Game Notes

opening tip... Tuesday's game between Mount St. Mary's and UMES marks the 10th meeting in the all-time series dating back to the 1980-81 season.
• The Mount has won all nine meetings in the series, including a 65-56 decision last season in Emmitsburg.
• Last season, the two teams met for the first time since the 1990-91 season.
•  Mount St. Mary's will be making its first appearance in Princess Anne, Md., since Feb. 3, 1984.
•  It will only be the fourth time in the series the Mount will travel to UMES.

about the hawks... UMES opens its 2011-12 season on Tuesday night after finishing 12-19 overall and 8-8 MEAC play last year.
• Senior G/F Kwinnyata Mercer is the squad's top returning scorer after ranking second on the team with 10.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
• Junior G/F Chelsea Sanders ranked third on the team with 9.5 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
• Senior G Amber Cook was fourth on the team with 6.8 points and 4.0 rebounds per game as a junior.

last time we met... Mary Dunn tallied 10 points and 10 rebounds and Ashley Christie added 14 points to power Mount St. Mary's past UMES 65-56 on Nov. 20, 2010. Kayla Grossett added 13 points, including 10 points in the first half. Selina Mann chipped in  eight points in the winning effort. Amber Cook paced UMES with 14 points while Casey Morton (12 points) and Kwinnyata Mercer (10 points) also reached double figures in the loss.

quick hits on the binghamton game... Mount St. Mary's lost 52-43 on Friday night in the season opener.
•  Sophomore Kelly Guerriero paced the Mount with a career-high 13 points off the bench.
•  Senior Sandra Andresson added nine points and five rebounds against the Bearcats. The senior played against her best friend from Estonia Viive Rebane in the game.
• Junior Sydney Henderson returned to the court for the first time since injuring her knee in last season's season opener at Virginia on Nov. 14, 2010. The junior posted five points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists against the Bearcats.
• Mount St. Mary's is now 2-3 in season openers under head coach Bryan Whitten.
•  Freshman Mariah Powell enter the game with 67 seconds left in the second half and registered her first career points on a pair of free throws along with a rebound.

starting the season after two games... Mount St. Mary's looks to go to 1-1 for the fourth time in five years under head coach Bryan Whitten.
• The Mount has opened the season .500 after the first two games of a season 16 times, including 11 times in the Mount Division I era.
• When the squad starts the year 1-1, the Mountaineers have gone on to post winning record in 12 of the 16 years, including eight times since switching to Division I.
• Mount St. Mary's has lost the first two games eight times in program history, including eight times in the last 14 years. The squad has had a winning season twice after losing the first two games of the year.
• The Mount started 2-0 12 times in program history.

in their collegiate debut... Freshman Mariah Powell was the lone freshman to make her collegiate debut in the season opener against Binghamton.
• Powell entered the game with 67 seconds left and registered her first career points on a pair of free throws with 52 seconds left and her first collegiate rebound with 19 ticks on the clock.
• Fellow freshmen Jen Carney, Melanie Mocniak and Lindsay Williams are still looking for their first collegiate action.

next on tap... Mount St. Mary's continues its four-game road trip to start the season at American on Friday.
• The Mount will also travel to Towson on Nov. 22 before making its home debut against Navy on Nov. 26.

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.
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 played her first game since the injury in the season opener against Binghamton on Friday, posting five points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists.
• She has recorded five 10-point performances in her career.

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.  
• The Mount hit 6 of 28 shots from behind the arc in the season opener against Binghamton on Nov. 11. Sophomore Kelly Guerriero nailed three of the squad's six from behind the arc.

in the month... Mount St. Mary's is 54-51 in the month of November in program history. The Mount is 30-17 at home, 15-28 on the road and 9-6 at a neutral site in the month.
• The Mountaineers are 28-44 in November since switching to Division I in 1988-89. The team is 17-17 at Knott Arena, 9-22 on the road and 2-5 at a neutral site.
• Under head coach Bryan Whitten, the Mount is 7-12 overall, 4-7 at home and 3-5 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 74-116 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 last season, 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 76 of the 87 games she has played.
• Junior  Sydney Henderson started 16 of the 27 games she has played, including 10 straight games she has played.
• Junior Tara Lonergan has started 11 games in her career, including 11 of the last 18 tilts.
• Sophomore Ashley Christie has started the first 30 games of her collegiate career.
• Sophomore Jessie Kaufman has started nine games 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 16-55 when it does not reach 60 points.
• Defensively, the Mountaineers are 30-25 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 7-60 when trailing at the break.
• The squad is 18-16 when it holds a rebounding edge in a game, but just 20-58 when the opponent has the advantage and 2-4 when the two teams have equal boards.
• Mount St. Mary's is 30-25 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 16 point.
• Junior Selina Mann has 339 points for her career to rank 64th and can move into 63rd place with one point and seven  points to move into 62nd place. Current Mount Athletic Director Lynne P. Robinson ranks 61st with 420 points.
• 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 165 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 eight points, 86th place with 10 points and 85th place with 17 points.
• Junior Tara Lonergan sits in 88th place with 168 points and can jump into 87th place with five points, 86th place with seven points and 85th place with 14 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 (132 points) and Kelly Guerriero (112 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.

new to the mountain... Head coach Bryan Whitten added four players to his 2011-12 team. Freshmen Jen Carney, Melanie Mocniak, Mariah Powell and Lindsay Williams all joined the team this season.
• Sophomore Jacqueline Brewer also joined the team, but will have to sit out this season due to NCAA transfer regulations. Brewer comes to the Mount after playing at Virginia Commonwealth last year.

recapping last 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.

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 trio 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