On Wednesday, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team faltered in the clutch to Boston College 72-57 in an early morning affair. The Minutewomen’s two-game win streak was snapped as they fell to 4-6, with one game remaining before conference play.
UMass started the game well as they caught fire from three. The Minutewomen forced two early turnovers by the Eagles, which led to two threes being made by Stefanie Kulesza and Allie Palmieri.
The three ball would continue to fall for UMass in the first as they shot 5-of-6 with Yahmani McKayle making two threes at the end of the quarter to give the Minutewomen a five-point lead going into the second quarter.
UMass held the lead for a good portion of the game, but a poor offensive and defensive third quarter saw the Eagles retake towards the end of the quarter by going on a 10-0 run to have a six-point lead going into the fourth quarter. The Minutewomen kept fighting with a good momentum play by Kulesza who made an and-one to cut the lead to three.
UMass tied the game with two minutes to go, but they could never get a hold of the lead again, failing to make a field goal in the last six minutes of the game. McKayle did end that drought with four seconds to go with a three, but by then it was too late with Boston College taking the win.
UMass now has nine days to rest before they face off against an old foe in UMass Lowell on Friday, Dec. 20 at 1 p.m. in Lowell, Massachusetts. Here are five takeaways from UMass’ loss to Boston College.
Clutch time woes continue: Out of the 10 games played, UMass has struggled to build leads this season, only taking a lead of 10 or more points in two games so far. The Minutewomen have found themselves consistently in close games and have been on the losing side of them.
After prevailing in the clutch on Sunday against Dartmouth, UMass found themselves in the same spot again on Wednesday. This time, their offense could not make the shots they needed to win. Head coach Mike Leflar praised the fight his team had, and has some confidence they can go head-to-head with the teams in the Atlantic 10.
The only points UMass got in the last six minutes of the game were from the free throw line, and even then the Minutewomen missed a few of them when it mattered the most. Scoring droughts have been the Achilles heel of this team and when the offense goes empty their defensive focus fades as well. With conference play just three weeks away, UMass needs to clean up these lapses in the offense.
Minutewomen let it fly from deep: There were positive signs early on this game that UMass could pull off the upset in beating the Eagles. The Minutewomen were great from three in the first quarter, but after that, they went 2-of-17. UMass just got a little three happy and that hurt them against Boston College. Once, the three-ball stopped going down, the Minutewomen struggled to find their offense. Eventually, UMass found their true offensive game of attacking the paint later on in the game, but empty possessions and missed free throws were too much to overcome.
Foul trouble: Leflar has urged his team to be more focused and disciplined, but Wednesday was not one of those days. By the end of the first half, Center Chinenye Odenigbo had three fouls and Palmieri and Kulesza each had two. Halfway into the fourth quarter, the fouls caught up with UMass as Odenigbo fouled out.
Kulesza had to sit on the bench with four fouls, and Megan Olbrys started to rack them up, ending the game with four fouls. UMass being in foul trouble gave the Eagles an advantage in free throws, with them shooting nine more than the Minutewomen. Luckily, BC shot poorly from the line, going 13-of-24, so UMass was not punished for their aggressive play.
Eagles pounced on the boards: Rebounding has not been an issue for UMass this season, the Minutewomen usually win the rebound battle. However, with Odenigbo in foul trouble, and Aleah Sorrentino unavailable, BC dominated the boards.
Boston College won the rebound battle 43 to 33, but the Eagles truly dominated by getting offensive rebounds. UMass allowed the Eagles to grab 17 offensive rebounds with the Minutewomen only grabbing nine. This led to second-chance points with Boston College winning that contest 14 to 10.
Rookie continues to shine: On Monday, McKayle was named the A-10’s rookie of the week. Since coming off the bench against Northeastern, McKayle has averaged 15.3 points, 3.3 assists, three rebounds and has shot 57 percent from three. Against the Eagles, McKayle scored 14 points leading the Minutewomen, shooting 3-of-6 from three. She also had three assists and two rebounds.
She has responded well to coming off the bench and has been the spark UMass needs. In the future, McKayle’s explosiveness and energy might be the key to unlocking the offense.
