Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

UMass welcomes Hall of Fame coach to Mullins Center

It’s not every day that you see a Hall of Fame coach standing on the sidelines at the Mullins Center.

Maria Uminski/Daily Collegian

This Wednesday, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team hosts Rutgers, led by Hall of Fame coach C. Vivian Stringer.

Stringer’s career achievements are spectacular. She became the first coach in both men’s and women’s college basketball to take three separate schools to the Final Four. She currently sits third on the all-time ranking of wins as a women’s college coach, with 901.

“She’s legendary,” Minutewomen coach Sharon Dawley said when asked about Stringer. “It’s an honor to coach against her and it’s an honor to watch her teams play.”

However, UMass (0-3) isn’t getting caught up in the fanfare that Stringer brings to this game.  This young team is still hungry for their first win of the season, and they would love nothing more than to upset the Scarlet Knights at home in arguably the biggest game of the year.

Coming into this game, the Minutewomen have had their fair share of problems. None have been more predominant than their struggles inside the paint on both the offensive and defensive ends.

UMass’ struggles rebounding the ball have been apparent, as the team averages only 37 rebounds per game to opponents’ 47 rebounds per game. Dawley has also had her hands full with her frontcourt, as she has been starting a different pair of forwards in all three games of the season.

“Rashida (Timbilla) hasn’t been healthy. She’s been playing hurt and it’s unfortunate she’s started off the season that way. She’s much better than she was a week ago, and now that she’s healthy, I think we can go with a bigger, more defensive lineup,” Dawley said

Dawley’s main focus at practice on Tuesday was her team’s ability to play transition defense.  The Minutewomen have allowed 84.5 points per game this season, many of which have come from failure to get back on defense after committing turnovers.

“We are looking to be a defensive squad,” Dawley said. “We are going to have to change the starting lineup in order to come out of the gate and not get behind early.”

Captain Emily Mital has emerged as an offensive leader on the court for UMass, averaging 10 points per game to go along with her team-leading 41.7 percent, 3-point percentage. While Mital’s game relies heavily on her catch-and-shoot game from the perimeter, both she and Dawley have made it a focal point to attack the basket and get to the free-throw line.

“I’ve been more aggressive ripping the ball and going to the basket, like coach wants me to,” Mital said on Tuesday. “(The referees) are obviously calling the game much more closely this year, and so I can get to the free-throw line and use that to my advantage.”

Saying that the refs are calling the games more closely is an understatement.

At the beginning of the season, refs were told by the NCAA to crack down on the amount of hand-check fouls and increase the number of reach-in fouls called away from the basket. UMass averages just over 27 attempts at the free-throw line per game this season, including a season-high 34 attempts in their previous game against American.

Despite the slow start to the season, the Minutewomen are confident, energetic and eager to get their first win of the season at home against Rutgers on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected].

 

Leave a Comment
More to Discover

Comments (0)

All Massachusetts Daily Collegian Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *