The Massachusetts women basketball team’s youth will not be a problem in its next game, when the Minutewomen match up against Utah State. The Aggies (0-2) reinstated the women’s basketball program after it was dropped following the conclusion of the 1987 season. This will mark the first meeting between the two teams.
The Minutewomen (2-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10) will travel to Tucson, Ariz. Saturday at 1 p.m. to play the Aggies (0-2, 0-0 Big West) in the opening round of the Fiesta Bowl Women’s Classic hosted by the University of Arizona. The second game at McKale Center will be played between the hosting No. 25 Wildcats and American at 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, the consolation game will be played at 1 p.m., followed by the championship at 3:30 p.m.
“I hope we can come off the road, come out, with the first game being a neutral sight for both teams, and be ready to go,” UMass coach Marnie Dacko said. “We’ve been on the road before, we knows what it’s like playing on the road. I would hope we’re in the driver’s seat against Utah State.”
The cross-country road trip will be the longest distance UMass travels this season, as well as the farthest the team has traveled during the Dacko-era.
“I’m used to it,” junior forward Brooke Campbell said. “I’ve been to Arizona before, but I’ve never played in the McKale Center. I’m looking forward to the warm weather this weekend.”
The Maroon and White will be riding a wave of momentum following their upset victory over Vermont, 54-49. UMass had been missing a perimeter game while relying heavily on Campbell and the frontcourt for offensive production. That was not the case against the Catamounts, as the Minutewomen hit 7-for-18 from downtown. The sharpshooting Zsedenyi showed the touch, scoring a career-high 17 points.
“I think we have the confidence and momentum,” Zsedenyi said. “This will help over [in Arizona]. We now have the confidence that we can win as a team. We’re very happy.”
Utah State lost their first two games by large margins, 79-60 to Southern Utah and 61-45 at Montana State. They have only one player with Division I experience, Buffalo transfer Virginia Jennings. Only three players have scored in double figures in a game this season as Christina Zdenek had 16 points and Anne-Marie Torp had 12 points against Southern Utah while Ali Aird had 11 points against Montana State.
One of the main reasons for the low point production could be the average 26 Aggie turnovers per game – with 35 turnovers against Montana State. The starters certainly haven’t earned their spots, being outscored by the bench, 54-47, this season. There also are no signs of a perimeter game, as USU is sporting a .147 3-point percentage, going 0-for-12 from downtown against Montana State.
Defensively, the Aggies have given up a hefty 72 points per game, and have scored only 50.2 in each game.
American is 3-1 this season with wins over UNC Asheville (52-48), Howard (81-56) and St. Mary’s (72-62). The scoring is equally distributed for the Eagles, with six players averaging over six points a game. Senior point guard Chanel Spriggs is the only American player averaging double figures, 14.3 ppg. Spriggs is coming off her best performance with an impressive line of 16 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.
The Wildcats are the heavy favorite to win the tournament. They have won 14 straight home games dating back to Nov. 30, 2002. The second-longest home win streak in history is only one game shy of the school record, which ran from Jan. 4, 1999 to Jan. 6, 2000.
Arizona is led by preseason All-American candidate sophomore Shawntinice Polk. The 6-foot-5-inch center dominated her freshmen year at Tucson (17.8 ppg, 10.8 rebounds per game) and earned respectable All-American honors from the Associated Press. This year, Polk has been nominated for every major award and is averaging 16.4 ppg and 7.6 rpg, while drawing constant double teams.
When Polk needs some help, junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler is a close second on the scoring chart, at 16.2 ppg, and played at Dunbar Vocational Career Academy with Umass’s own guard, Monique Govan.
