The Massachusetts women’s basketball team will have to digest its turkey dinners quickly before traveling to the ninth annual ECU Thanksgiving Tournament this weekend. The Minutewomen get set to take on Maryland and East Carolina in Greenville, N.C.
The No. 21 Terrapins are 3-1 on the season with wins against Monmouth, Towson and most recently American with their only loss coming on Nov. 16 against Georgetown, 53-45.
The Terps distribute the ball very well as they have seven players on their roster averaging over six points a game. Also, MU do not focus on shooting from the perimeter, contrast to how UMass plays. Instead, Maryland works the ball well inside the paint and picks up foul calls with a physical offense.
“They’re extremely big, athletic and scrappy,” UMass coach Sharon Dawley said. “We are going to have to be able to change up our defenses only give them one opportunity on each possession.”
It doesn’t get any easier for the Minutewomen as they face East Carolina on Sunday. The Pirates are 2-2 on the season with wins coming over Western Carolina and most recently a blowout of Virginia Union, 102-41.
“They like to pressure the ball in the backcourt and its our job to handle the pressure and protect the ball,” Dawley said.
The Minutewomen are still winless on the season at 0-4 with their most recent loss coming to Seton Hall last Sunday. Senior Megan Zullo posted a career-high 25 points, but the Pirates edged out a victory, 61-58.
Despite the loss, the Minutewomen posted their best shooting performance of the season, shooting 48.9 percent from the field, including going 10-19 from the perimeter. Sophomore Shakia Robinson had a career-best 11 rebounds in the loss.
“We’re almost there and we’re that much closer,” Dawley said. “We’re definitely getting better and our skill level today doesn’t even compare to that of what it was two weeks ago. Its easy to be positive when your winning but its more important to stay positive while your losing.”
The Minutewomen tip off with Maryland at 1 p.m. on Saturday before finishing the tournament with the Pirates at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected].
