The Terriers (2-7) are currently on a four-game slide, dropping their last four games to Long Island, Rhode Island, Saint John’s and most recently, Northeastern. The Huskies (3-4) won the game, 67-55, scoring 21 points in the paint, something UMass has shown it is quite capable of in its last two games. BU shot 31.5 percent from the field and got 31 points from its bench, but committed 21 turnovers in the game.
BU’s offensive pressure is led by Alex Young (15.1 points per game) and Chantell Alford (10.7 ppg). UMass will need to outrebound forwards Caroline Stewart and Kerry Cashman, both averaging over eight boards a game. Cashman also has 14 blocks on the season.
“We’re going to have to do a good job of defending from the half court and just play solid defense,” UMass coach Sharon Dawley said. “They have three great guards and if either one of them get going early its going to be a long day for your team.”
The Minutewomen most recently fell to Boston College, 93-80. UMass stuck with the Eagles in the first half, trailing just 41-39 at the intermission. In the second half, UMass suffered on the boards and gave up too many second chance points in the paint. It tried to counter the height of BC with sophomore forward Shakia Robinson and freshman center Abbey Lalime but was unsuccessful.
UMass saw plenty of offensive production from a much pumped up squad. Robinson enjoyed her first career double-double with 25 points and 10 boards. Senior guard Megan Zullo was hot from the perimeter, going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc finishing the contest with 22 points. Junior guard Emilie Teuscher had a career day with a personal best 13 points and seven rebounds.
“I thought our team played great against BC and held well against them,” Dawley said. “I think the problem was that we ran into two soon-to-be professional post players that are hard to defend down low, but overall I think we had a great effort.”
Robinson was named co-Atlantic 10 Player of the Week. In the two games against Brown and BC, Robinson averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and shot 72 percent from the field. Robinson leads UMass in scoring, including a 25-point performance against the Eagles.
“Anytime someone gets an award like that it is huge for the program as well as the individual, and I think that this will help her confidence as she grows and gets better,” Dawley said. “At the beginning of the season there was a lot of pressure from Megan Zullo to shoot from the perimeter and now with [Shakia] playing well down-low, we have gained an inside and outside presence for our offense.”
Action gets underway at BU beginning at 5:00 p.m., before the Minutewomen host Binghamton at the Mullins Center on Saturday.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected].
