Rich Lombardi/Collegian

The Massachusetts women’s basketball team has struggled in both Atlantic 10 play and on the road this season, but it will have a chance to improve in both of these categories tonight when it faces La Salle in Philadelphia.

UMass (10-11, 2-4 A-10) had plenty of chances to even its conference record this past Sunday against Saint Joseph’s, but turned the ball over 25 times and lost an 11-point lead midway through the second half in an eventual 72-66 home loss.

While the Minutewomen have protected their home court this season, they’ve struggled on the road. Their sole road win came against Wagner on Dec. 15, and they have lost their other nine road games, including both conference road games. Conversely, the Explorers (9-13, 1-6 A-10) struggle at home and on the road. They are 4-6 in Tom Gola Arena, including 0-4 in conference home games. However, three of these four losses have come by six points or less.

Leading scorer Carlene Hightower was named to the preseason A-10 All-Conference first team, and has started since her sophomore year. She’s averaging 16.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.

“[Hightower] moves extremely well without the ball,” UMass coach Marnie Dacko said. “She doesn’t stop moving and she’s an inside-outside player. She’ll spin, she’ll get offensive rebounds, she can put back, she plays the perimeter and she plays inside – she’s like a big Pam [Rosanio] that can post up.”

Dacko praised Hightower, claiming that she’s one of the hardest workers in the league as well as one of the most intense players. She plans to use Kate Mills on Hightower in the post, while using the Alisha Tatham and Pam Rosanio combination on the perimeter. Tatham is the team’s quickest defender and could potentially give Hightower problems.

Despite being the best player on her team, Hightower has struggled with turnovers this season. In the team’s 21 games, the senior has 43 assists and 80 turnovers.

Jamie Walsh is the other prominent member of La Salle Dacko hopes to contain. The sophomore guard is the second-leading scorer at 10.2 points per game and leads the team with 41 3-pointers.

Mills averages similar numbers to Hightower and leads the Minutewomen in scoring this year. She also gives them their most effective low-post presence, and while she can score outside when given the opportunity, she rarely misses from inside.

“We’ve got to attack the post,” Dacko said. “I don’t think they’ve got anyone that can stay with Kate, Whitney [McDonald] or Teya [Wright] – we’ve got to attack on the inside.”

Wright is a freshman who can overpower opponents. She’s a good rebounder, but also raw on the offensive end and prone to foul trouble. When she avoids fouls, she’s one of the most dominant players on the floor and can change a game.

UMass is in the middle of the conference in scoring offense, and they’ll be tested against the number four scoring defense in the conference. The Explorers are holding opponents to under 60 points per game. The Minutewomen have difficulty scoring when they’re relying on Mills and Rosanio to handle virtually the entire scoring load. Rosanio averages 16 points per game and is the team’s emotional leader, but after her, the scoring drops off.

If the team fails to score the points in the paint, they’ll have to rely on the outside shooting of Stefanie Gerardot and Kim Benton. The former is third on the team in scoring at 8.7 points per game and shoots 34.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Benton made a name for herself last year by shooting 35 percent from 3-point range but has struggled this year. She’s shooting 26.2 percent from three (22-of-84).

The Minutewomen have the highest field goal percentage in the conference, but when they miss shots, rebounding hasn’t been one of the their strengths. La Salle has also struggled, being outrebounded by eight per game, and UMass could take advantage of this with the size of Mills, Wright and McDonald.

“[Offensive rebounds] are what we’ve been working on every day in practice and you would never know it by watching our games but it’s outrageous,” Dacko said. “We’ve got to get bodies on people.”

She further went on to say that her team is capable of winning the battle on the offensive glass but the preparation hasn’t transferred.

UMass is 10th in the conference with 10.62 offensive rebounds per game, while La Salle is last with 7.55 per contest.

Game notes UMass leads the all-time series 11-5 and has won the last four