With a 7-16 (5-7 Atlantic 10) record thus far, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team knows that its only chance for postseason play will come through winning the conference tournament.
However, that does not mean the Minutewomen don’t care about their final four regular season contests.
In contrast, these remaining games will go a long way toward establishing A-10 tourney seeds, as UMass could finish as high as third in the Eastern division and as low as sixth, and will give the Maroon and White a chance to gain some confidence for the stretch run.
“Obviously, we are in a situation where we’re not going to win the division,” Head Coach Joanie O’Brien said. “So we want to see where everyone’s at before the A-10 tournament.
“I’m a firm believer in the law of averages. Sooner or later our shots are going to start going in.”
Unfortunately for the Minutewomen, however, the road toward a much-needed confidence boast will not be easy. Tonight, the women travel down to Philadelphia for a match-up with the first place Temple Owls, who have totaled a 14-9 (9-3 A-10) record on the year.
“This is huge,” O’Brien said. “Temple is starting to turn into a nice little rivalry for us, and the game is going to be aggressive and physical. We have the advantage in the post, but our guards have got to handle the ball on the perimeter against their press.”
Temple is led on the offensive end by Natalia Isaac, who is averaging over 13 points per game despite being held scoreless by Xavier last weekend. The senior guard is supported by Athena Christoforakis, who is totaling 12.9 points and 8.6 rebounds a contest in addition to coming off an A-10 Player of the Week award.
Earlier in the year, these two proved to be too much for the Maroon and White to handle, as it fell to the Owls 67-57.
“When we played them last, we played average, and we have to play better than average to beat them,” O’Brien said.
After tonight’s game, UMass will stay in Philly as it prepares for its Sunday contest with second place St. Joseph’s. The Hawks are a team even more dangerous than the Owls on the offensive end (70.9 PPG) and have garnered a 17-6 (8-4 A-10) record on the year. In addition, they are led by one of the top players in the nation, Susan Moran.
If an A-10 leading 22.1 PPG average weren’t enough for the Tullamore, Ireland native, Moran is also leading the A-10 in free throw shooting (86 percent) and is second in rebounding (8.9 boards per game). All of this has kept her in the running for the nation’s player of the year award, which she will be competing for against the likes of such superstars as Michelle Snow (Tennessee) and Sue Bird (UConn).
“It is tough to do anything special against her,” O’Brien said. “We will double her when we get the opportunity and guard against her strengths – make her shoot jump shots and force her to the left – but the only way to really stop her is to get her sitting on the bench (in foul trouble).”
When St. Joseph’s and UMass met earlier in the year, the Hawks were able to pick up the 54-48 win, but this time around, the Minutewomen are riding a streak of momentum brought on by last weekend’s 60-46 defeat of St. Bonaventure.
“We just played solid and executed the game plan,” O’Brien said of the match-up with the Bonnies. “We knew their guards were important, and we didn’t want to give them any easy shots. Everything they got they earned.”
Tip off for the Temple game is slated for 7 p.m. while the St. Joe’s game will get underway at 2 p.m.
