After an attempted comeback, UMass could not overcome the Bulldogs. The Minutewomen dropped their eighth straight game of the season with a final score of 70-62. Even though this game will show up in the loss column, there are some positive takeaways for the Minutewomen squad. They had lost their last six games by 12 points or more and the previous three by at least 29.
Guard Jermany Mapp returned to the lineup after suffering an injury against Green Bay and missing the last two games. Mapp made her presence known on the floor with eight assists and two points on the night.
The common theme of the night for the Minutewomen was failure to rebound. UMass was outrebounded 7-2 in the first five minutes of the game and could never overcome that deficit. Across the entire A10, UMass ranks dead last in rebounds per game with 28.6. The Minutewomen are allowing 38.7 rebounds per game which is the third-highest in the A10.
Forward Lilly Taulelei found her groove offensively for the Minutewomen. She added 13 points against Yale, one less than her career high of 14. However, she has not found her momentum for gathering boards. If she can add consistent rebounding to her game, she will be a weapon on both ends of the paint for UMass.
The first quarter was low-scoring on both ends but guard Lilly Ferguson was able to pick up a late bucket to bring the score to 12-11 in favor of Yale.
However, UMass would fall behind quickly in the second quarter and would fail to regain their momentum in the quarter. They finished the half down 34-23.
In terms of good news for this young squad, freshman Chinenye Odenigbo made her debut in the second quarter and scored her first collegiate points. Overall, Odenigbo finished with six points on the night. The Walpole native only added two rebounds on the night but as she continues to develop, she could join Taulelei as an elite rebounder for the Minutewomen.
Guard Stefanie Kulesza struggled on the night adding only eight points tying her second-lowest point total on the season. Yale’s Nyla McGill was a major component in keeping Kulesza off the scoreboard. Kulesza could not work cleanly in the paint, and that showed as she led the team with three turnovers on the night.
A late Lilly Taulelei lay-up and free throw brought Massachusetts to within 11 at the half, but the story of the game continued to be the Minutewomen’s inability to get rebounds. Yale was winning the total rebound battle 24-11 at the half and led offensive rebounds 9-2. Yale led by 15 in the latter parts of the quarter, their largest lead of the game.
Heading into the second half, UMass started hot and was able to force turnovers and turn them into buckets quickly as they cut the lead down to 6.
Throughout the game, UMass struggled to get elite scoring from their starting guards Tori Hyduke and Kristin Williams. Collectively, they went 5-17 from the field. Williams only shot one for three from the three-point range. Throughout the season, Williams has averaged 2.1 three-point field goals per game which is ninth in the A10.
The Minutewomen stayed away from the three-point shot only shooting from deep eight times on the night compared to Yale’s 19 three-point shots which included seven makes. Guard Kiley Capstraw led Yale from downtown shooting 5-10 from downtown, allowing her to pick up 21 points on the night.
Even though Williams and Hyduke were struggling, Ferguson was getting physical in the paint and it paid off as she went to the free throw line five times where she went four for five. Ferguson’s eight points on the evening tied her career high.
UMass was able to cut the lead down to two with 30 seconds to go, outsourcing Yale 23-14 in the third quarter.
Entering the fourth quarter, UMass tied it within the first minute but quickly succumbed to a 5-0 run in favor of Yale. Both teams went back and forth. UMass pushed the lead back down to two, but Yale went on another 7-2 run.
The Bulldogs were simply too much for UMass to overcome and after late-game free throws, Yale came away with the eight-point victory.
Scoring has consistently been a problem for the MInutewomen as they are ranked last in the A10 with 58 points per game.
UMass was outrebounded 36-21 across the night, but the most important number was Yale winning the offensive rebound battle 13-2. Yale’s 13 offensive rebounds led to 10 second-chance points compared to just three for UMass.
Eagles Up Next
The Minutewomen will look to end their losing streak on Wednesday night, when they travel across the state to Chestnut Hill for a matchup with Boston College. BC has played a tough schedule to start the season and currently stands with a 3-5 record.
The Eagles have two common opponents with UMass this season. Harvard beat BC 66-59, as well as UMass 78-57. Boston College was also able to down Northeastern 67-58. UMass dropped their matchup with Northeastern 78-74.
Boston College has two scorers averaging more than thirteen points per game while the Minutewomen have none. Guard Andrea Daley is off to a hot start this season for BC averaging 15.9 points per game on 49% shooting. The Minutewomen will also need to formulate a plan for guarding T’yana Todd, a lethal three-point shooter for BC who is hitting 41% of her shots this season.
Undoubtedly head coach Mike Leflar will have his work cut out for him to get the Minutewomen ready to take down BC, but hopefully keeping the game close with Yale will be a confidence booster for this young squad.
