRAL CONN. ST 62, WAGNER 54 (OT) Quinnipiac 4-0 1.000 12-2 .857 W3 5-0 7-1 0-1 SACRED HEART 66, LONG ISLAND 64 3. Long Island 3-1 .750 12-3 .800 W1 6-1 6-2 0-0 ROBERT MORRIS 82, MONMOUTH 65 4. St. Francis (NY) 3-2 .600 6-10 .375 L1 5-3 1-7 0-0 ST. FRANCIS (NY) 66, MT. ST. MARY'S 58 5. Fairleigh Dickinson 2-2 .500 6-9 .400 W1 3-3 3-5 0-1 QUINNIPIAC 72, SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 61 Robert Morris 2-2 .500 6-9 .400 L1 4-1 2-6 0-2 St. Francis (PA) 2-2 .500 5-10 .333 W1 3-4 2-6 0-0 Tuesday, January 8 8. Mount St. Mary's 2-3 .400 4-12 .250 W1 0-8 4-3 0-1 Lafayette 66, FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 59 9. Central Conn. St. 1-4 .200 2-14 .125 L2 0-7 2-6 0-1 10. Monmouth 0-4 .000 2-12 .143 L3 1-5 0-6 1-1 Wednesday, January 9 Wagner 0-4 .000 2-13 .133 L13 2-6 0-5 0-2 Army 59, WAGNER 50 Top eight teams qualify for NEC Tournament Thursday, January 10 LONG ISLAND 72, CENTRAL CONN. ST. 55 Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week Saturday, January 12 Sade Logan, Robert Morris MT. ST. MARY'S 71, CENTRAL CONN. ST. 56 FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON 65, ST. FRANCIS (NY) 29 G, 6-0, Jr., Knoxville, TN/Chattanooga State QUINNIPIAC 66, MONMOUTH 62 Logan, the conference’s leading scorer (24.3 ppg), finds herself as the Choice Hotels NEC Player of the Week for SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 81, WAGNER 74 the second occasion this season. The junior guard netted 28 points in each of the Colonials’ two games this past week. Logan shot a scalding 12-of-18 from the field and grabbed four rebounds in Robert Morris’ 17-point Sunday, January 13 triumph over Monmouth. Later in the week, the slick shooting guard dropped in another 28 points against SACRED HEART 59, ROBERT MORRIS 57 league-leading Sacred Heart. Logan nearly proved to be the difference in the two-point setback. She scored 10 Home Team Underlined. No Underline indicates neutral court. of the Colonials’ 12 points during a 2:44 span in the second half that turned a seven-point SHU advantage in a one- point RMU edge. The 6-0 two-guard shot 47 percent from the field during the two-game span. Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week Choice Hotels Choice Hotels Alisa Apo, Sacred Heart NEC Player of the Week NEC Rookie of the Week G, 5-9, Fr., Freehold, NJ/St. John Vianney Nov. 12 Valerie Nainima, LIU Nov. 12 Mary Dunn, MSM Apo and the Pioneers remained atop the league standings by knocking off the top two teams from the Northeast Nov. 19 Chinata Nesbit, RMU Nov. 19 Jenna Strich, FDU Nov. 26 Sade Logan, RMU Nov. 26 Maggie Cosgrove, SHU Conference preseason coaches’ poll this past week. The freshman set a career high by scoring 23 points in a Dec. 3 Kaitlin Sowinski, SHU Dec. 3 Chelsi Johnson, LIU two-point road victory at defending NEC Champion Robert Morris. Apo drained 18 of her team-high 23 points, Dec. 10 Erin Kerner, QU Dec. 10 Chelsi Johnson, LIU including all four of her three-point makes, during the second half of the 59-57 road win. Apo’s scoring surge Dec. 17 Valerie Nainima Dec. 17 Kerrianne Dugan, CCSU proved pivotal as the team’s main scoring option, Kaitlin Sowinski, was experiencing foul trouble. Apo Dec. 31 Chinata Nesbit Dec. 31 Alisa Apo, SHU contributed eights points, two boards, and two assists earlier in the week to help push the Pioneers past NEC Jan. 7 Erin Kerner, QU Jan. 7 Jasmyra Saunders, FDU preseason favorite Long Island. Apo averaged 15.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game to secure her second Jan. 14 Sade Logan, RMU Jan. 14 Alisa Apo, SHU Choice Hotels NEC Rookie of the Week award this season. During the two wins, she shot 10-of-21 overall from the field and 5-of-7 from long distance. 2008 NEC Women’s Basketball Tournament March 8, 9 & 16 This Week’s Games Saturday, March 8 Monday, January 14 Saturday, January 19 Quarterfinals SAINT FRANCIS (PA) at CENTRAL CONN. ST.4:30 pm FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON at CENTRAL CONN. ST.4:00 pm at Long Island (Brooklyn, NY) WAGNER at MONMOUTH 7:00 pm LONG ISLAND at QUINNIPIAC 1:00 pm Sunday, March 9 MT. ST. MARY'S at QUINNIPIAC 7:00 pm MONMOUTH at ST. FRANCIS (NY) 2:00 pm Semifinals SACRED HEART at MT. ST. MARY'S 3:00 pm at Long Island (Brooklyn, NY) Wednesday, January 16 ROBERT MORRIS at SAINT FRANCIS (PA) 4:00 pm Sunday, March 16 ROBERT MORRIS at FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON7:00 pm Championship (high seed) ST. FRANCIS (NY) at SACRED HEART 7:00 pm 3:00 pm (ESPNU) Sacred Heart Snaps Streak, Downs Blackbirds in Thriller NEC Notebook Long Island’s league-best nine-game win streak came to a halt in Fairfield, CT on Monday (1/7) when junior guard Stephanie Ryan (Coram, NY/Newfield) dropped in a the game-deciding lay-up with 10 ticks remaining in regulation. Ryan finished with General Notes: 22 points and 12 rebounds, her XX double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Sacred Heart’s Beating at Rapid Pace Valerie Nainima (Suva, Fiji/St. Joseph’s Secondary) did her best to try and save the Since starting the season 0-3, last year’s NEC Tournament runner-up Sacred Heart has streak, pouring in 25 points and dishing out six assists. The league’s preseason been moving at a blistering pace. The Pioneers are 10-3 since their slow start and favorite is 11-2 overall and is off to its best season start since 1976-77 (9-1 start). continued to roll by knocking off the top two teams in the NEC preseason coaches’ poll this past week. After bouncing the LIU Blackbirds in a two-point decision to begin the Double Devils week, the Pioneers posted another two-point victory at Robert Morris in what was a Central Connecticut State freshman forward Kerrianne Dugan (Waterford, CT/ rematch of the 2007 NEC Tournament final. Junior center Kaitlin Sowinski Waterford) and sophomore guard PJ Wade (Franklin County, VA/Franklin County) (Hopkinton, RI/Tabor Academy) proved to be a major factor with 17 points and both turned in double-double performances against NEC preseason favorite Long Island eight rebounds despite sitting for 14 minutes due to foul trouble. The Pioneers kept to mark the first occasion this season that two Blue Devils posted double-doubles in the afloat with Sowinski on the bench thanks to a break-through performance by freshman same game. Dugan tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Wade contributed 12 Alisa Apo (Freehold, NJ/St. John Vianney). Apo netted a career-high 23 points and points and 10 boards. Both rebounding totals marked new career highs for the two connected on 4-of-5 shots from three-point land. Sacred Heart is now 5-0 in league players. CCSU last accomplished the feat a season ago against the same opponent. The play for the third straight year. The Pioneers' best start to NEC play was a 9-0 run since-graduated Gabrielle Guegbelet (22pts.-10reb.) and Katherine Kelsey (13pts.- during the 2005-06 campaign. 15reb.) did it when the Blackbirds visited Detrick Gymnasium last year. Robert Morris Bound for Preseason WNIT Happy Birthdays for First-year NEC Coaches Robert Morris accepted an invitation to play in the 2008 Preseason Women’s National Central Connecticut State head coach Beryl Piper celebrated her birthday a day early Invitation Tournament (WNIT) which is scheduled to begin on Nov.14, 2008. The with the first Northeast Conference win of her career. Piper, who starred at CCSU as Colonials are the first team from the Northeast Conference to play in the event since a player in the mid-1980s, saw her Blue Devils bounce Wagner (1/7) in overtime, 62- 2000 when Mount St. Mary’s participated in the event. Through Dec. 30, 2007, Robert 54, for their first league win of the Piper head coaching era. Two weeks ago, Fairleigh Morris had played the 48th toughest schedule in the nation according to RPIRatings.com. Dickinson head coach Peter Cinella notched his first league on a birthday. Cinella’s The Colonials took to the road for nine of their first 11 games of the season while FDU Knights downed Mount St. Mary’s (1/5), 53-49, only hours after his third child was playing teams from the top conferences in the nation, including the ACC, SEC, Big 12, born. Cinella’s wife, Lynne, gave birth to Kyle Cinella in the wee hours of morning.