The Massachusetts women’s basketball team climbed back from a double-digit deficit in the second half but was ultimately unable to pick up the victory against Atlantic-10 conference rival Dayton.
The two teams tipped off at 11 a.m. in Ohio as UMass played its first of two consecutive games on the road. The Minutewomen (6-19, 2-8 A-10), pulled within one with 2:25 minutes remaining but could not secure the victory against the Flyers (16-8, 7-3 A-10) as they went on to lose, 66-58.
“Dayton is definitely one of the perennial top teams in the A-10,” associate head coach Steve Lanpher said, according to umassathletics.com. “Our effort was there, we just came up short unfortunately.”
UMass came in 7-10 all-time against the Flyers since the series began in 1996. The loss was the fourth-straight to Dayton in the series and their sixth consecutive A-10 loss overall. Lanpher continued at the helm for the Minutewomen as head coach Sharon Dawley is still out for personal reasons.
The Minutewomen jumped out to an early 7-5 lead, but the Flyers followed the momentum of Brittany Wilson’s 3-pointer to make an 11-0 run, stretching their lead to 19-10. The Minutewomen went into halftime with a six-point deficit, 31-25.
“In the first half I felt like we missed some shots that we normally make,” Lanpher said, according to umassathletics.com. ”[We could’ve had] the lead … but unfortunately we missed too many easy ones and we really turned the ball over too much.”
The Flyers led by 12 with 15:19 remaining before UMass rallied with 6-0 and 9-1 runs to make the score 59-58. Dayton’s Samantha Mackay then hit a 3-pointer with 2:11 left to extend the lead to four. After a missed opportunity by the Minutewomen on offense, UMass was forced to foul De’Sarae Chambers and Brittany Wilson, who both converted at the line to put the game out of reach.
“I thought we really cleaned it up in the second half, and we had a great run at them,” Lanpher said, according to umassathletics.com. “We were only down one with two minutes to go [but] we just didn’t execute down the stretch. It’s disheartening and disappointing obviously to play extremely well against the upper echelon of teams and come up a little short.”
The Minutewomen lost despite outshooting the Flyers in every aspect of the game. UMass shot 40.7 percent from the floor, 41.7 percent, from beyond the arc and 75 percent at the foul line. Dayton shot 35.9 percent from the floor, 26.3 percent from beyond the arc and 71.4 percent at the foul line.
Mosgrove posted her 14th-straight game in double figures for the Minutewomen, leading all scorers with 13 points. Megan Zullo followed with 12 points and four assists, while sophomore Jasmine Watson contributed eight points, six rebounds and three blocks. Sophomore Dee Montgomery grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds to go along with eight points and five assists.
“I think if we continue to grow and get better we’re going to become a dangerous team,” Lanpher said according to umassathletics.com.
Mosgrove and Watson have accounted for nearly 50 percent of UMass’ points and rebounds this season.
Justine Raterman was the only Flyer player in double figures, scoring 12 points and also snatching up six rebounds. Mackay and Wilson chipped in with seven points each, while Casey Nance recorded six points, while grabbing six rebounds and having three blocks.
“We’ve got four winnable games to end the season that we are looking to win and move up in the A-10 standings and hopefully be ready to go in the A-10 tournament,” Lanpher said according to umassathletics.com.
UMass travels to play George Washington, ranked eleventh of the A-10 standings while UMass is currently twelfth in the conference. The must-win game against the Colonials kicks off at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected].
