With sophomore forward Teya Wright leaving the game late in the first half with an apparent concussion, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team was forced to play the majority of the game with their best post presence sitting on the bench.

Instead of adjusting their game and allowing Rhode Island to control the game inside, UMass got major contributions from its bench in the form of sophomores Valerie Avebe and Stephanie Lawrence.

No contribution was bigger, though, than that of freshman Kristina Danella who, after a series of off games, came back in a big way with her first career double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

While it took her until the second half to hit her stride, Danella showed that she was on the mark by once again becoming a major threat from behind the arc while incorporating post play that had been absent from her repertoire for most of the season.

The re-emergence was complete when, with 26 seconds left, Danella knocked down a 3-pointer to give UMass a 56-50 lead, sealing the game.

Even with Danella returning to form shooting-wise, UMass still needed someone to make up for Wright’s absence in the post. So it fell to Danella and Lawrence to be a presence inside and stop URI from ramming the ball down low.

Lawrence, who had seen limited minutes in recent games, logged 19 minutes on the floor and was given the assignment of defending the Rams’ post player. So while she was limited to only three points and three rebounds, Lawrence‘s presence inside was felt on the defensive side of the ball where Wright is usually the pillar.

Shooting droughts

At one point in the first half, both teams were shooting a pedestrian 20 percent from the field in a first half that amounted to both teams combining for 43 points.

Not only were both UMass and URI taking bad looks from the field and missing on the initial shot, but both teams were shooting just as poorly on second chance shots.

UMass’ shot selection heavily contributed to their poor shooting performance as it settled for mostly jump shots rather than driving inside. The Minutewomen scored only four points in the paint during the first half.

The overload of jump shots was caused, in part, by Wright’s absence. With no post player on the Minutewomen able to consistently attack the interior defense for the Rams, the team’s perimeter shooters took over. On the night, the Minutewomen attempt 30 3-pointers, connecting on 10 of them.

Not-so-free throws

Normally one of the most consistent free throw shooters on the team, senior guard Sakera Young started off the Minutewomen’s day from the charity stripe by missing the team’s first two free throws and making only 1-of-4 for the game.

Young’s performance, however, was a stark contrast to the rest of the team’s performance from the line as UMass beat out URI from the free throw line by going 14-of-19 compared to the Rams’ 10-of-12.

The Minutewomen made six shots during the first half, four of them behind the arc. Fortunately for them, though, they also hit six free throws, the only area in which UMass rose above the offensive mire that was the first half. Rhode Island, incidentally, was 9-of-35 from the first half but didn’t score from the free throw line.

However small, that edge was enough to give the Minutewomen the lead going into the second half ‘- something that they’ve struggled to do all season.

It was not until 6 minutes and 28 seconds into the second half that the Rams attempted their first free throw. Although it started late, URI ended up hitting 10 free throws on the night and used that to stay in the game late, when the Minutewomen got hot shooting.

Free throws are a vital aspect of the UMass offense as UMass Coach Marnie Dacko relies heavily on her smaller guards to slash inside for layups and to draw fouls.

Nick O’Malley can be reached at [email protected].