It’s all over.
Senior point guard Kathy Coyner completed her four-year career in a maroon and white uniform on yesterday at the William D. Mullins Center, as the Massachusetts women’s basketball played out its regular season finale in a disappointing 59-55 lost to Dayton.
On Friday night, UMass lost its last road game of the 2000-2001 season in Philadelphia as Temple’s Natalia Isaac hit a trey in overtime that proved to be the difference in the 72-69 defeat.
Coyner’s final home game got off to a strong start. The point guard fittingly scored the first hoop of the game to put UMass up, 2-0, and the last basket of the game to pull the home squad within four, 59-55. But the baskets in between, or the lack thereof, are what spelled the difference.
UMass was up by 16 (39-23) with 1:16 left in the first half when Dayton’s comeback began. Two of Dayton’s best perimeter shooters, Chrissy Donovan and Sarah Schloss, each hit a three-pointer in the last minute of the half to pull the Flyers within 10. Dayton entered the second half with enough momentum to continue its comeback in the second stanza.
“They played well,” head coach Joanie O’Brien said. “We had a 16 point lead and did everything we wanted to until the last minute of the first half and then they hit those two threes. And to be honest, we never recovered.”
The Flyers took the court in the second half looking like a new team. The Dayton squad that was outplayed in the first half stayed in the locker room as a new and more focused Dayton unit took control for the last twenty minutes. The Flyers attempted comeback proved to be successful as an 8-1 run with 13:33 tied up the contest at 40 thanks to a jump shot by point guard Stefanie Miller.
Dayton couldn’t pull away from the Minutewomen, but held the lead for the last 9:58 of the match-up as poor shooting once again plagued UMass.
Just as two different Dayton teams took the Mullins Center court on Sunday, two much different UMass teams showed up on Senior Day. The first UMass team that took the court was the one of the best UMass teams that O’Brien has seen all season. That team shot a whopping 53.3 percent from the field while turning the ball over only five times. That team was composed, patient and determined.
The UMass team that took the court in the second half was the exact opposite. That team couldn’t hit shots, repeatedly missing easy hoops around the basket. That team shot 21.1 percent from the field for the half as Dayton won the game by shooting a humble 32.1 percent.
“They kept it going in the second half,” O’Brien said. “Composure has been our problem all year. We got excellent shots in the second half. There comes a time when you have to step up and finish shots off. We got good looks, but its hard game when you can’t put the ball in the basket”
The biggest difference between the two Minutewomen teams that showed up on Sunday may have been Jen Butler. Butler epitomized the best of the first half UMass team that was ahead by 10 going into the break. The sophomore center put forth a solid effort with nine points and five rebounds and it appeared that she was on pace to score her 12th double-double of the season. But it didn’t happen. Butler scored eight more points, to finish with 17, but only gathered two more boards. She shot 5-for-14 for the afternoon, and most of her missed shots came inside the paint. In the end, it was missed put backs and poor perimeter shooting that spelt doom for UMass.
“We struggled offensively,” O’Brien said. “We struggled getting the ball inside, and when we got the ball in there, those guys got good looks and didn’t finish them.”
On Coyner’s last home game, she put forth a solid effort with 17 points and five assists. The senior played with a newfound sense of confidence and it appears that she has overcome her recent shooting slump.
On Friday night, UMass went to Philadelphia in hopes of upsetting third place Temple, and they came as close as possible without leaving with the ‘W.’
With less than a minute left in regulation, Temple grabbed its first lead of the game at 55-54. Both teams hung tough, and the score was even at 57 at the end of regulation.
The overtime period was much like regulation – full of action without either team pulling away with a strong lead. With nine seconds left in the extra frame, UMass was down three, 69-66.
It was time for one of the Minutewomen to step and score, and like the primetime player that she is, and Coyner did just that.
With the seconds on the clock dwindling, Coyner nailed a shot from downtown that evened the score up at 69.
But Temple had a primetime player of its own.
Isaac, who already had 36 points, took a shot from three-point land with two seconds left. As the seconds on the clock ticked, the shot went up. The Minutewomen watched, and hoped that it would bounce off the rim in a miss. But no such luck. Isaac hit the shot, and Temple won the battle, 72-69.
Coyner led the Minutewomen with 16 points as the sophomore frontcourt tandem of Butler and Amber Sneed each accounted for 11 points in the heartbreaking loss.
With this weekends two losses, UMass finishes the season with a 6-10 record in the A-10 and 11-16 record overall.
