Game Notes (PDF)

opening tip... Friday's season opener between Mount St. Mary's and Binghamton marks the second meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 2010-11 season.
• The Bearcats won the inaugural meeting 53-39 on Dec. 18, 2010 in Emmitsburg.

about the bearcats... Binghamton finished 19-12 overall and 11-5 in America East action last season. The Bearcats were picked fourth in the America East Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Binghamton returns five players that started half of its games, including senior G Andrea Holmes. The senior paced the Bearcats with 14.3 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Holmes was named to the All-America East Conference Preseason team.
• Senior F Viive-Kai Rebane ranked second on the team with 11.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season. Rebane was named to the All-America East second team last year.
• Junior F Kara Elofson ranked third on the squad with 8.5 points and 7.6 rebounds per game in 2010-11.
• Sophomore G Jasbriell Swain was forth on the team with 8.3 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as a freshman.
• While Holmes, Rebane, Elofson and Swain each started at least 28 games last season, senior G Orla O'Reilly started 18 games in 2010-11. O'Reilly averaged 7.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

playing my bestie again… Senior Sandra Andresson will get a second chance to face her best friend  in the Mount's season opener at Binghamton on Friday night.
• Andresson and Binghamton's Viive-Kai Rebane both hail from Tallinn, Estonia and have remained best friends.
• In last year's meeting, Rebane posted 18 points and nine rebounds while Andresson posted 10 points and six rebounds in Emmitsburg.  

last time we met... Binghamton defeated Mount St. Mary's 53-39 on Dec. 18, 2010. Sandra Andresson paced the Mount with a season-high 10 points and six rebounds while Mary Dunn tallied six points and eight rebounds in the loss. Viive Rebane led the Bearcats with 18 points and nine rebounds. Jasbriell Swain added 12 points and Orla O'Reilly chipped in 10 points in the winning effort.

opening omen... Mount St. Mary's is 21-16 all time in the inaugural game of the year.
• The Mount has gone on to post a winning season in 18 of the 21 times the squad has won the opener.
• The Mountaineers are 12-8 in season openers on the road. The Mount lost 81-58 last season in the season opener on the road.
• Mount St. Mary's is 10-13 in the opener since switching to Division I, including 6-7 on the road.
• The Mount will travel to the state of New York to open the season for the second time in program history. The Mount defeated Colgate 60-39 in the 2008-09 season opener.
• Head coach Bryan Whitten is 2-2 in season openers.
• Mount St. Mary's will start the season on the road for the third time under Whitten.

next to step up… Mount St. Mary's returns 67 percent of its points, 63 percent of its rebounds, 67 percent of its field goals, 86 percent of its 3-point field goals, 70 percent of its free throws, 88 percent of its assists and 81 percent of its steals from last season.
• The Mount returns seven of its eight top scorers from last season.
• Mary Dunn, who graduated in May, paced the Mount in points, rebounds, field goals and free throws last season.
• Sophomore Ashley Christie is the team's top returner in points (277), field goals (84) and 3-point field goals (45).
• Junior Selina Mann is the squad's top returner in free throws (83), steals (92) and assists (133). The junior paced the Northeast Conference in steals and ranked sixth in NCAA Division I last season. Mann also ranked second in assists.
• Junior Tara Lonergan paced the team in blocks last season with 20.  
• Junior Sydney Henderson scored 17 points against Virginia in her only action last season against Virginia.
a fresh start… Junior Sydney Henderson had a breakout game against Virginia in the season opener last season, but recorded a knee injury during the contest to end her season.
• Henderson posted a career-high 17 points against the Cavaliers on Nov, 14, 2010.
• The junior returns in 2011-12 after appearing in 26 games in her first two seasons, including 15 starts.
• She has recorded five 10-point performances in her career.

starting the season on the road... Mount St. Mary's will play its first four games of the season on the road, traveling to Binghamton, UMES, American and Towson over the first 11 days of the season.
• It marks the first time since the 2004-05 season the Mount will play its first four games on the road and the fifth time in program history.

the need to dial long distance for 1-2-3... The NCAA changed the three-point line for the 2011-12 women's basketball season to 20 feet, nine inches, which is the same distance men's basketball has been using for several years.
• Last season, the Mount led the Northeast Conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.355) and had three players rank in the Top-10 in the category.  

recapping the season… As a team last season, the Mount finished 8-21 overall and 5-13 in Northeast Conference play.
• The Mount missed the NEC Tournament for just the second time in program history.
• The Mountaineers did have some success against the two teams that played in the NEC Championship Game. Mount St. Mary's defeated Monmouth 51-45 on Feb. 7 and fell to the regular season and tournament champions Saint Francis (Pa.) with 3.7 seconds left in overtime in the season finale.

in the month... Mount St. Mary's is 54-50 in the month of November in program history. The Mount is 30-17 at home, 15-27 on the road and 9-6 at a neutral site in the month.
• The Mountaineers are 28-43 in November since switching to Division I in 1988-89. The team is 17-17 at Knott Arena, 9-21 on the road and 2-5 at a neutral site.
• Under head coach Bryan Whitten, the Mount is 7-11 overall, 4-7 at home and 3-4 on the road in the month.
• The Mount is in its 38th campaign in program history, but did not have a game in November seven times.
• Mount St. Mary's won its first 17 home November games in program history.

in the non-conference slate... Mount St. Mary's is 74-115 in non-conference games since joining the Northeast Conference in 1989-90.

home sweet home... In its 25th season at Knott Arena, Mount St. Mary's has posted a 208-103 overall mark, including 69-43 in non-conference play and 139-60 in league play since moving across Route 15 from Memorial Gym.

i'm a weekend kind of girl... Sophomore Ashley Christie averaged 11.8 points per game on the weekend in 2010-11.
• The freshman posted double figures in six of her last seven Saturday games and averaged 17.0 points per game in that stretch last year.
• Christie averaged 13.5 points per game in six Saturday league games last season.
• The sophomore posted eight of her 13 double-digit performances on the weekend. Those eight games also represent her Top-8 performances.  

stat stuffer... Junior Selina Mann truly came into her own last season. She stuffed the stat sheet with points, rebounds, assists and steals.
• The junior posted 11 double-figure point performances in her last 20 games, including scoring a career-high 26 points against San Jose State on Dec. 29.
• Mann corralled five rebounds in seven games last season. The 5-4 guard has also recorded 10-board game on her career resume.
• Mann has dished out four assists 21 times in 2010-11. She ranked second in the NEC in assists with 133 helpers.
• The junior recorded two steals in 25 of the 29 games and four steals 10 times, including a program-record 10 thefts against Sacred Heart on Jan. 24, 2011. Mann paced the NEC and ranked sixth in NCAA in steals.
• Mann is only the third player in Mount Division I history to record a double-double with points and steals when she posted 14 points and a program record 10 steals against Sacred Heart on Jan. 24, 2011.  

tops in the league... Mount St. Mary's has posted the most wins in the Northeast Conference since joining the league in 1989-90 with 246 victories.
• The Mount has the third-most wins in league history, trailing only Monmouth (264) and Saint Francis (Pa.) (269).
• The Mount is 246-141 in Northeast Conference play, including 139-58 at Knott Arena and 107-83 on the road.

hearing your name called at the start... Head coach Bryan Whitten has only had 18 players start in his four-year tenure at the Mount.
• Senior Sandra Andresson has started 75 of the 86 games she has played.
• Junior  Sydney Henderson started 15 of the 26 games she has played, including 10 straight games she has played.
• Junior Tara Lonergan has started 10 games in her career, including 10 of the last 17 tilts.
• Sophomore Ashley Christie has started the first 29 games of her collegiate career.
• Sophomore Jessie Kaufman started the first nine games of the season and fellow sophomore Kayla Grossett has started two games in her career.

preseason poll... The Mount St. Mary's women's basketball team has been picked 11th in the Northeast Conference (NEC) Preseason Coaches Poll. Five of the 12 teams in the league garnered first place votes with Saint Francis (Pa.) being tabbed the preseason favorite after picking up four first place nods. Robert Morris, Long Island, Monmouth and Sacred Heart each picked up two first place votes apiece. The Colonials and Blackbirds placed 2-3 in the poll while the Hawks and Pioneers finished tied for fourth. Quinnipiac, Fairleigh Dickinson, Bryant, Central Connecticut State, Wagner, Mount St. Mary's and St. Francis (N.Y.) rounded out the 12-team poll.

let's play to 60 points... Mount St. Mary's is most successful under head coach Bryan Whitten when it scores 60 points in a game or holds the opponent under that total.
• The Mount is 23-19 when it scores 60 points in a game, but 16-54 when it does not reach 60 points.
• Defensively, the Mountaineers are 30-24 when the opponents are held under 60 points and 9-53 when the opponent reaches 60 points.

three keys to whitten success... The Mount is most successful under head coach Bryan Whitten when the squad leads at halftime, in rebounding or keeps the opponent under 60 points.
• The Mount is 31-15 when he holds the lead at halftime, 2-3 when the game is tied, but just 7-59 when trailing at the break.
• The squad is 18-16 when it holds a rebounding edge in a game, but just 20-57 when the opponent has the advantage and 2-4 when the two teams have equal boards.
• Mount St. Mary's is 30-24 when it holds opponents under 60 points.

hitting 20 points in a game... Senior Sandra Andresson, junior Selina Mann and sophomore Ashley Christie are the only three players on the roster that has scored 20 points in a game in their career.
• Mann scored a career-high 26 points against San Jose State on Dec. 29, 2010.
• Christie posted a career-high 21 points against Fairleigh Dickinson on Feb. 5, 2011.
• Andresson registered a career-best 25 points against Monmouth on Feb. 7, 2011.
• The Mount has registered 24 20-point performances and two 30-point games under head coach Bryan Whitten. The squad is 13-11 when a player reaches 20 points and 2-0 when a player scores 30 in a contest.

players on the move... Senior Sandra Andresson currently sits in 49th place in program history with 547 points and can move into 48th place with 25 point.
• Junior Selina Mann has 335 points for her career to rank 66th in team history and can move into 65th place with one point, 64th place with three points, 63rd place with five points and 11th points to move into 62nd place.
• Sophomore Ashley Christie has 277 points to rank 74th in program history. The sophomore can move into 73rd place with three points, 72nd place with five points
• Junior Sydney Henderson has 160 career points to sit in 89th place. Next on the list is teammate Tara Lonergan (166) in 88th place and can also move into 87th place with 13 points.
• Junior Tara Lonergan sits in 88th place with 166 points and can jump into 87th place with seven points, 86th place with nine points and 85th place with 16 points.
• Sophomore Kayla Grossett ranks 96th place with 147 points, one point away from 95th place, four points from 93rd place, five points from 92nd place and nine points from 90th place.
• Sophomores Jessie Kaufman (128 points) and Kelly Guerriero (99 points) will be the next players to crack the program's Top-100.

big east showdowns, at least for the next 27 months... Mount St. Mary's will play Pittsburgh on Nov. 29 and West Virginia on Dec. 20.
• It will be the fifth meeting against Pittsburgh in the last six years and the two teams will play each other for the third-straight year. The Panthers have won the four previous matchups.
• Pitt head coach Agnus (McGlade) Berenato is a Mount graduate.
• West Virginia returns to the schedule for the first time since 2002-03. West Virginia leads the series 3-2.
• The Mount's lone win against a BCS opponent since switching to Division I was a 78-75 win against West Virginia on Dec. 6, 1994.
• Both Pitt and West Virginia made news earlier this year by announcing that it would be leaving the Big East. The Panthers are slated to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and West Virginia is heading to the Big 12.

northeast conference history... Prior to the last two seasons, the Mount had advanced to 20-straight Northeast Conference Tournaments.
• Mount St. Mary's is 17-17 in the NEC Tournament.
• The Mountaineers have not won a tournament game since a 50-45 win against Sacred Heart on Mar. 4, 2001.
• Mount St. Mary's won tournaments in 1992-93, 1993-94 and 1994-95, including earning the league's first two NCAA Division I bids.

the underlining whit... Head coach Bryan Whitten is in his fifth season at the Mount in 2011-12. The Mount is 40-77 overall under Whitten.
• Whitten has defeated all 12 other teams in the NEC.
• The Mount is 19-35 overall at Knott Arena and 14-23 in NEC play under Whitten.
• The Mountaineers fair better on the road with a 21-42 overall mark away from Emmitsburg and 11-22 in league play.
• Whitten picked up his first Mount win with a 55-51 decision at Lafayette on Nov. 17, 2007 and earned his 25th career in at Lafayette on Nov. 30, 2009.
• Whitten earned his 250th win of his career against Quinnipiac on Jan. 30, 2010.

foreign flavor... Mount St. Mary's has two international players on the roster in 2011-12.
• Senior Sandra Andresson (Estonia) became the fourth international player in Emmitsburg and sophomore Kayla Grossett (Canada) became the fifth international player at the Mount.
• The duo follows Katie Walton (Canada, 1998-02), Dita Krumberga (Latvia, 2004-07), and Leah Westbrooks (Ireland, 2007-11.

out of africa... Former women's basketball player Leah Westbrooks was named the recipient of the Shooting Touch Inc. Sabbatical Program grant.
• Westbrooks received $25,000 to help with travel cost and expenses on her 10-month international independent study in South Africa and Zimbabwe. Westbrooks is currently in South Africa to work with the Hoops for Hope group and Western Zimbabwe with the Matilda Project.
• Check out this video of Westbrooks: http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2011/09/24/20110924_shooting_touch.nba