The Massachusetts women’s basketball team has been productive over the winter break, winning four of its last six games to extend their record to 5-11 overall.
UMass most recently began their Atlantic 10 conference schedule with a victory over Rhode Island. Sophomore center Jasmine Watson and senior Cerie Mosgrove led the attack, as both pitched in with double-doubles to overcome the Rams, 75-64. The Rams fell to 6-9 overall, while both Watson and Mosgrove set career-highs in points with 27 and 21 respectively. Mosgrove shot 7-for-9 from the perimeter, tying a school record for most three pointers in a single game. The duo led the team in rebounds as well with Watson grabbing 12 boards and Mosgrove securing 11.
Sophomore Shakia Robinson had 14 points, five boards and a career-high five assists. UMass took a commanding lead with 8:16 left in the first half, going on a 24-10 run, to take a 33-23 lead into the intermission. The Minutewomen made their living from the perimeter shooting 56.3 percent as well as 40 percent shooting from the floor overall. UMass capitalized on second chance opportunities, outscoring the Rams 20-8 on second chance points.
“I thought it was a great team win, I liked our offense and I liked how we shared the basketball and I don’t think there was any selfish offense at all,” UMass coach Sharon Dawley said.
URI was led by Megan Shoniker, scoring 34 points. Shoniker was impressive at the free-throw line, making 13-of-14 attempts. Lara Gaspar had nine points and seven rebounds while Caitlin Kearns finished with seven points and six rebounds.
On Jan. 5, the Minutewomen rolled over Holy Cross with a 75-50 blowout win at Curry Hicks Cage. The Maroon and White played in the cage for the first time since Dec. 2004, picking up the programs fifth-straight win in the venue.
Watson led the team with 23 points and 11 boards in a double-double effort. Junior Emilie Teuscher, senior Megan Zullo and Mosgrove all were in double-figures as well. Mosgrove registered her first career double-double and missed a triple-double by just three assists.
UMass took an eight-point lead into the break but came out of the locker room hot, going on a 19-2 run to put the game out of reach for the Crusaders. The Minutewomen led by more than 20 for the last 15 minutes of the game. UMass shot 41 percent from the floor including an 11-for-25 3-point performance.
UMass was strong defensively, limiting the Crusaders to just under 29 percent shooting and under 18 percent from the perimeter. UMass also capitalized on their opponent’s mistakes, scoring 25 points off turnovers.
“I thought we made a lot of progress tonight. [There were] a lot of turnovers in the first half, but I thought we came out and did a much better job in the second half,” Dawley said.
The Minutewomen began 2011 with an 83-70 loss to Harvard in Boston on Jan. 2. UMass shot over 56 percent in the second half but could not overcome a poor first half performance as they fell to the Crimson for their eleventh loss of the season. UMass shot just 20 percent from the floor in the first half, although Zullo continued her offensive outburst with her 11th consecutive game in double-figures, finishing with 17.
With under 10 minutes left in the opening half, the Crimson outscored UMass 22-6. Harvard held a 39-22 edge at the half. The Crimson extended their lead to 22 before UMass went on a 15-5 run to help close the gap but it was not enough.
“We came out way too flat and got in too much of a hole against a very good team,” Dawley said.
Montgomery and Mosgrove each had 11 points while the down-low presence of Robinson and Watson each dropped eight points apiece.
Against Maine, UMass fell 66-62 in a back-and-forth battle that featured six ties and 11 lead changes. Freshman Talen Watson drained a three at the buzzer to tie the game at 28 going into the locker room. With 12 minutes remaining UMass led 43-42 but would lose the lead for the rest of the game after that.
Katelyn Vanderhoff led the attack in the second half for the Black Bears, sinking five shots from the perimeter. With two minutes remaining Maine held its largest lead of the night 61-52. Scores by Zullo and Watson cut the deficit to two in the final 30 seconds but Ashleigh Roberts iced both of her free throws to seal the victory for the Black Bears with 11 seconds left.
J. Watson had 14 points, seven rebounds, four assists and four blocks for UMass. The Minutewomen however was outboarded 46-31, including 19-10 on the offensive glass.
UMass’ second game over winter break resulted in a 78-72 victory over Miami of Ohio in the Mullins Center. Five Minutewomen scored in double-figures for the first time since 2005.
UMass overcame a 17-point deficit to snap the Red Hawks six-game win streak. Mosrgove, Montgomery, Watson, Zullo and Robinson all were in double figures. The Red Hawks held their largest lead 26-9 with under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. The Minutewomen cut the deficit to nine points trailing at the intermission.
In the second half UMass went off for 50 points in the half, the first time since Nov. 2007 that has happened. The Minutewomen went on a 14-4 run to help close the gap and Montgomery’s three point play gave UMass its first lead 42-41. With seven minutes remaining UMass went on a 15-2 run to retake the lead. The Red Hawks trailed by just one with over a minute remaining but clutch free-throw shooting sealed the win for the Minutewomen.
“It was an awesome win, I think they are a tremendous team and are very skilled,” said Dawley. “We just said keep fighting and plugging away on d[efense] and we’ll come back.”
UMass opened their winter break with their third win of the season coming against Wagner. Once again, UMass rallied from a 17-point deficit to ultimately defeat the Seahawks 72-69.
Robinson was magic in the final eight minutes of the game, scoring 11 of the team’s 20 points and grabbing seven of 11 rebounds to close out the game. Robinson finished the contest with a team best 22 points and a career best 12 boards.
Zullo and Watson were both in double-figures while Montgomery distributed the ball well with 10 assists. UMass jumped out to an early lead due to a 14-2 run but gave it back as the Seahawks countered with a 20-4 run over a span of just under five and a half minutes. The Seahawks shot nearly 52 percent in the first half compared to the UMass’ 38.7 percent.
UMass won the game scoring 14 consecutive points to close the contest, highlighted by Robinson’s performance down-low, including the game-winning bucket with 32 seconds left to play. The bench play of the Minutewomen were impressive chipping in for 27 points.
“We talked at halftime about solidifying the defense and isolating the post a little bit better on the block,” Dawley said. “I thought it was a great team comeback.”
The Minutewomen finished their non-conference schedule with a 4-11 record and are into their A-10 conference schedule. UMass will be tested on Jan 16. as they face conference powerhouse Xavier.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected].
