The Massachusetts Women’s Basketball team’s season is over as they fall to the hands of Duquesne 81-57 and are out of the Atlantic championship on Thursday afternoon.
UMass got out to an early lead with some newfound confidence after defeating La Salle in the first round of the tournament. The Minutewomen forced four straight turnovers from the Dukes’ first four possessions and scored on three of them to lead the game 8-3. But, the Dukes woke up and responded with a big 18-2 to end the quarter to lead 21-10. That was all the Dukes needed as that one big run put the game out of reach for the Minutewomen.
Besides the win, Duquesne guard Precious Johnson got to celebrate reaching a milestone for scoring her 1000th career point off a layup. The senior finished with 13 points and eight rebounds.
The real star of the show was guard Megan McConnell. McConnell started the game slow and UMass made her cough the ball a few times in the first half. However, McConnell was cleaning up the glass and dishing out assists for her teammates to lead 39-26 at halftime.
The second half was where McConnell found her shot going 7-10 from the field and 3-5 from three. McConnell finished the game 21 points, 13 rebounds and had six assists achieving a double-double in the win.
For the Minutewomen, they just could not find ways to keep the Dukes from scoring. UMass continued to fight like they always do in games, but they could get the Dukes’ lead down to eight points, before the Dukes continued their efficient scoring. The Minutewomen forced Duquesne into 17 turnovers, but only could score 11 points off them. Meanwhile, the Dukes forced UMass into 17 turnovers as well and scored 21 points off a them.
Guards Kristin Williams and Stefanie Kulesza lead the team in points with 11. One positive UMass took from this loss as walk-on forward Avery Childers scored her first points of her collegiate career off a layup.
Duquesne moves onto the quarterfinals, where they will play George Mason for a chance to make the semifinals.
For head coach Mike Leflar, his first season in charge of the Minutewomen was full of challenges. With a roster that was filled with newbies and transfers, Leflar now has the offseason to build his team the way he wants to and restore the team back to where it once was.
