Dini's Three Huge In Thriller

Kristi Dini's 77th three-pointer of the season with 7 seconds left in regulation of last night's Boston University-Hartford game was doubly huge. The drained trey not only broke the America East single-season record (in 5 fewer games than the previous record), it also tied the game and sent it into overtime. The Terriers eventually won the game, 80-75, to give the Hawks their second consecutive home-court overtime loss and snap their 40-game conference home win streak. Both senior guard Christine Kinneary and rookie guard Alex Young registered career highs of 27 and 19 points, respectively, to lead the Terriers in the victory. On the other side, Hartford's Erica Beverly finished with 13 points and a career-high 16 points. The Boston U. win gave the Terriers the tiebreaker over the Hawks if there's a tie at the end of the season, and a win on Sunday at home against Maine would officially clinch at least a share of the regular season title.

The same record that Dini set Tuesday night could be eclipsed as soon as tonight, as Carlee Cassidy and the Retrievers travel to Albany to face the Great Danes at 7 p.m. Dini and Cassidy entered the week each needing 3 treys to break the record, tied with 74 each on the season. Here are all of tonight's match-ups:

Vermont at Maine 7 p.m.
The Catamounts have won four in a row and six of their last seven games... The Black Bears are coming off a homestand in which they went a solid 2-1... Vermont won the first match-up this season, 86-51... Maine junior Brittany Boser leads the conference with a free-throw percentage of .847.

*UMBC at Albany 7 p.m.
The Retrievers beat the Great Danes, 76-63, in Baltimore earlier this season... UMBC junior Carlee Cassidy needs four more treys to break the America East single-season three-pointers made record, while Albany's Britney McGee needs four triples to move into a tie for second-place for the school career record... Cassidy and McGee are 2nd and 3rd, respectively, this season in the conference for 3's made.

*Stony Brook at New Hampshire 7 p.m.
The Seawolves and Wildcats are tied for 6th-place in the league standings, with UNH having the tie-breaker with the 75-65 win over Stony Brook earlier this season... Stony Brook sophomore Kirsten Jeter has a 7-game double-figure streak intact, during which she's surpassed 20 points three times... UNH junior Candace Williams leads AE with 8 rebounds per game.

1,000 Points, 500 Rebounds: Here They Come

Boston University senior Jesyka Burks-Wiley put together another superb performance on Saturday and hit another milestone. Just two games after breaking 1,000 career points, the forward collected her 500th career rebound, becoming only one of two active America East players as members of the 1,000 point/500 rebound club. Burks-Wiley finished with 13 rebounds and a career-high 32 points in Boston U.'s 87-72 win at Maine on Saturday. Hartford's Erica Beverly could be the next player to join the same elite club. Having already reached 500 rebounds last season, Beverly has 841 points and is averaging 10.2 ppg this season. Beverly scored 12 of her 841 career points in Harford's 81-67 win over Stony Brook on Saturday. The victory extended the Hawks' home-court winning streak to 32 games. All five Hartford starters reached double-figure points, and two starters, Beverly and fellow forward Diana Delva, recorded a double-double.

In the other games on Saturday, New Hampshire defeated Albany, 66-54, behind junior guard Amy Simpson's game-high 18 points. The Wildcats moved to 3-2 in conference play despite only dressing 8 players this season and being without 2008 Rookie of the Year, Denise Beliveau, who was expected to play a big role in 2009. UMBC won, 78-63, at home over Binghamton led by Carlee Cassidy's 27 points. The win marked the third straight for the Retrievers since falling in Hartford on January 13. Freshman Erin Brown registered her 4th double-double of the year with 19 points and 10 rebounds. UMBC is off to its best start, 4-2, in conference play since joining America East six years ago.

Stay tuned for the player and rookie of the week on Monday before the first of two America East-produced women's television games broadcasts live from Patrick Gym on Tuesday night at 7 p.m., pitting together the Catamounts and Hawks.

Stony Brook Gets Over The Hump

The Stony Brook Seawolves became the last America East team to pick up its first win of the 2008-09 season, and they did it in dramatic fashion. Down for most of the game, and down by a game-high 11 points at the 10:48 mark of the second half, the Seawolves staged a comeback win, 73-68, over Yale at Pritchard Gym. Stony Brook's bench outscored the visitors' bench players, 37-9, led by Destiny Jacobs' 13 points.

UMBC improved to 7-2 this season with a win Monday night as well. The Retrievers handed Coppin State its 7th loss of the year, 76-63. Carlee Cassidy did most of her damage in the second half, but finished with a game-high 28 points.

Cassidy Third In Scoring Nationally

This week's NCAA national DI rankings came out this afternoon and there are some America East players making a significant impact in some of the categories. UMBC junior Carlee Cassidy is ranked third nationally in scoring with 23.9 points per game.

Binghamton's Laura Franceski is 5th in blocks (3.3 bpg), Hartford's Diana Delva is 5th in field goal percentage (63.8%), and Boston University's Kristi Dini is 5th in three-pointers (3.3 treys per game).

Additionally, the Retrievers' 78.8 points per game is 14th in the country. That's ahead of some of the nation's elite teams such as #3 Stanford, #10 Baylor, #11 Duke, #12 Louisville, #17 Virginia #18 Ohio State and #19 TCU. UMBC will try to continue that trend when they play host to winless Coppin State tonight at 7 p.m. Stony Brook is the only other team in action tonight. They play Yale at Pritchard Gym at 6 p.m.

UMBC, Boston U. and Maine Win At Home

UMBC defeated Navy, 85-77, in the first half of a women's-men's doubleheader in Catonsville. The win was backed by junior Carlee Cassidy's 32 points and freshman Michelle Kurowski's 30 points. The Terriers also won on their home court, 81-54 over Brown, extending their win streak at Case Gym to 15 games. Maine picked up its first win of the season at Alfond Arena over NEC foe Robert Morris, 54-52.

New Hampshire, Stony Brook, Albany and Hartford all fell Wednesday night against Harvard, Sacred Heart, Army, and Quinnipiac, respectively. Thursday is an off day and the Wildcats travel to face Colgate in the only game featured Friday night.

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 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.