The Minutewomen struggled this past season posting a 5-27 record. They finished 2-16 overall in conference play. Despite the poor record, they did pick up a victory in the first round of the A10 tournament against La Salle before falling to Duquesne in the second.
UMass picked up four of their wins at home and one on a neutral court. They went 0-14 in road games.
This year’s Minutewomen squad looked vastly different from last season’s. First, former head coach Tory Verdi left to take over the women’s program at the University of Pittsburgh. The top-six scorers from last season also graduated or transferred to a different program.
UMass only returned three players from the 2022 roster. After only appearing in nine games during 2022, guard Lilly Ferguson appeared in 30 of 32 games and started eight. She added 2.8 points per game and 2.6 rebounds per game.
Guard Kristin Williams also returned as one of UMass’ top shooters from beyond the arc. In 32 games and 29 starts, she averaged a team-high 11.6 ppg. Williams was also tied for first on the team in total assists with guard Tori Hyduke. In her second year at UMass Williams also set a new career-high in points with 21 during the regular season finale with St. Bonaventure.
Williams decided to enter the transfer portal at the end of the season. She has found a new home with the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers.
The final returning player was forward Stefanie Kulesza. Entering her fourth season, Kulesza had 50 appearances for the Minutemen and zero starts. However, she started in all 32 games last season and was third on the team with 11.2 ppg. She was also the leading rebounder on the team with just over seven per game. Impressively, she also added four double-doubles on the season.
The UMass team was made up of mostly transfers and freshmen because of this. Two freshmen in the class stood out above the rest. Center Chinenye Odenigbo and forward/center Lilly Taulelei.
Odenigbo started off the season slowly but caught fire down the stretch scoring double-digits in three of the last seven games. She also set a career-high with 13 in the first round of the A10 tournament against La Salle. The Westwood, Massachusetts native was also third on the team with 3.8 rebounds per game. One facet of the game where Odenigbo could improve next season is her passing because she only had nine assists on the season.
Taulelei started 22 games during her first season with the Minutewomen and made the most of her starts. After scoring 6.7 points per game and grabbing 2.5 rebounds per game, Taulelei was named to the A10 All-Rookie Team. Unfortunately for Minutewomen fans, Taulelei has entered the transfer portal.
The last player to highlight is guard Alexsia Rose. A transfer from East Carolina, Rose missed the first 10 games with injury but started 17 of her 20 appearances. She finished second on the team with 11.4 points per game and third in assists with 67. Rose has joined Taulelei in the transfer portal as well after one season in Amherst.
After leading the A10 in points per game during the 2022-23 season, UMass fell in the rankings to 13th in total scoring with just 58 points per game. Defensively the story was similar for UMass as their 71.2 points per game allowed was second highest in the conference. Defensively, UMass also allowed their opponents to hit 44.6% of their shots, the highest mark in the conference.
The Minutewomen were one of the worst rebounding teams in the conference as well. As a team, their 29 rebounds per game ranked last, and the 37.3 opponent rebounds per game was 14th.
Kulesza was a standout in individual stats. Her 7.1 rebounds per game were 8th in the conference. Her 46.9% shooting put her at 10th in the conference. She also grabbed 1.9 steals per game which was sixth in the A10.
Overall, UMass struggled on the season, but under Leflar, the building blocks have been put into place. If UMass recruits well and utilizes the transfer portal then the Minutewomen will be back to competing for A10 championships in 2024.
