WOMEN'S HOOP SET TO TAKE ON UMBC ON FEB. 13

GAME NOTES (PDF)

THE MATCHUP
    Saturday's matchup between the Retrievers and Wildcats marks the 14th meeting all-time between both squads. New Hampshire won four of the first six meetings against UMBC. Prior to this season, both teams have split the series, however, UNH has won the last two decisions, including its most recent victory on Jan. 16, 2010 (77-67).

SCOUTING UMBC (10-14, 4-7 AE):
    Last time out UMBC fell to Binghamton 70-36 on Wednesday evening at the Events Center ... Tope Obajolu was the only Retriever in double figures with 11 points, earning UMBC's America East Player of the Game ... The Bearcats outshot the Retrievers 51.7 percent to 31.6 percent from the floor in the contest ... Binghamton also outrebounded UMBC 47 to 32 ... On the season, UMBC has been solid offensively, ranking fifth in the conference in scoring offensive with an average of 60.4 points per game ... The Retrievers scoring totals have come with great marksmanship, as they are shooting 38.5 percent from the floor, a mark that ranks fourth in the conference ... Carlee Cassidy has led the way offensively for UMBC, pouring in 13.0 points per game this season ... Michelle Kurowski has also added solid production with an average of 12.3 points per game ... Cassidy ranks second in the conference in made 3-point field goals, notching 56 this season ... She has knocked down 25 trifectas since the start of conference play ... She is shooting a .329 clip from downtown ... Defensively, Obajolu has been a force in the middle for the Retrievers, notching the most blocks (26) in the America East since the start of conference play ... During that stretch she is averaging 2.4 blocks per game ... Overall, Obajolu ranks fifth in the conference in blocks, with an average of 1.4 per game.

SCOUTING NEW HAMPSHIRE (8-16, 3-8 AE):
    Last time out the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team fell to the University of Hartford, 65-35, on Saturday at Chase Arena ... Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) led the ‘Cats with 10 points and eight rebounds ... She has scored in double digits in 15 of the last 16 games, including 25 of the last 29 dating back to last year ... Williams now has 1,189 points and 648 rebounds in her career and is one of just eight Wildcats all-time to tally at least 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in program history ... Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) added five points, three assists and two rebounds ... She is the first Wildcat to notch over 1,000 points, 300 assists and 100 steals in program history ... She ranks second in the conference in assists, with an average of 5.1 per game this season ... Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) notched a block in the game and has now tallied a block in 17 of the last 18 games ... She currently ranks second in the conference in blocks with 43 this season, which is good for an average of 2.0 per game ... The ‘Cats rank second in the conference in blocked shots with 113 ... Since the start of conference play, the ‘Cats have racked up 55 blocks, a total that ranks first in the conference ... New Hampshire is shooting an impressive .392 clip from the floor this season, a mark that currently ranks fourth in the conference ... The Wildcats rank second in defensive field goal percentage in the America East, allowing opponents to shoot just .374 from the floor ... In the game prior, the Wildcats earned a 78-64 victory over Stony Brook University at Lundholm Gymnasium on Feb. 3 ... Chrissy Hall (Northbridge, Mass.) was named the America East Player of the Game for New Hampshire, tallying a career-high 18 points, a season-high seven rebounds and a career-high four assists ... Williams and Simpson rounded out UNH's double-digit scorers, notching 16 and 15 points, respectively ... For New Hampshire, it  was the fifth straight game three or more Wildcats have scored in double figures ... Williams finished with a season-high 12 rebounds and three assists, en route to her second double-double of the season ... Simpson rounded out the evening with seven assists and four boards ... Kelley Flynn (Hopkinton, N.H.) tied a UNH single-game record with seven blocks in the contest, while also notching seven points.

WILDCAT BLOCK PARTY
    New Hampshire ranks second in the America East in blocks this season with 113 and is currently on pace to break the program's single-season block record. The Wildcats broke the record last season with 117 blocks, as Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) and Chrissy Hall (Northbridge, Mass.) led the squad with 47 and 22 swats, respectively. Prior to last season, the record had stood for nearly seven years, as the 2001-02 squad previously set the mark with 101 blocks.

RECORD CHASER
    Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) has 43 blocks this season and is currently on pace to break Denise Higgins' single-season block record of 53. Last season McDonald tallied the program's second best single-season block total with 47. She is currently averaging 2.0 blocks per game, a total that ranks second in the conference.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT
    Kelley Flynn (Hopkinton, N.H.) tallied a UNH single-game record seven blocks against Stony Brook on Feb. 3. The mark comes as a career-high for Flynn, who is the second Wildcat this season to notch seven blocks. Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) was the first to set the record when she swatted seven shots against then 23rd-ranked Syracuse on Dec. 30. Flynn ranks third on the team with 14 blocks this season.

MAKING IT RAIN
    New Hampshire shot a season-high 53.3 percent (8-for-15) from beyond the arc and 55.3 percent (26-for-47) from the floor against Stony Brook on Feb. 3. For UNH, it was the third time this season it shot over 50 percent from the field and just the first time it notched a 3-point field goal percentage over 50 percent.

DECK THE HALLS
    Chrissy Hall (Northbridge, Mass.) notched a career-high 18 points, lacing 6-of-7 shots from the field, including a career-high four 3-pointers against Stony Brook on Feb. 3. In addition her impressive scoring output, Hall also tallied a season-high seven rebounds and a career-high four assists.

DOUBLE DIGIT DANDY
    Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) notched her second double-double of the season against Stony Brook on Feb. 3, tallying 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. For Williams, the impressive mark comes as her 15th career double-double. Last season, the forward earned a conference-best 10 double-doubles. Her first double-double this season came against Canisius College on Dec. 28, when the senior scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds.

FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING
    Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) notched her first career double-double, tallying career highs in points (19) and rebounds (10) against Vermont on Jan. 31. McDonald reached her previous career highs in points (18) and rebounds (9) against Louisville on Dec. 22.

CHARITY WORK
    Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) laced 4-of-4 free throws against Hartford on Feb. 6, giving her an impressive .950 shooting clip from the charity stripe over the course of the last five games. Williams ranks first in the America East in free throw percentage since the start of conference play, shooting 89.1 percent from the line.

REJECTION NOTICE
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) is currently one just three guards to rank in the top-10 in blocks in the America East. So far this season, the senior has notched a career-high 22 blocks and is currently averaging 1.1 blocks per game since the start of conference play. Simpson recently notched a career-high four blocks against Albany on Jan. 22, a mark she has reached just three times in her career.

MAKE ROOM AT THE TOP
    Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) pulled in 12 boards against Stony Brook on Feb. 3, moving her to eighth all-time in career rebounds. The senior leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game, a total that currently ranks eighth in the conference. For her career she has compiled 648 boards.

OFFENSIVE AWAKENING
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) has scored in double figures in three of the last four games, including her most recent double digit scoring effort against Stony Brook when she poured in 15 points on Feb. 3. On the season she has scored in double figures seven times, with her two best offensive outings coming against UMBC (Jan. 16) and Maine (Jan. 12.). Against the Retrievers, Simpson notched a team-high 15 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks. In the game prior against the Black Bears, she torched the nets for a season-high 21 points, which was the most points the senior has scored since netting 21 against Stony Brook on Jan. 21, 2009.  In addition to scoring 21 points against the Black Bears, Simpson also tallied three rebounds, three assists and two blocks.

THREE'S COMPANY
    Three Wildcats scored in double figures for the ninth time this season against Stony Brook on Feb. 3, as Chrissy Hall (Northbridge, Mass.; 18), Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.; 16) and Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.; 15) all scored in double digits. The last time the 'Cats had three players score in doubles figures came against Vermont on Jan. 31. In that game, Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) led the way with 19 points, while Williams and Simpson each dropped in 17 and 12 points, respectively.

FRIELIN' IT
    Jilliane Friel (Durham, N.H.) scored a career-high nine points on 3-for-4 shooting against Boston University on Jan. 28. Included in her offensive outburst, Friel tied her career-high of two 3-point field goals, as she shot a perfect 2-for-2 from beyond the arc. Friel played 13 minutes off the bench for the ‘Cats, rounding out the evening with one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block.

RIGHT ON POINT
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) scored the last of eight points on a jumper with 5:47 left in regulation against Binghamton on Jan. 24, becoming the 15th Wildcat in program history to score 1,000 points in a career. For her career, the all-purpose guard has 1,044 points, 328 assists and 117 steals. Last season she notched a career-high 357 points, averaging 11.5 points per game. In the season prior, she finished with 315 points, with an average of 11.3 points per game.

ALONE AT THE TOP
    After tallying her 1,000th point against Binghamton on Jan. 24, Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) became the only Wildcat all-time to tally at least 1,000 points, 300 assists and 100 steals at UNH. For her career, the senior has racked up 1,044 points, 328 assists and 117 steals.

CONSISTENT 'CAT
    Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) netted 10 points against Hartford on Feb. 6, making it the 26th time in the last 30 games dating back to last year she has scored in double-figures. Against Louisville on Dec. 22, she notched a season-high 18 points for the third time this year. Her two other 18-point outings came in back-to-back efforts against Quinnipiac (Nov. 29) and Harvard (Nov. 24). During the 30 game span, she has tallied 22 points on two occasions, the latest coming in a 66-62 win over Albany at the SEFCU Arena on Feb. 28, 2009. Her other 22-point outburst came against defending conference champion Vermont on Feb. 22, 2009. Last year she posted double-figures in all 23 games to start the season, including back-to-back 25-plus point games. She had a career-high 27-point performance at Boston University (Jan. 17, 2009) and then posted 26 at Stony Brook (Jan. 21, 2009). In 1998-99, Orsi Farkas posted double figures in all 31 games for the Wildcats.

SWAT TEAM
    The Wildcats currently rank second in the conference in blocks with 113, which is good for an average of 4.7 per game.  Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) leads the way for the ‘Cats this season, notching 43 blocks, while Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) ranks second on the squad with 22.  

K-FLYING HIGH
    Kelley Flynn (Hopkinton, N.H.) set career highs in points and rebounds against both Dartmouth (Jan. 19) and Albany (Jan. 22). Against the Great Danes she poured in a career-high 16 points along with eight rebounds and two blocks.  Against the Big Green she set a career-high with 13 rebounds, adding seven points and two blocks. Prior to her stellar outing against the Big Green, Flynn had reached her previous high of eight rebounds just once against Maryland on Dec. 29, 2007. This season only Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) has pulled in more rebounds in a game than Flynn, as she tallied 14 boards against Harvard on Nov. 24.

MOVING ON UP
    After tallying 14 points against Boston University on Jan. 28, Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.), moved to eighth all-time in program history in scoring. She currently has 1,189 points in her UNH career and needs 256 points to break into the top-5, a total that would tie Wildcat great Orsi Farkas' all-time mark of 1,434 career points.

600-CLUB
    Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) pulled in nine rebounds against Dartmouth on Jan. 19, giving her 604 rebounds in her career, becoming one of just eight Wildcats all-time to tally at least 1,000 points and 600 rebounds in program history. Williams has tallied at least six boards in seven of the last eight games and currently leads the team with average of 6.9 rebounds per game.

RAINING 3'S
    New Hampshire drilled eight 3-pointers against Stony Brook on Feb. 3, marking the sixth time this season the ‘Cats have knocked down at least eight trifectas. UNH's most impressive outing came against then 23rd-ranked Syracuse on Dec. 30, when the Wildcats drained a season-high 10 3-pointers. Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) led the way knocking down a season-high four trifectas, while Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) and Cari Reed (Oswego, N.Y.) each hit two apiece and Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa.) and Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) each added a trey to the mix. For the Wildcats, it was the first time they drilled at least 10 3-pointers since draining 14 trifectas against Colgate on Dec. 5, 2008.

PARTY OF FIVE
    For the second time this season five Wildcats finished in double-figure scoring, as Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) and Kelley Flynn (Hopkinton, N.H.) led the way, netting 17 and 16 points, respectively, against Albany on Jan. 22.  Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) (14), Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) (12) and Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa.) (12) rounded out UNH's double-digit scorers. The last time the 'Cats had five players in double figures came in an 80-72 decision against Holy Cross College on Dec. 22. In that game, Beliveau led all scorers with 20 points and was followed by McDonald (18 points, six rebounds), Williams (15 points, nine rebounds), Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.; 10 points, 11 assists) and Racheal Fowler (Glassboro, N.J.; 10 points).

TOP OF THE WORLD
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) knocked down a 3-pointer on Jan. 16 against UMBC, giving her a program record 180 3-point field goals for her career. The impressive total passes Heidi Plencner's all-time mark of 179 trifectas, a record she set in 2002. This season, Simpson has drilled 29 3-pointers and currently has 190 3-point field goals in her career. Last year, she notched 62 3-pointers, which was the best single-season mark in program history.

FOUR OF A KIND
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) and Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) led four Wildcats in double figure scoring, each netting 15 points apiece in UNH's 77-67 win over UMBC on Jan. 16. Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) and Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa.) rounded out UNH's double-digit scorers, notching 14 and 12 points, respectively. For the Wildcats, it was the first time four 'Cats registered in double figures since their last meeting with the Retrievers on Feb. 8, 2009. In that game, Williams (19), Abigail LaRosa (Hampton, N.H.) (17), Wells (12) and Simpson (11) all reached double digit scoring.

PASSING THE GREATS
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) tallied three assists against Hartford on Feb. 6, giving her 328 assists for her career, a mark that ranks sixth all-time in program history. This season she has compiled 122 assists, breaking her single-season career-high of 90 assists, which she set last season. Prior to the 2008-09 campaign, Simpson tallied 77 assists during the 2007-08 season and 39 assists in 2006-07.

DOING THE DISHES
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) has stepped up in her new role as point guard this season, notching the second-best assist total in the conference with 122. Against Louisville on Dec. 22, she tallied her second best assist total of the season, dishing out eight assists for the second time this year. In the game prior, she tied a career-high with 11 assists against Holy Cross College on Dec. 20. The last time she reached the 11-assist mark came against UMBC on Feb. 2, 2008. For her career, Simpson has tallied 328 assists, ranking her sixth all-time in program history. Simpson has been solid across the board for the ‘Cats this year, averaging 7.1 points, 5.1 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
    Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) notched her second double-double of the season on Jan. 12 against Maine with 13 points and 11 rebounds. She notched her first double-double of the season on Nov. 24 against Harvard with 14 points and 14 rebounds. For the forward, it was her fourth career double-double as she also notched double digit efforts against Northeastern (22 pts, 10 rbs) on Dec. 15, 2007 and Binghamton (18 pts, 11 rbs) on Jan. 19, 2008.

3-POINT SPECIALIST
    Lauren Wells (West Chester, Pa.) has tallied 28 3-point field goals this season, while shooting the sixth-best field goal percentage (.354) in the conference from beyond the arc. The success from downtown is a pleasant surprise for the guard, who knocked down just seven treys from 3-point range last season paired with a .194 shooting percentage. Wells is averaging 6.3 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game this season.

TICKLE THE TWINE
    New Hampshire is shooting an impressive .392 clip from the floor this season, a mark that currently ranks fourth in the conference. UNH's stellar marksmanship from the field comes after a season in which the ‘Cats shot 35.7 percent from the floor. The last time the Wildcats finished the season with a shooting clip above .390 was during the 2005-06 campaign, when they finished the year with a 39.1 shooting percentage.

AGAINST ALL ODDS
    With UNH's 42-40 victory over Canisius College on Dec. 28, the Wildcats snapped a seven-game America East Conference losing streak against the Golden Griffins. Earlier this season, Canisius earned a pair of wins against America East opponents, with victories over Binghamton (49-46) and Albany (52-41). For New Hampshire, the win comes as the program's second in its last three meetings against Canisius College.

RE-WRITING THE HISTORY BOOKS
    Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) ranks second in the conference in blocks with 43 this season, which is good for an average of 2.0 per game. Since the start of conference play, McDonald is averaging 1.8 blocks per game, a mark that ranks third in the America East. The center has notched a block in 17 of the last 18 games. Her most impressive outing came against then 23rd-ranked Syracuse on Dec. 30, when she set the UNH single-game record for blocks with seven. Against Stony Brook on Jan. 6 she notched five blocks, marking the third time this season she has swatted at least five shots. The first time she reached the 5-block plateau came against Louisville on Dec. 22, which also marked the first time a Wildcat tallied at least five blocks in a game since Ray Williams reached the mark against Yale on Nov. 19, 2005. McDonald is picking up right where she left off last season, when she tallied the second best single-season block total in program history with 47. For her career, she ranks fourth all-time in blocks with 99.

TORCHING THE NETS
    The Wildcats scored over 80 points for the second time this season when they poured in 87 points against Albany on Jan. 22. For UNH, it was also the second time this season it shot over 50 percent, posting a season-high .579 clip from the floor. UNH scored 80 points against Holy Cross on Dec. 20, marking the largest point total the ‘Cats had posted since they notched 85 points against UMBC on Jan. 10, 2009. New Hampshire shot an impressive 54.4 percent from the floor against the Crusaders, marking the first time it shot over 50 percent from the floor since Dec. 12, 2007 against Iona (50.0; 30-60).

KC MASTERPIECE
    After rounding out non-conference play against Dartmouth on Jan. 19, UNH head coach Kristin Cole is off to her best start during her tenure at New Hampshire, leading the 'Cats to a 5-8 record in non-conference play to kick off the season. The impressive total comes as the most non-conference wins the Wildcats have earned since also tallying five wins during the 2006-07 campaign.

STEALING THE SHOW
    Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) tied her career-high with five steals against Seton Hall on Dec. 3, marking the third time she has reached the mark in her UNH career. It was also the first time a Wildcat compiled five steals in a game since Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) did so on Dec. 5, 2008 against Colgate. On the season, Beliveau has tallied multiple steals in a game 11 times for the Wildcats. She currently leads the team with 35 steals, with an average of 1.8 steals per game.

CENTURY CLUB
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) tallied a steal against Vermont on Jan. 31, giving her 117 steals for her Wildcat career. The impressive total ranks 20th all-time in program history. The last Wildcat to break into the 100-steal club was Whitney Edwards, who played for the ‘Cats from 2003-07 and compiled 229 for her career, which ranks second all-time in program history. On the season, Simpson ranks second on team with 25 steals, averaging 1.0 per game.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
    After tallying 18 points and pulling down five rebounds against Louisville on Dec. 22, Candace Williams (Norfolk, Mass.) became just the eleventh Wildcat to score over 1,000 points and compile 500 rebounds in program history. For her career she has compiled 1,179 points and 648 rebounds.  The last ‘Cat to achieve the feat was Danielle Clark in 2007, who finished her UNH career with 1,331 points and 579 rebounds. Kris Kinney tops the list, finishing her UNH career with 2,231 points and 897 rebounds after a four-year stint with the ‘Cats from 1985-89.

IN THE CLUTCH
    With UNH's 78-65 overtime victory over Harvard University on Nov. 24, the Wildcats have now won their last six decisions in overtime dating back to March 1, 2003, when UNH defeated Stony Brook 70-67 in the extra frame. New Hampshire's win over the Crimson marks the largest margin of victory in overtime in program history. It is also UNH's first win against Harvard since Dec. 29, 1999, when the Wildcats defeated the Crimson 70-58 at Lundholm Gymnasium.

DEFENSIVE SPECIALISTS
     The Wildcats have been playing stellar defense against some impressive company this season. They have held opponents to the second best defensive shooting percentage (.374) in the conference from the floor, while shooting an impressive .392 clip themselves. The fresh start comes against an A-10 (St. Joseph's, UMass), an ACC (Maryland) and three Big East (Seton Hall, Louisville, Syracuse) programs, following a season in which opponents shot .404 from the field against the ‘Cats. New Hampshire held then 23rd ranked Syracuse to its second lowest offensive output to that point, allowing just 58 points and forcing them to shoot just 31.5 percent from the floor. Against Canisius College on Dec. 28, the Wildcats held the Golden Griffins to .267 shooting and just 40 points, marks that are both team-highs. Against Quinnipiac on Nov. 29, New Hampshire held the Bobcats to just 29.5 percent shooting. In the game prior versus Harvard, the Wildcats kicked off the game playing stingy defense against the Crimson, holding them scoreless for the first 5:16 of the action and not allowing a field goal until the 8:44 mark. In UNH's 58-57 win over UMass on Nov. 20, the Wildcats compiled a season-high 13 steals and forced a season-best 27 turnovers. In UNH's matchup against then 21st ranked Maryland on Nov. 16, the ‘Cats pestered the Terps into shooting just .278 from the field, holding their offense to just 63 points, which was Maryland's second lowest point total in the last 29 games dating back to last season. The only team to hold the Terps to an even lower point total was Louisville, who defeated Maryland 77-60 in the NCAA Elite Eight on March 30, 2009.

A-10 SPECIAL
    UNH's 58-57 win over UMass on Nov. 20 marked the first time the Wildcats knocked off two Atlantic-10 teams in the same season since the 1989-90 campaign. The 'Cats earned their first victory over an Atlantic-10 opponent this season on Nov. 13, when they defeated St. Joseph's University 64-56 at Lundholm Gymnasium. During the 1989-90 season, the Wildcats defeated Rhode Island 67-56 on Nov. 28 and earned a 66-60 win against UMass on Dec. 9 to complete the A-10 sweep in non-conference play.

PICTURE PERFECT
    In addition to her 21 points and nine rebounds in UNH's 64-56 win over St. Joseph's University on Nov. 13, Denise Beliveau (Framingham, Mass.) tied her career high in free throws made, knocking down 10-of-10 shots from the charity stripe. Included in that total are four tallies which came in the last two minutes of play to seal the victory for the 'Cats. It was the first time a Wildcat shot 100 percent from the foul line since Danielle Clark (12-12) did so on Nov. 26, 2006 against Iona. The last time Beliveau knocked down 10 free throws in a game came against Northeastern on Dec. 15, 2007. She finished that night with 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
    Amy Simpson (Waterford, Conn.) a senior guard on the University of New Hampshire women's basketball team, was honored as Player of the Week by the America East Conference on Dec. 21.
    Simpson recorded 10 points and a career-high 11 assists to propel the Wildcats to an 80-72 victory Sunday afternoon against Holy Cross at Lundholm Gymnasium. Simpson also recorded two steals, two blocks, two rebounds and was one of five Wildcats in double digit scoring in the contest.
    After trailing 37-33 at the half, Simpson ignited the ‘Cats with 15:37 remaining, sparking a 10-0 run by setting up Jill McDonald (Middlebury, Vt.) with a layup and scoring a basket of her own on ensuing possessions in a span of 2:37 to take a 49-39 lead. She then helped UNH build its largest lead of the game with a steal and a long outlet pass to Racheal Fowler (Glassboro, N.J.) for a layup, capped off with a 3-pointer by Simpson on the next possession to push the score to 71-56 in favor of the home team.
    Scoring all of her 10 points in the second frame, Simpson helped the Wildcats outscore the Crusaders 47 to 35 in the stanza, as the team posted an impressive .615 percent shooting clip from the floor. Not to mention, the 80-point output by the ‘Cats is the largest point total posted by New Hampshire since it notched 85 points against UMBC on Jan. 10, 2009.

WILDCATS PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON POLL
    The University of New Hampshire women's basketball team received 38 points to place fourth in the America East preseason poll that was released this afternoon by the conference.
    The Wildcats finished last season in fifth place in the conference with an 8-23 record, including a 6-10 mark against America East opponents, after being picked seventh in last year's preseason poll. New Hampshire's 38-point total tied with Boston University, who is coming off an undefeated conference regular season and its first appearance in the postseason WNIT. UMBC finished followed closely behind UNH and BU, with 35 points in the sixth place spot.
    Vermont, last year's conference champion, is predicted to once again capture the title, receiving five first place votes and tallying 61 points. Hartford is selected to finish second with 60 points, garnering four first place votes in the poll. Binghamton is predicted to finish third, with 45 points.
    Stony Brook University is slated to finish seventh (23 points), while the University of Maine (13) and the University at Albany (11 points) round out the final three spots in the poll.