Pioneer Women's Hoop Tips-off Season at Yale
11/18/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 18, 2004
Complete Yale vs. Sacred Heart Game Notes in PDF Format
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GAME 1 Sacred Heart University (0-0, 0-0 NEC) vs. Yale University (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League)Friday, November 19, 2004 7:00 pm EST John J. Lee Amphitheater (3,100) New Haven, CT
The Storyline... The Sacred Heart women's basketball team tips-off the 2004-05 season tonight facing the Yale Bulldogs. The Pioneers have dominated this series of late, winning five-straight over the Elis, all since SHU joined the ranks of Division I in 1999-00. The Pioneers return their top-two scorers from a year ago led by NEC Rookie of the Year Amanda Pape. The sophomore guard, who was named to the Preseason All-NEC team, became the first player in school history to lead the Pioneers in scoring as a freshman by averaging 15.1 points per game. Junior Nicolle Rubino followed up her rookie of the year season with a solid sophomore effort, averaging 11.5 points per game. The Pioneers, who were picked to finish second in the Preseason NEC Coaches Poll, are hoping to get out to a strong start on the season, especially with four of their first five contests on the road. Yale also welcomes back their top-scorer from a year ago in sophomore center Erica Davis, who averaged 11.6 points per game. The Elis will host Syracuse on Sunday afternoon before heading out to Ohio State for a tournament with Bradley, Detroit and the host Buckeyes.
Series... Sacred Heart holds a 6-3 advantage in the all-time series between the two schools. The Pioneers have won the last five meetings dating back to the 1999-00 season, SHU's first in Division I. The Pioneers have won the last five meetings by an average of 11.4 points per contest. The Pioneers kept the streak alive last season, posting a 79-68 win over the Bulldogs at home in early December. Tonight's game marks the sixth-straight year the two Connecticut schools will meet. The Pioneers have had Yale on the schedule each of their six seasons in the Division I era. The two teams met for the first time during the 1976-77 season with the Bulldogs drilling the Pioneers by 45 points, 85-40 in the Small College Tournament. The Elis also posted wins in the series during the 1977-78 and the 1979-80 seasons.
Last Meeting with Yale... Last season's 79-68 Sacred Heart win in Fairfield featured a standout performance by fabulous freshman Amanda Pape in just her fifth-career game. Pape poured in a season-best 28 points, shooting eight-of-12 from the field and 11-of-12 from the line to go with nine rebounds and six steals in the win. Also in double figures for SHU was Kate Maher, who posted a double double with 10 points and 14 rebounds and Kerri Burke who had a season-best 11 points. Yale, who turned the ball over 24 times in the loss, got 22 points from Christina Phillips who shot 12-of-13 from the charity stripe. Brynn Gingras had 10 points in the losing effort. The Pioneers led by 20-points at the half, 44-24, holding Yale to just 26.1% (6-23) shooting. The Bulldogs came out strong in the second half, hitting 13-of-31 from the field (41.9%) and six-of-11 from behind the three-point arc but the deficit proved too much to overcome as SHU walked away with an 11-point win.
Scouting the Bulldogs... Tonight also marks the 2004-05 season opener for the Yale University women's basketball team. The Bulldogs welcome back two starters and eight letterwinners from last year's team that finished 8-19 overall and 5-9 in the Ivy League. A pair of seniors, Tory Mauseth and Morgan Richards, will lead the Eli backcourt heading into the season. Mauseth averaged 8.4 points per game a year ago, third on the team, and finished the season ranked fourth in the nation in three-point shooting percentage knocking down 45.8% of her three's (55-120). Richards was fourth on the team in scoring last season with 7.0 ppg while pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game. She was second on the team in assists with 56. The Elis also welcome the return of Ivy League All-Rookie selection Erica Davis back to this year's team. Davis leads a big Bulldog front line that averages 6-3. The sophomore center was the leagues most accurate shooter a year ago, converting 53.1% (130-245) of her shots from the floor. She led the team in scoring (11.6), rebounding (4.9) and blocked shots (40) a year ago. Yale brings in five freshman this year led by 6-4 Sarah Zoubek and 6-3 Stephanie Marciano. The Bulldogs were picked to finish fifth in the eight team Ivy League in the 2004-05 Preseason Media Poll.
The Coaches... Ed Swanson (SHU '89) enters his 15th season as head coach at his alma matar. Swanson posts a 212-176 record in his career at Sacred Heart. His teams have a 85-57 record since joining the Division I ranks in 1999-00. Swanson is the program's longest tenured coach and is the all-time leader in coaching wins, (212) and winning percentage (.546). He also earned his first ever NEC Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year award after guiding SHU to a school record 21 wins last season. Amy Backus (Central Michigan `79) is in her sixth season at the helm of the Yale women's basketball program. She holds a 48-87 record in her five years at Yale and in 208-184 over her 17 year coaching career.
SHU vs. the Ivy League... Sacred Heart is 12-10 all-time versus teams from the Ivy League. Tonight's game is the first of three the Pioneers will play against Ivy competition this season. SHU finished 3-1 last year against the likes of Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Brown. The Pioneers will face the Bulldogs, Lions and Bears this season. SHU has faced Yale the most of any team from the league, holding a 6-3 record in the series. The Pioneers are 2-0 against Princeton, winning each of the last two seasons. SHU holds a 2-1 advantage over Columbia with the two teams alternating wins over the past three seasons. Brown leads the all-time series with Sacred Heart 2-1 via their win last season. Both Cornell and Dartmouth have posted wins in their lone meetings with Sacred Heart. Harvard holds a 2-0 advantage against the Pioneers, posting wins during the 1998-99 and 1999-00 seasons.
On the Road Again... For the fourth time in SHU's six years in Division I the Pioneers will start a season on the road. SHU is 0-3 in those contests and 0-5 in their last five road games that started a season. The last time the Pioneers got a win on the road to start a season was in 1996-97 when they beat Quinnipiac 62-60 on November 16th. SHU is 7-9 all-time in season openers away from home.
Nothing beats a fast start... Sacred Heart has enjoyed strong starts to their seasons the past two years, jumping out at 5-1 last year and 4-1 in 2002-03. In their first five years at the Division I level, the Pioneers have a 2-3 record in season opening games. SHU is 15-15 all-time in season openers.
