Looking at the numbers, it was obvious that Monday’s matchup between the Massachusetts women’s basketball team and the Rhode Island Rams was going to be a defensive struggle.
URI had stifled opponents to the tune of only 58.0 points per contest through its first 18 games, while UMass was not far behind, giving up an average of only 59.9 points despite opening the season with a 5-13 record.
However, neither team had put up big numbers on the offensive end, and a combination of stingy defense and woeful shooting led to the lowest scoring game of the season for the Minutewomen, a 43-41 loss to the Rams.
“It’s not that hard to make an open 15-foot jump shot,” Maroon and White coach Joanie O’Brien said after watching her squad shoot an atrocious 29 percent from the field. “You just need a person to step up and have the guts to make [it], and tonight that didn’t happen. You could see it in their faces and you could see it in their eyes.”
Confounding the problem for the Minutewomen was that Rhode Island played a type of matchup zone for all 40 minutes, in which it sagged to the middle in an attempt to stop the UMass post attack.
This forced the guards to hit their open shots, and unfortunately for the Maroon and White, the backcourt trio of Katie Nelson, Monique Govan and Ebony Pegues failed to deliver, going a combined 1-for-15 from the floor.
“The percentages say they are a weaker outside shooting team and their post will kill you,” URI coach Belinda Pearman said. “So we were trying to force a different look each time down court so that they couldn’t get into a rhythm.”
This strategy seemed to work to perfection and forced 26 Maroon and White turnovers, despite the fact Rhode Island was only employing its zone for the second time all year.
Even though it was completely out shot, however, one area in which UMass clearly won the battle was on the glass. The Maroon and White hauled down 39 boards to the Rams’ 18, but it only translated into 17 second chance points and did nothing to impress coach O’Brien.
“Rebounds are irrelevant if you can’t put the ball in the basket,” the eleventh year coach said. “What jumps out at me is that our guards gave us nothing offensively.”
Despite all of the problems, though, the Minutewomen were able to keep the score close for the game’s duration, and even had some chances to win in the final minute of play.
With 48 seconds left, Nekole Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and laid it in for two of her 12 points, bringing her team within two. On the next possession URI failed to score, but UMass couldn’t capitalize on the situation when a Smith turnaround jumper rimmed out with only five ticks on the clock.
Still down by two, the Maroon and White got one more chance to score with 3.8 seconds left, but an errant Nelson pass to Jennifer Butler was intercepted as time expired.
“[Nelson] is young, and she probably doesn’t know yet just how long 3.8 seconds can be,” O’Brien said about her freshman guard.
For UMass, Butler was the main offensive threat, totaling 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, while Shayla Johnson led the Ram attack with 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting. Neda Djuric also played well at the point for Rhode Island, controlling the pace of the game and picking up 11 points of her own.
The Minutewomen will next compete tomorrow at home against Dayton. Tip off is slated for 7 p.m.
