Despite being just one month into the season, it has been quite the rollercoaster ride for coach Sharon Dawley and the Massachusetts women’s basketball team.

The Minutewomen (2-6) allowed a school record 105 points against Central Michigan on Nov. 10 but managed to upset Hall of Fame Rutgers coach C. Vivian Stringer.

Dawley knows that in order to survive at the top level, changes must be made to the young UMass squad, and no change has been more monumental than moving Rashida Timbilla from the power forward position, where she started the season, to point guard.

“We put (Timbilla) at point guard for the second half of the Maine game and she was the primary point guard for the William & Mary game,” Dawley said. “We started her out as the four, then to the three and eventually to running the point where she’s played her best basketball.”

Timbilla struggled at the beginning of the year with an undisclosed injury that was preventing her from playing the minutes she was accustomed to seeing. However, since returning from the injury, Timbilla has emerged as the go-to player for the Minutewomen. She averages just over nine points a game, to go along with team highs in rebounds per game and total assists.

“It wasn’t too different,” Timbilla said when asked about the move to point guard. “Different in a sense that you’re the point guard and have to manage so many different things on the court, but the transition went smoothly.”

After making the switch virtually overnight, Timbilla scored a career-high 25 points in the consolation game at the Maine Invitational against William & Mary. It was Timbilla’s size and strength that allowed her to get to the rim against much smaller defenders.

But that hasn’t been the only change that Dawley has implemented this season.

The Minutewomen started the season as primarily a man-to-man defensive unit. With the emergence of freshman Kymber Hill in the post, however, Dawley has shown more 2-3 zone looks to slow down the tempo of games.

Also, UMass implemented a match-up zone to cut down the open looks from outside shooters.

“Two-3 zones can easily be beat when teams start knocking down outside shots,” Dawley said. “So putting in this new match-up zone will hopefully allow us to contest the 3-point shots while still having the ability to get rebounds inside.”

While the changes on the defensive end might be a temporary fix for UMass, there is one thing that is certain: Timbilla will need to continue to take command on the court for the Minutewomen to be successful.

When asked about how much she loved playing point guard, Timbilla’s eye’s lit up and she smiled from ear to ear.

“I’m just here to do what’s best for the team,” she said.

It’s often a post player’s dream to play outside on the wing with the freedom of creating her own shots with the ability to handle the ball in the backcourt.

And for the time being, Timbilla will get to live out that dream.

UMass returns to action this Wednesday as it hosts in-state rival Boston University at the Mullins Center at 7 p.m.

Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected], and can be followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.