Feb. 22, 2010

A-10 NOTEBOOK

A-10 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Lauren Woods - Saint Louis
Junior, Forward, Swansea, Ill./Belleville East HS
Woods averaged 24 points and shot 60 percent from the field and 73 percent from the foul line in two SLU victories ... her 27 points versus Fordham are a career high and the most scored by a Billiken this season ... followed with 21 points against Charlotte, giving her consecutive 20-point scoring totals for the first time in her career ... her 16 free throws in the two games boosted her career total to 265, good for an eighth-place tie on the SLU career list.

A-10 ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Jasmine Watson - Massachusetts
Freshman, Forward/Center, South Bend, Ind./South Bend Washington HS
Watson averaged 12.0 points and six rebounds per game last week ... had her second 20-point game of the year with 20 against La Salle, playing just 26 minutes ... led the squad in scoring against the Explorers ... was perfect at the free throw line, including making two key clutch shots with 24 seconds left.

WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
Charlotte's Shannon McCallum recorded her third straight 20-plus points scoring game and her fifth double-double of the season ... Dayton's Kendel Ross became the first Flyer ever to tally more than 1,000 points, 600 rebounds, 200 assists, 100 steals and 100 three-point field goals made in a career last week ... Fordham's Randall Hurst averaged 20.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 33 minutes played per game last week ... George Washington's Tiana Myers scored 12 of her team-high 16 points in the second half to help GW pull away for a 56-47 victory over Fordham and keep its hopes for an Atlantic 10 Championship bid intact ... La Salle's Jamie Walsh averaged 16.0 points this week in helping La Salle to a 1-1 week as she shot 55.0% from the floor, which included 10-16 (62.5%) from three ... Rhode Island's Megan Shoniker averaged 16.5 points per game in an 0-2 week for the Rams ... Richmond's Abby Oliver led the Spiders with a team-high effort against St. Bonaventure and a career-best 21 points against Saint Joseph's last week ... St. Bonaventure's Dana Mitchell averaged 16.5 points and 2.0 rebounds as the Bonnies went 2-0 on the week ... Saint Joseph's Mariame Djouara averaged 12.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and shot 50 percent from the field as SJU went 2-0 on the week ... Temple's Kristen McCarthy scored 18 points in both of TU's games last week as the Owls went 1-1 ... Xavier's Amber Harris averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game while shooting 53.8 percent in a 2-0 week for the No. 6 Musketeers, who clinched their second-straight outright Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship.

ACADEMIC RECOGNITION
Four Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball standouts were recently recognized for their work on and off the hardwood, as Kristin Daugherty (UD), Morgan Robertson (LAS), Andrea Doneth (SBU) and Amanda Kemezys (SLU) were named to their respective 2010 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Teams.

MUSKETEERS REMAIN PERFECT
With its spotless 12-0 Atlantic 10 record, Xavier is the only remaining unbeaten team in the league. Xavier's 12-0 mark ties its best start in history, which was set by last year's team.

George Washington was the last A-10 squad to go undefeated in conference play, as the Colonials posted a 14-0 record during the 2006-07 season.

20-WIN SEASONS
Dayton, No. 6/6 Xavier, Temple and St. Bonaventure have reached the 20-win mark this season, as the Flyers pulled off a 74-60 victory at UMass and the Musketeers defeated Duquesne, 74-55, on Feb. 13. The Owls registered their 20th victory with a 52-41 on Feb. 17 and the Bonnies earned their's on Feb. 21 with a 70-46 victory -- both over Duquesne.

The Flyers have now posted three consecutive 20-plus win seasons. It marks just the second time in program history the feat has been accomplished in UD women's basketball history; the other was when Dayton had five consecutive seasons, winning at least 20 games from 1976-77 to 1980-81, and capturing an AIAW national championship in 1979-80.

XU has now won at least 20 games in six-consecutive seasons and 20 regular-season games in each of the last five years. The Musketeers have won at least 20 games in 10 of the last 12 seasons.

Temple has now gotten to the 20-win mark in seven straight seasons and 11 times in the history of the program, while the Bonnies mark their second consecutive 20-win season.

Last season the Atlantic 10 Conference saw an unprecedented seven schools finished the season with 20 or more wins.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Atlantic 10 Conference teams combined to post a 53-32 record on their home hardwoods against non-conference teams this season - a winning percentage of .624.

NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The A-10 recorded a 113-92 (.551) mark against non-conference opponents this season, including wins over Arizona State, USC, Michigan State, Purdue and Villanova.

OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION
A-10 teams are putting up impressive numbers each night on the hardwood, as Dayton (71.7) and Xavier (73.5) are averaging more than 70 points per game, while The Flyers (+13.0) and Musketeers (+16.6), along with St. Bonaventure (+11.8) are outscoring their opponents by double-figures.

IN THE POLLS
With its impressive 22-3 overall mark and perfect 12-0 A-10 record, Xavier climbs to No. 5in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll this week. The No. 5 ranking is the highest the Musketeers have ever achieved, besting the No. 6 ranking the team held last week. It is also the ranking for a current A-10 member -- Penn State then no 1 in final poll of 90-91 was last A-10 team in top five.

The Musketeers remain No. 6 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, which will is not updated until Tuesday afternoon.

Dayton remains in the spotlight as well, as the Flyers continue to garner votes in both polls.

Seven league teams have been nationally ranked or have received votes this season -- Charlotte, Dayton, Duquesne, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Temple and Xavier.

Moreover, the A-10 had two teams in the Top 25 polls for the first time since 2006, as both Xavier and Dayton were listed simultaneously for two straight-weeks. During the 2006 season, both Temple (#21) and George Washington (#25) were ranked at the same time.

RPI RATINGS
According to The RPI Report, the Atlantic 10 Conference is ranked 10th among the 33 women's basketball conferences in the country. The League reached as high as seventh this season.

Five A-10 programs are rated among the top 100 teams in the nation, including Xavier (13), Dayton (33), Temple (42), St. Bonaventure (71) and Richmond (82).

TOUGH SCHEDULES
A-10 teams have played extremely competitive non-conference schedules this season, which included 18 games against ranked teams. Of the 61 teams -- excluding Charlotte, Temple and Xavier -- that competed in the 2009 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament, the A-10 went head-to-head with 31 of them on 48 separate occasions during its non-conference slate.

EXTRA TIME
A-10 teams have competed in 11 extra session games against non-conference opponents this season -- posting a 7-4 record in those contests.

RECORD BREAKER
Kristen McCarthy broke the all-time Temple women's basketball single-game scoring record with 42 points in leading the Owls to a 79-68 win over defending Atlantic 10 Tournament champ Charlotte on Feb. 13.

McCarthy's total broke a 27-year old record set by Marilyn Stephens who scored 41 points against George Mason during the 1983-84 season. The Liacouras Center women's basketball record was nine years old, as Natalia Isaac had scored 38 points against UMass on Feb. 23, 2001.

McCarthy's 42 points marked a league-high for the 2009-10 season and was just two points shy of breaking the all-time A-10 record held by Rutgers' Sue Wicks (44 pts, vs. GW, 12/5/87).

SELECT COMPANY
Xavier All-American center Ta'Shia Phillips set back-to-back single season rebounding records at Xavier and after recording 757 rebounds in just two seasons, she ranks third in the A-10 career record books for rebounding average at 11.6 per game (min. 500 rebounds). Phillips is just the sixth player in the history of the league to lead the Conference in rebounds in back-to-back seasons and is looking to become the first A-10 player ever to lead the league for three consecutive seasons.

She continues to lead the A-10 this season with her 10.7 rebounding average and has 1,025 career rebounds, breaking Tara Boothe's previous all-time mark of 1,004.

HIGHEST HONOR
St. Bonaventure senior Dana Mitchell is now the second all-time leading scorer in St. Bonaventure history with 1,911 career points and became the first women's basketball player to have her jersey number retired on Feb. 17 against Richmond.

NOTEWORTHY
>> All of St. Bonaventure's victories have been by a margin of 10 or more. The Bonnies win at Temple, Jan. 30, marked the first for the Brown and White at Liacouras Arena since 2000.

>> Already the school's career three-point made leader (206) and 18th in A-10 career, La Salle's Jamie Walsh knocked down 15 in her last three games, and her 63 this season is tied for third (with herself) all-time in a single-season at the school. She has now scored in double figures in four straight games. She is just 20 points shy of becoming 23rd Explorer in 1,000-point club.

>> Xavier guard Katie Rutan set a new record for three-pointers as a freshman on Feb. 10 against Saint Joseph's. Rutan broke former XU standout and current assistant coach Amy Waugh's record.

>> Xavier's 72-56 victory over George Washington on Feb. 3 marked the Musketeers first against GW at the Smith Center since January 2, 1998. XU is now 2-11 all-time against GW at the Smith Center and the team is 12-11 against the Colonials in the last 23 showdowns.

>> Saint Joseph's head coach Cindy Griffin earned her 200th career win with the Hawks' victory over GW on Jan. 30.

>>Dayton's Casey Nance, reached the 100-block milestone after notching three in the Flyers' game at George Washington, Jan. 9. In just her second season of action, she is now fourth all-time at the institution.

>> Duquesne head women's basketball coach Suzie McConnell-Serio has been named a finalist for the 2009 Dapper Dan Sportswoman of the Year. McConnell-Serio was the first-ever recipient of the Sportswoman of the Year in 1999 after guiding Oakland Catholic to its first WPIAL Championship as well as leading the WNBA's Cleveland Rockers with 4.2 assists per game.

>> With its 72-63 victory over No. 20/18 Pittsburgh, Duquesne ended an 11-game losing streak against ranked teams - the last victory over a ranked team was a 57-56 win over No. 23 George Washington on Jan. 8, 1994. Pitt is also the highest-ranked team the Dukes have ever beaten.

>>Dayton's Jim Jabir reached a coaching milestone on Dec. 21, as the Flyers gave their leader his 100th victory at the institution and 320th of his career with an 84-81 double-overtime thriller over Butler.

>> Rhode Island head coach Cathy Inglese captured her 400th career victory on Jan. 2, as the Rams earned a 65-60 win over Albany.

MIDSEASON WOODEN AWARD LIST
Xavier University women's basketball star Amber Harris has been selected as one of 21 candidates for the John R. Wooden Award, which is given to the top women's basketball player in the country by the Los Angeles Athletic Club's John R. Wooden Award committee. Harris was also honored on the Wooden Award Preseason Watch List prior to the 2007-08 season. A two-time All-Atlantic 10 First Team selection, Harris leads the Musketeers in scoring and is second in rebounds per game.

Harris is one of just four student-athletes to be selected onto the Midseason Top 20 who do not play in a power conference.

Just as players who are not on the preseason list are eligible for the Midseason Top 20, players who do not make the Midseason list are still eligible for the national ballot, which will be selected in March and will consist of approximately 20 players, chosen by the Wooden Award National Advisory Board Committee. Players selected to the national ballot will have to be certified by their university as making progress toward graduation and maintaining a cumulative 2.0 GPA.

NANCY LIEBERMAN AWARD
Richmond junior guard Brittani Shells was one of 12 women's basketball players nominated to the 2010 Players Making the Buzz list for the Nancy Lieberman Award. Shells currently leads the A-10 in scoring.

The annual award recognizes the nation's top point guard in Division I women's basketball. The criteria for the award is floor leadership, play-making and ball-handling skills that personified Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman during her career. The award winner will be chosen by sportswriters in April.

TITLES-A-PLENTY
Five Atlantic 10 Conference Women's Basketball programs have claimed various tournament titles during the non-conference season, including Dayton, Xavier, Duquesne, Massachusetts and Saint Joseph's.

The Flyers were the first team to bring home the hardware for the league after going 3-0 and claiming the title at Purdue's Basketball Traveler's Classic on Nov. 22. Head Coach Jim Jabir's squad picked up wins over Georgetown (62-59), then-No. 23 Purdue (56-53) and Seattle (75-37).

The last time Dayton won an in-season tournament was 2005 when the Flyers captured the Tulane Basketball Classic in New Orleans, La.

During the Thanksgiving break, Xavier and Duquesne were victorious in their events, as the Musketeers picked up the Freeport Division title at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas, while the Dukes claimed top honors at UNC Wilmington's Hampton Inn Invitational.

The Junkanoo Jam was comprised of three four-team brackets and XU took home the championship crown after downing then No. 18/23 Kansas (76-71) and Minnesota (71-56).

Duquesne's title is the seventh tournament championship in program history. The Dukes were winners of the Bucknell Tournament in 1983, the Wagner Tournament in 1987, the Red Flash Classic in 1993, the State Farm Classic in 1998, the Lady Luck Classic in 2002 and the Cornell Classic in 2006.

For the second-straight year, Massachusetts claimed the Brown Classic crown, with wins over host Brown (69-58) and Quinnipiac (82-66).

Most recently and for the seventh time in the program's history, Saint Joseph's won its own tournament -- the 19th Annual Hawk Classic -- with victories over Brown (65-36) and Boston University (71-58).

INDIVIDUAL TOURNEY HONORS
Numerous Atlantic 10 women's hoopsters have garnered individual recognition at various tournaments this season, while four standouts have been named Most Valuable Player at their respective events.

Dayton's Kristin Daugherty was named the MVP at the Purdue/Basketball Travelers Classic, Nov. 20-22, while teammates Justine Raterman and Brittany Wilson were All-Tournament team selections...Kristin Daugherty and Raterman were honored for the second time this season, as the duo was named to the Blue Sky Classic All-Tournament team, Dec. 29-30.

Duquesne's Alex Gensler captured MVP honors and teammate Samantha Pollino was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2009 Hampton Inn Invitational Championship at UNC Wilmington, Nov. 27-28.

Fordham's Randall Hurst was named to the All-Tournament Team at Florida Atlantic's Thanksgiving Tournament, Nov. 27-28.

La Salle's Jamie Walsh was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Hawk Holiday Classic, Dec. 28-29.

Massachusetts' Kristina Danella and Nicole Jones were named to the All-Tournament at the Wyndham Miami Thanksgiving Tournament, Nov. 27-28. Danella, along with Diatiema Hill and Megan Zullo, was also named to the All-Tournament team at the Brown Bear Classic, Dec. 5-6.

Rhode Island's Lindsay Harris was Blue Sky Classic All-Tournament team, Dec. 29-30. Richmond's Brittani Shells garnered All-Tournament team honors at the WBCA Classic, Nov. 27-29, before being named to the All-Tournament team at the St. Peter's Classic, Dec. 29-30.

St. Bonaventure's Dana Mitchell and Megan Van Tatenhove were named to the All-Tournament Team at the Christmas City Classic, Dec. 28-29.

Saint Joseph's Ashley Prim was named MVP at The 19th Annual Hawk Classic, Dec. 28-29, while teammate Ashley Logue earned All-Tournament Team honors.

Saint Louis' Amanda Kemezys was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Courtyard by Marriott Los Angeles Westside Thanksgiving Classic, Dec. 27-28.

Xavier's April Phillips was named MVP and Amber Harris was named to the All-Tournament Team at the 2009 Junkanoo Jam (Freeport Division), Nov. 26-28.

BIG LEAGUE WINS
Atlantic 10 teams have posted five wins over nationally ranked foes this season, including then listed No. 10/10 Michigan State, No. 14/7 Arizona State, No. 18/23 Kansas, No. 23 Purdue and No. 20/18 Pittsburgh.

Dayton stunned visiting Michigan State, 77-74, in its 2009-10 home opener on Nov. 13. The victory marked only the second time head coach Jim Jabir coached his Flyers to a win over a nationally-ranked foe. UD then followed with a narrow 56-53 victory over Purdue, Nov. 21. Xavier captured a 59-48 victory over Pac-10 member Arizona State on Nov. 21 at home, before downing the Jayhawks, Nov. 25 in the Bahamas.

Duquesne defeated intra-city rival Pittsburgh, 72-63, Dec. 29 on the Panthers' campus. The win halted a four-game losing streak against Pittsburgh, last defeating the Panthers on Dec. 7, 2004.

1,000 POINT CLUB
Nine A-10 standouts have reached the 1,000 point scoring mark this season, including Richmond's Brittani Shells, Saint Louis' Katie Paganelli and Amanda Kemezys, Xavier's Ta'Shia Phillips, Temple's LaKeisha Eaddy, Charlotte's Aysha Jones, Dayton's Kristin Daugherty and Kendel Ross, along with Duquesne's Keri Pryor.

Shells tallied her 1,000th point as Richmond rolled past Clemson, 86-67, in the opening game of the WBCA Classic on Nov. 27 at Gampel Pavilion. Shells became the 17th Spider to notch 1,000 points in Richmond women's basketball history.

Paganelli became the 14th SLU women's basketball player to reach 1,000 career points after notching 15 against Evansville on Dec. 6, while teammate Amanda Kemezys joined Paganelli in the distinguished club after notching 17 points against Oakland on Dec. 17.

Phillips registered her 1,000th career point against Michigan State on Dec. 9, while Eaddy scored her 1,000th point against St. Bonaventure on Jan. 30. Eaddy now ranks 17th all-time at Temple in career points.

Jones left her mark on the Charlotte record book with her 1,000 career point against Saint Louis on Jan. 30.

Daugherty scored the 1,000th point of her Dayton career, as the Flyers battled to a 74-60 win over Massachusetts, Feb. 13, while Ross' career milestone came against Temple on Feb. 20. Ross became just the 19th UD women's basketball player to reach 1,000 points in her career. It marks the first time in UD women's basketball history that two players got to the 1,000-point mark in the same season.

Pryor scored eight points versus Xavier on Feb. 13 to become the 21st 1,000-point scorer in Duquesne's women's basketball history

LAST SEASON
Last season the Atlantic 10 Conference saw a record-setting eight institutions competing in a women's postseason tournament while and unprecedented seven schools finished the season with 20 or more wins. The league has had three NCAA bids in four of the last five years finished the season ranked seventh out of 31 conferences in the RPI.

POSTSEASON BLISS
With five WNIT bids and its three NCAA Tournament berths, the Atlantic 10 Conference saw a record-setting eight of its 14 institutions competing in a women's postseason tournament in 2009. The league has had three NCAA bids in four of the last five years. This was the first time in Conference history that the league has had five WNIT bids and eight overall. The five bids were second behind the Big East (six) in the 2009 WNIT field.

A-10 FORMAT
The Atlantic 10 Conference consists of 14 member schools competing under one division. During the Conference schedule, each women's team will play one regular season game against 12 of the Conference institutions designated as its travel partner (14 Conference games total). The Conference office will award a weekly Player and Rookie of the Week honor each Monday during the season.