UMBC's Brooks Named MOP of Iona Classic

UMBC freshman guard Katie Brooks, the reigning America East Rookie of the Week, was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Iona Thanksgiving Classic where the Retrievers went 2-0. UMBC completed the undefeated weekend with a 92-70 win over Maryland-Eastern Shore. Junior guard Carlee Cassidy and freshman guard Michelle Kurowski were also named to the all-tournament team. Boston U. and Vermont both dropped contests on Sunday to Central Michigan and St. John's, respectively.

Two teams are in action on Monday. Binghamton kicks off the December schedule with an 11 a.m. contest at Niagara. Albany will host Detroit-Mercy at SEFCU Arena at 5 p.m.

Hartford, Vermont Win Friday

Hartford defeated the Big South Champions, Liberty, 46-39, Friday afternoon in the George Washington Tournament and will play the Colonials Saturday at 5:30 p.m. for the tournament trophy. Erica Beverly posted her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 boards in the victory. Vermont also posted a win, 69-50 over Manhattan. The Catamounts have now won three-straight games after losing the first game of the TD Banknorth Classic in Burlington.

Three other teams played on Friday as New Hampshire fell to Long Island, 74-60, Stony brook dropped a match to St. John's, 61-49, and Brown upended Maine, 65-52, in Orono.

Seven teams are in action Saturday. Maine, Albany and Binghamton are at home, while New Hampshire, Boston U., UMBC and Hartford are all in tournament action on the road.

America East Splits Wednesday Night Games

Vermont defeated Providence, 73-67, Wednesday night at Patrick Gym in the Catamounts' second straight overtime affair. Junior guard May Kotsopoulos scored a game-high 25 points, including 24 in the second half and overtime period.

Albany fell at Colgate, 48-46, in the only other game before the Thanksgiving holiday.

Upset Sparks National Attention

Hartford's upset over then-fifth-ranked Duke last Friday night has swept across the national women's basketball scene. Hawks head coach Jen Rizzotti is featured in the most recent episode of the "Shootaround with Beth & Debbie" podcast discussing the win.

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma also had some kind words for Rizzotti's program after his own team's win over Rhode Island, just stopping short of naming "Rizzotti For President".

Boston U. Comes Back To Win

The Terriers, who faced a double-digit deficit in the second half, rallied to defeat Northeastern, 71-68, at Matthews Arena in a cross-town rivalry. Senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley notched a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds, while classmate Kristi Dini hit five treys and a foul shot for 16 points on the night.

Hartford continued on a 10-day road trip in Columbus, Ohio, dropping a 63-45 contest to the #20/21 Buckeyes. Also on Tuesday night, Binghamton fell to Duquesne at home, 68-56.

Before teams break for the Thanksgiving holiday, Vermont hosts Providence at 4 p.m. on Tuesday and Albany treks to Hamilton to play Colgate at 5 p.m.

Vermont Uses 3OTs to Defeat Dartmouth

Vermont defeated Dartmouth in the consolation round of the TD Banknorth Classic, 82-77, taking three overtime periods to do so. Junior May Kotsopoulos finished with a game-high 24 points, along with five assists and three steals. Junior Courtnay Pilypaitis netted 21 points, while senior Amy Rosenkrantz finished with her first double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Maine picked up its first win of the season, a 54-45 victory over UMass at the Augusta Civic Center. Kristin Baker filled her stat sheet with 16 points, five rebounds, six assists and a steal.

Also around the America East, Binghamton dropped Bryant at the Events Center, 68-61, led by Darryll Peterson's career-high 16 points. Boston U. fell to Portland at the KCRG-TV9 Tournament in Iowa City, Iowa, 62-74, to fall to 2-2 on the season.

Hartford Stuns #5/6 Duke

The Hartford Hawks defeated the Duke Blue Devils Friday night, 53-51. Junior Lisa Etienne scored a game-high 15 points, while also recording 7 steals, 6 rebounds and 2 assists. The victory marks the fourth straight year Hartford has defeated a ranked opponent, and the highest-ranked team to fall victim to the Hawks.

UMBC also picked up a tournament win Friday night, defeating Northern Illinois at the Seton Hall Tournament, 88-73. Binghamton fell to Portland State in their home opener, 62-52.

The Hawks will play the host DePaul Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. ET to decide the tournament Champion, while the Retrievers also play for a tournament trophy against Seton Hall at 3 p.m. Boston University is in Iowa and will face the Hawkeyes at 1 p.m. Saturday in the KCRG-TV9 Hawkeye Classic, Vermont hosts Quinnipiac at 1 p.m. in the first round of the TD Banknorth Catamount Classic, Albany host Richmond at 1 p.m., and Stony Brook continues its five-game road trip at Princeton at 6 p.m.

ESPN.com Labels Two AE Games Weekend's Top To Watch

ESPN.com's women's basketball blog included Friday's Duke-Hartford match-up and Saturday's Quinnipiac at Vermont contest as two of it's top 15 games of the weekend to watch.

Boston U. Wins Big Over Siena

Jesyka Burks-Wiley scored a game-high 20 points to lead Boston University to an 84-62 win over Siena in its home opener . Amarac Umez-Eronini added 18, while Kristi Dini tallied 14 points, five rebounds and four steals for the Terriers, who canned half of their 3-point attempts (9-of-18). In other action, Kristin Baker stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists, but Maine fell at Central Connecticut State, 65-57.

Three America East squads take floor on Friday. Hartford takes on No. 5/6 Duke in the first game of DePaul's tournament at 6:30. Binghamton hosts Portland St. at the Events Center in its home opener at 7, while UMBC faces Northern Illinois in the Seton Hall Basketball Classic at 8.

UMBC, Binghamton Pick Up First Wins

The UMBC Retrievers poured in 89 points in their home opener to pick up their first win of the season over George Mason, 89-60. Junior Carlee Cassidy and freshman Michelle Kurowski each drained 22 points and combined for five three pointers. Kurowski also rebounded eight balls. The Bearcats were on the road at Colgate and defeated the host Raiders, 66-41. Junior guard Muffy Sadler scored a game-high 18 points. Binghamton forced 22 turnovers, while giving the ball up themselves only eight times.

In other action tonight, Albany fell in a close game to Ivy-League Champion Cornell, 50-46, New Hampshire dropped one on the road to the UMass Minutewomen, 67-51, and Stony Brook was defeated by Penn State, 97-58, in State College.

Thursday night's action pits Boston University at home against Siena College and Maine at Central Connecticut State. Both games begin at 7 p.m.

Hartford Wins 28th Straight at Home

Diana Delva and Lisa Etienne each scored 17 points as Hartford defeated Providence, 69-50, on Tuesday to extend the Hawks' home winning streak to 28 games, the longest streak in Division I.

A quintet of games can be found on the America East schedule Wednesday. UMBC plays its home opener when the Retrievers host George Mason. Albany and Binghamton stay in-state but travel to Cornell and Colgate, respectively. New Hampshire is at Massachusetts and Stony Brook is at Penn State. All games start at 7.

Three America East Teams Fall

America East teams faced three perennial NCAA Tournament participants on Sunday. Former Maine head coach Joanne McCallie's No. 8 Duke Blue Devils defeated the Black Bears 98-31 at Durham. Michigan State defeated Stony Brook, 72-42 in East Lansing. Marist downed Albany, 74-56 at Poughkeepsie.

Each of the nine America East teams will take Monday off before defending America East Champion Hartford returns to action when the Hawks entertain Providence on Tuesday at 7.

ESPN.com: Hartford Still Has It

Graham Hayes of ESPN.com wrote in his column Saturday that Hartford is still the team to beat in America East and should be considered among the top mid-major programs in the country.

Hartford Unveils Banner, Cruises Past Dartmouth

The Hartford Hawks unveiled the 2008 America East Championship banner prior to this afternoon's game against Dartmouth at Chase Arena and then proceeded to defeat the Big Green, 73-40. Junior Diana Delva was named the player of the game after posting game highs with 15 points and eight rebounds. Also in action was UMBC who fell to George Washington, 75-56, despite getting a career-best 31 points from Carlee Cassidy.

Tomorrow's action is highlighted by University of Maine's trip down to North Carolina to face eighth-ranked Duke, coached by former Black Bear mentor Joanne McCallie-Palombo. That game begins at 12 p.m., along with Stony Brook's contest at Michigan State. Later in the day, Albany returns from their west-coast trip to take on the MAAC preseason favorite Marist in Poughkeepsie at 4 p.m., televised live on Time Warner.

Vermont, Boston U. Wins Highlight Opening Night

Courtnay Pilypaitis scored 26 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and Amy Rosenkrantz added 24 points as Vermont defeated Massachusetts, 83-69, Friday night. Jesyka Burks-Wiley netted 16 points and added nine rebounds as Boston University also opened the season with a victory, posting a 50-45 win at Rhode Island.

In other games, Albany fell 63-39 at No. 9 Cal, Quinnpiac defeated Stony Brook, 59-45, Bryant won 69-66 at New Hampshire, and St. Bonaventure downed Binghamton, 66-51.

Two former America East Champions are in action on Saturday. Defending champion Hartford will unveil its 2008 title banner prior to its game vs. Dartmouth. UMBC, which won the America East Championship in 2007, plays at perennial Atlantic-10 power George Washington. Both games are at 2.

Pilypaitis a Player to Watch by ESPN.com

Graham Hays of ESPN.com has posted his list of teams and players to watch in 2008-09 and cites Courtnay Pilypaitis of Vermont as one of "five hidden gems" at the mid-major level.

22 Seconds With Courtnay Pilypaitis

University of Vermont junior guard Courtnay Pilypaitis, a preseason mid-major All-American and reigning America East Player of the Year, was recently featured on Burlington's Fox News Affililate in a segment called "22 Seconds With A Catamount" that will feature a different UVM athlete each week. Check out the guard's rapid-fire responses here.

Season Commences Friday

Six America East teams are in action Friday as the basketball season begins. Preseason favorite Vermont plays host to UMass at 6 p.m. Stony Brook opens at home vs. Quinnipiac at 5 p.m. and New Hampshire entertains Bryant at 7 p.m. The other three America East teams take to the road as Albany travels cross country to play Cal (4 p.m. ET), Boston University is at Rhode Island (5 p.m.) and Binghamton is at St. Bonaventure (5 p.m.).