After LaSalle hit 3-pointers on four of its first five possessions to take a 12-0 lead, it appeared that the Massachusetts women’s basketball team was on their way to another loss.
However, thanks in large part to 12 first-half points from Pam Rosanio, the Minutewomen (11-11, 3-4 Atlantic 10) cut the lead to four by halftime, and left Tom Gola Arena with a 66-63 road victory.
UMass will play another road game Saturday when they travel to Kingston, R.I., to take on Rhode Island at 2 p.m.
With a 64-63 lead and less than a minute remaining in the game, the Minutewomen’s Kate Mills blocked a Carlene Hightower shot. Point guard Sakera Young hit both of her free throws after being fouled, and the Explorers’ Meghan Ale missed a 3-point shot as time expired.
Often this year, Mills and Rosanio have handled the scoring load for the Minutewomen, while the rest of the team struggled to put up enough points. Tonight, it was La Salle who had that problem.
Margaret Elderton entered the game averaging 8.6 points per contest but nearly scored enough points in the second half to win the game. After scoring 11 in the first half, Elderton scored 21 in the second to finish with a career-high 32 points. The junior guard shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc and converted on 11-of-12 attempts from the free-throw line.
La Salle’s best player, Hightower, scored 22 points, with 17 coming in the first half.
Besides Elderton and Hightower, the rest of the Explorers combined for nine points. Jamie Walsh scored seven points, while the two other La Salle starters combined for two points. The bench accounted for zero points.
UMass received significant bench production from backup point guard Sakera Young. Young scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and also assisted on a game-high seven baskets.
Young set the tone, but the Minutewomen distributed the ball well as a team. They handed out 22 assists in the game. UMass leads the conference in assists per game but turnovers have plagued them. Last night, they turned it over 12 times, and received more scoring opportunities due to the low turnover output.
The Explorers assisted on just 10 of their 21 baskets and also turned the ball over 13 times.
The first half belonged to Rosanio but Mills took over the game in the second half. The preseason A-10 All-Conference second team selection was held to two points in the first half, but scored 15 in the second, including 11 in the final six minutes. She also had three assists and three blocks in the second.
Despite coming out with an important road victory, the Minutewomen still have to work on their perimeter defense. La Salle shot 9-of-18 from deep, which accounted for nearly half of their points.
UMass shared the Explorers success from the perimeter. It connected on 6-of-13 from beyond the arc. Stefanie Gerardot accounted for three of these, and also finished with seven rebounds.
Teya Wright finished directly behind Gerardot with six rebounds but was limited to nine minutes because of foul trouble. The freshman continues to prove she’s an elite rebounder, and if she wasn’t continually in foul trouble, she’d be amongst the league leaders in that category.
Game notes
Kim Benton continued to struggle from the field. She was 1-of-7 from the field, all from three-point range
