Phil Stern?s goal at the start of the season was to have his University of Maryland-Baltimore County women?s basketball team playing like a cohesive unit by the time it kicked off the America East Conference schedule.
UMBC (7-6) appears to have reached that goal, having won three straight and five of its last seven contests. Tonight, the Retrievers will host conference rival Boston University (8-5) at 7 p.m. at RAC Arena.
Stern said the key to UMBC?s recent success stems from its ability to control the pace of the game offensively and match up against opponents with zone defense.
“We weren?t playing well early in the season, but we were still in many of those games,” he said. “A lot of the recent turnaround can be attributed to the upperclassmen stepping up. They have been through the rigors of a long season before.”
Leading the upperclassmen is senior forward Sharri Rohde, who is averaging a team-high 15.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. The backcourt of senior Brittanie Hughes and junior Kristin Drabyn is pitching in 11.6 and 11.4 points per game, respectively.
UMBC split the season series with Boston last year, something that the Retrievers consider one of the high points of last season since the Terriers advanced to the America East final.
Seniors Katie Meinhardt and Erica Kovach lead the Terriers. Meinhardt averages 16.1 points and 3.1 assists per game, while Kovach averages 10.2 points and seven rebounds a contest. Sophomore Kristi Dini is BU?s three-point specialist with a .415 shooting percentage from beyond the arc.
“Boston is an up-tempo team, so this game will be a contrast in styles,” Stern said. “But we know this game is crucial for us. We need to win every game we can at home because of all the travel involved with playing in this conference.”
UMBC notes
» Coach Phil Stern said he has been pleased with the play of juniors guard Kristin Drabyn, Morgan Hatten and Amanda Robinson. Robinson is averaging 8.2 points and 5.5 rebounds a game, while Hatten is contributing 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds. Both are playing about 23 minutes a game.
» Junior Kristin Drabyn has connected on 13 of 14 free-throw attempts this year.
