Tuesday, February 14 | 5:30 pm
Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium | Albany, NY
Assumption (17-6/14-5 NE-10) at Saint Rose (15-8/12-7 NE-10)
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Video | Saint Rose Game Notes
ALBANY - The College of Saint Rose women's basketball team will try to snap a four-game skid against Assumption College when the Golden Knights square off against the Greyhounds in a key Northeast-10 Conference contest at 5:30 pm tonight at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium. The game will be broadcast live via the web with Chad Cooper calling the play-by-play action on
www.gogoldenknights.tv.
THE SERIES
Tonight marks the 21st meeting between Saint Rose and Assumption. The Greyhounds own a 14-6 lead in the all-time series and have taken nine of the past 10 games, including four straight. Their average margin of victory in the nine aforementioned wins is +10.3.
LAST MEETING
Senior guard
Ashley Rath poured in a career-high 36 points, but Saint Rose was unable to pull off the upset bid as host Assumption held on for a 63-60 victory over the Golden Knights back on December 6 in Worcester. Rath became the first Saint Rose player to eclipse 35 points in five years (Mary Lewis '07). She finished 12-of-19 from the floor and knocked down eight, 3-pointers while hauling in five boards in 40 minutes of action. Meanwhile, senior forward
Ali Johnson registered a “double-double” behind 13 points and 10 rebounds. The Greyhounds, who entered the contest ranked #14 in the
USA Today/ESPN Division II Poll, received 18 points apiece from senior forward Kelly Meredith and junior guard Katy Howard. Assumption virtually led wire-to-wire, although Rath provided the Golden Knights with a 7-4 edge via a trey just more than two minutes into the contest when her shooting barrage began. Meredith converted a layup at the other end and then Howard buried a 'three' of her own on the next possession to jumpstart an 18-4 run that put the Greyhounds up 11, 22-11 midway through the first half. Assumption still maintained a double-digit lead at the break, but Saint Rose stormed out of the locker room with a 17-6 jaunt to knot things 42-42 with 10 minutes to go. Johnson and senior guard
Ola Shajuyigbe accounted for all but two points for the Golden Knights during the outburst. Rath finally punctuated things with a pair of free throws. She proceeded to toss in four deep balls over the last five minutes to make it a 61-60 ballgame with six seconds remaining. However, Howard sealed things with two free throws and Saint Rose was unable to get a clear look at the buzzer.
SCOUTING SAINT ROSE (15-8/12-7 NE-10)
The Golden Knights have won six of their last eight games. Saint Rose owns an 11-1 home record this year, including an 8-1 mark in league games. The Golden Knights are outscoring their opponents by a +12.6 margin in Albany. From an overall standpoint, Saint Rose yields just 55.5 points per-game, which ranks second in the NE-10. The Golden Knights are limiting opponents to a league-low 34.4 percent shooting from the floor. Saint Rose additionally paces the NE-10 in blocks (4.7 bpg) and 3FG percentage (36.1). Rath has been in twin-figures in 14 straight games. She is currently second in the league in scoring behind 17.9 points per-game. Rath is furthermore fourth in NE-10 in 3FG percentage (43.1). Junior forward
Maria Sanchez Gonzalez was inserted into the starting lineup in a 68-62 win at Merrimack on January 17. Since then, the Golden Knights have gone 6-2 and Sanchez is averaging 6.8 points and 9.4 rebounds. She was producing just 1.4 points and 2.5 rebounds prior.
SCOUTING ASSUMPTION (17-6/14-5 NE-10)
The Greyhounds are receiving votes in this week's
USA Today/ ESPN Division II Poll. They have won three straight and six of their last eight heading into tonight. Meredith moved into second place on the all-time scoring list at Assumption (1,544) with 21 points in an 85-70 win at Adelphi on Saturday. Meredith currently paces the NE-10 in scoring (19.2 ppg) and is eighth in FG% (53.6). As a team, the Greyhounds possess the second-highest scoring offense (70.6 ppg) in the conference. They furthermore shoot a league-best 45.0 percent from the floor. In addition to Meredith, junior guard Gabrielle Gibson (14.4 ppg) and Howard (12.6 ppg) are also contributing double-digits in scoring on a regular basis.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Golden Knights have found great success at the Daniel P. Nolan Gymnasium since its renovation prior to the 2004-05 season. Saint Rose has posted a 78-25 home slate for a .757 winning percentage. Furthermore, the Golden Knights have defeated five ranked opponents on their home floor, including twice last season.
UP NEXT
Both squads return to action this Saturday with a pair of NE-10 games on the schedule. Saint Rose heads to American International College, while Assumption returns home to host Pace University. Both contests are set to tip-off at 1:30 pm.
