SNHU (15-5, 10-4 Northeast-10)
vs.
American Int'l (8-10, 7-7 Northeast-10)
Saturday, January 28, 2012 - 1:00 pm
SNHU Fieldhouse - Manchester, N.H.
Radio - WTPL 107.7 FM
COMPLETE GAME NOTES (PDF)
THE MATCHUP: Southern New Hampshire returns home Saturday afternoon when it hosts American International.
THE COACHES: Karen Pinkos is in her seventh season as head coach at Southern New Hampshire...Pinkos has led the Penmen to five Northeast-10 Tournament berths in her first six seasons and to the program's most victories since 1991 in 2008-09 while guiding SNHU to an 18-11 mark...she has compiled a 86-104 record with the Penmen, including a 58-49 mark since the beginning of the 2008-09 season...she spent 16 years as an assistant coach at the Division I level with New Hampshire, Boston College, Providence and Northeastern... Kristen Hutchison is in her fifth season as head coach at American International...a former standout for the Yellow Jackets, she spent the previous four seasons as an assistant at AIC and has posted a 77-62 mark in her career...she led the Yellow Jackets to an NCAA Tournament berth in 2009.
THE SERIES: American International holds a 19-8 lead in the all-time series with Southern New Hampshire...the Penmen snapped an 18-game win streak by the Yellow Jackets in the series with a 62-51 win in Springfield, Mass. last season...SNHU never trailed and jumped out to a 19-2 lead...the Penmen led 36-14 at halftime and by as many as 26 in the second half...Michelle DeRoma, who started her collegiate career at AIC, led the Penmen with 16 points, while Julia Houghtaling added 10 points...Marie Li Sicard paced American International with 27 points on 11-19 shooting.
THE PENMEN: Southern New Hampshire fell to Southern Connecticut 66-60 on Wednesday night...the Penmen are in the "Others Receiving Votes" category of the WBCA Division II poll...junior Sloane Sorrell leads the Penmen in both scoring (13.8 ppg) and rebounding (8.3 rpg) while shooting 58.8% from the floor, ranking second in the Northeast-10 and seventh nationally in in field goal percentage...she also ranks ninth in the league in rebounding...Michelle DeRoma has knocked down a team-best 35 three-pointers and is averaging 10.4 ppg...DeRoma's 35 threes place her seventh in the Northeast-10....Christine Duffy leads the Penmen in assists with 7.8 per game, while she is averaging 9.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per outing...Duffy ranks first nationally in assists per game and recently moved into third place on SNHU's career assist list...she has recorded at least 10 assists on four occasions, including a career-high 15 at Adelphi January 21...Megan Smith is averaging 8.7 ppg and 3.6 rpg...she has led the team in scoring four times, including 14 points in a win at Georgian Court...Victoria Wiseman is averaging 6.7 points and 4.2 rebounds per game...freshmen Brooke Springfield and Lorreta Rocha are adding 5.1 and 4.9 points per game, respectively...Springfield has started all 20 games, while Rocha is a two-time Northeast-10 Rookie of the Week...the Penmen are shooting .446 overall, .333 from three-point land and .642 at the free throw line while allowing opponents to shoot .405 from the floor and .327 behind the arc...SNHU is scoring 64.2 points per game while allowing 58.3 while outrebounding foes 36.2-35.2.
THE YELLOW JACKETS: American International has won five of seven, but is coming off a 74-59 home setback to Franklin Pierce Wednesday night...Michelle Lafond has knocked down a team-high 53 three-pointers and is scoring at a 14.1 ppg clip...Rhea Pascal is recording 11.6 points and a team-high 8.8 rebounds per game, while Alyssa Roach is averaging 9.4 points and 3.8 assists per game...Marie Li Sicard and Sarah Noble are adding 8.5 and 8.2 ppg, respectively...AIC is shooting .376 overall, .376 from three-point land and .725 at the free throw line while allowing opponents to shoot .397 from the floor and .259 behind the arc...the Yellow Jackets are scoring 59.3 ppg while allowing 60.7 and outrebounding opponents 37.8-34.4.
WHAT'S NEXT: Southern New Hampshire travels to Saint Anselm Tuesday night before hosting UMass Lowell next Saturday. The game against the River Hawks is Penmen Pink Day, the annual game for breast cancer awareness.
