Local rivals Union and Rensselaer will square off in a key Upstate Collegiate Athletic Association women's basketball match up Friday at 6 p.m. in Memorial Field House. The Dutchwomen, who have won seven in a row since returning from their Holiday Recess on January 4, are 5-0 in the conference and 12-2 overall.
The Red Hawks, meanwhile, saw their own six-game win streak come to an end on Saturday as they lost to defending league champion St. Lawrence, 62-40. Rensselaer comes into the matchup tied with the Saints for second in the UCAA at 4-1 and are 11-3 overall.
“It is going to be an exciting game,” said Head Coach Mary Ellen Burt, who earlier this year surpassed the century mark during her 10-year coaching career, all at Union. Burt, whose overall record is 107-109, has guided her Dutchwomen to a standard of 80-40 over the last five seasons, including this year's mark. Union is 38-21 in the conference over the last five seasons and last year posted their best UCAA record at 11-3, which put them a program-best second after the regular season.
“We have been very fortunate to have been able to recruit players who are not only fundamentally sound and very talented, they are good people who are concerned with the goals of the team rather than personal statistics,” said Burt.
“Our leadership has been outstanding, especially the past few seasons,” Burt continued. “This year Taryn Scinto and Kelly Baker are our only seniors and they have been the ones who have provided the foundation of the program. Neither one of them has been on a losing team and our team has an overall record of 67-27 with two ECAC championship tournament appearances (the programs first two postseason invitation) in the last three years.”
Once again this year, Union has a balanced team with 10 of the 14 players averaging double-digit minutes of playing time. Scinto, a point guard who averages 23.1 minutes, and sophomore guard Erika Eisenhut, who sees an average of 23 minutes of court time, lead the Dutchwomen. Junior forward Katlyn Cunningham and classmate guard Melissa Marra each average 22.6 minutes of playing time while junior forward Emily Scott is averaging 21.1 minutes.
“That has been the key to our success, especially over the last two seasons,” explains Burt. “We can keep all of our players fresh by shuffling them in and out at various points in the game. Our bench is deep and any one of our top 10 players could be on the court when we tip-off to start the game.”
While Marra and Eisenhut have been named the UCAA “Rookie of the Year” each of the last two seasons, respectively, the Dutchwomen have not had a player selected for a weekly award this season, despite their undefeated record.
“All of our players are in and out of the game so quickly that no one really gets to put up numbers that get that kind of recognition,” explained Burt. “But, if you look at our team's statistics, that is where you can see where this group of players buy into the total team concept.”
While the Dutchwomen are second in scoring offense with their 69.6 average (RPI is second at 69.6), Union's conference-leading assist-to-turnover ratio of 0.89 and the Dutchwomen's UCAA-best scoring defensive average of 51.7 are the keys to the team's success this year. The Garnet is second in the league, behind St. Lawrence, with its 14.5 assists per game average and leads the league with its turnover average of 16.3 (William Smith is second with its average of 18.8).
Rensselaer has a solid advantage on the boards. The Red Hawks average 45.7 boards a game while the Dutchwomen's average is 40.1. RPI has pulled down 72 more offensive rebounds than Union (244-172) but only five more defensive boards (395-390).
The Red Hawks boast three of the UCAA's top seven overall scorers in conference leader Kaitlyn Saunders (17.6), Kristin Kaczynski (tied for second at 14.7), and No. 7 Caitlin Vestal (11.3). Cunningham is eighth in the circuit at 11.3 points a game with Eisenhut and Marra tied for 14th with their 9.6 averages.
Vestal, who is averaging 7.4 rebounds a game, is fifth in the conference with Jacqueline Ferrari (7.0) ranked 10th, Saunders (5.9) 12th and Kaczynski (5.3) at No. 17.
Union is led by junior Emily Scott, whose 5.0 average ranks 19th, and Cunningham, who is 20th with her 4.9 average.
Following this weekend's games with Rensselaer and Vassar (Saturday at 2 p.m.), the Dutchwomen will play five of their final seven UCAA games on the road. Union concludes its regular-season home schedule with William Smith and Hamilton the weekend of February 6 & 7. Rensselaer, on the other hand, will play four of its final eight conference games in Robison Gym, including the regular-season finale against the Dutchwomen on February 21.
The regular-season champion will hold the four-team postseason championship on Friday and Saturday, February 27 and 28. The winner of the event will earn the UCAA's automatic NCAA berth.
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