The Massachusetts Women’s Basketball team’s late comeback in the fourth quarter falls short as Northeastern holds on for a 78-74 win on Thursday night.
The Minutewomen were trailing by nine points entering the fourth quarter and started well with a 7-2 run to get them within four points. However, the Huskies answered back with a 9-2 run of their own to extend their lead back to double digits.
UMass stayed in the fight every single minute, forcing the Huskies to seven turnovers in the last five minutes of the game
After getting the score down to five with under three minutes to go, the Huskies pulled off a 5-0 run, to bring their lead back to 10. However, the Minutewomen would fight back again in this back-and-forth affair scoring seven straight unanswered points.
In the end, UMass did not have enough time to pull off the win as the Huskies made their free throws to seal the game.
It was a better night offensively for the Minutewomen who went 8-17 from three in the first half and overall went 11-33. The three ball dried out in the second half which caused Massachusetts to fall behind.
Forward Bre Bellamy had a solid game as she led the team with 15 points and went 3-5 from three. Unfortunately for her, she fouled out in the last 15 seconds of the game.
UMass had three other players who scored over 10 points. Guard Kristin Williams had 13 points, guard Tori Hyduke had 12 points and guard Jermany Mapp had 11 points after having none against St. Peter’s.
Defensively, Massachusetts struggled against the Huskies. The Huskies off-the-ball movement split opened the Minutewomen’s defense which led Northeastern to find open shots. Additionally, the Huskies’ size, length and physicality saw them go to the free throw line 33 times compared to UMass who went 25 times.
The Huskies were 24-33 from the line and a good number of those came in the fourth quarter when Northeastern went 13-20 from the line. Forward Asha Parker led the Huskies in points with 18 and was 6-10 from the field.
Every Minutewomen player was called for a foul. Guard Lilly Ferguson also fouled out in the game with under two minutes to go. Even head coach Mike Leflar got called for a technical foul early in the third quarter that gave the Huskies two free throws and the ball that sparked an 8-0 run for them.
Additionally, turnovers were a big problem in the first half for UMass. They had nine turnovers that allowed the Huskies to score six points from those. Sloppy passes and lack of discipline may have cost the Minutewomen in this game, especially late in the game when Massachusetts had the Northeastern lead down to five.
While Massachusetts showed great fight in the game, they are still missing an X-factor who can change the game. For the past few seasons, forward Sam Breen was just that for UMass. She would score big buckets when the team needed it the most. The team misses that X-factor, especially in these close games where every possession matters.
The Minutewomen fall to 1-1 on the season and will continue their road trip as they face Maine on Sunday at 1 p.m.
