The Massachusetts women’s basketball team will look to rebound from a devastating loss to Atlantic 10 conference opponent Duquesne on Wednesday, as it matches up with conference foe, Charlotte.
UMass (6-17, 2-6 in A-10) began its stint of conference play with an even win percentage in the early going. Since then, a string of four losses has set the Minutewomen in the bottom of the A-10 standings.
The Minutewomen’s most recent loss came to the Dukes (19-3, 6-1 in A-10) on Wednesday at the Mullins Center. UMass played a hard fought game and were in grasp of picking up a win against the conference powerhouse, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Alex Gensler tied the game at 73 apiece. UMass held the lead 73-70 when Wumi Agunbiade pushed the ball up the hardwood to Gensler who sunk the desperation 3-pointer as time expired.
UMass dropped the game 84-79 as it shot just 1-of-7 from the field compared to the Dukes 4-of-5 shooting from the floor in overtime. UMass finished the game 26-for-61 (42.6 percent) overall, 10-for-22 (45.5 percent) from 3-point range and 17-for-24 (70.8 percent) at the foul line.
The Dukes went 31-for-64 (48.4 percent) overall, 9-for-22 (40.9%) from beyond the arc and 13-for-19 (68.4%) at the foul line. The Minutewomen held a 42-32 edge on the boards and out-scored Duquesne in second chance points (17-7) and points off turnovers (23-18).
“Games like this can only help us to be more confident and it shows that we can play with anyone in the A-10 conference,” associate head coach Steve Lanpher said. “We executed well, did a tremendous job on the boards, shot well and took care of the basketball. Unfortunately, we just couldn’t come out with a win but I was really pleased with the effort and execution out of our team.”
The Minutewomen will look to redeem themselves against Charlotte on Saturday. Playing at the Mullins Center, UMass looks to hand the 49ers, who are currently ranked fifth in the A-10 standings, their third conference loss of the season.
The 49ers are coming off a statement win against Saint Louis, defeating the Billikens 75-38, to grab their eighth straight victory. The 49ers featured four scorers in double-figures and displayed a dominant game in the paint. Charlotte has out-rebounded its opponents 18 times this season and outscored the Billikens 42-8 in the paint. UMass will look to sophomore down-low players Jasmine Watson and Shakia Robinson to avoid the same result.
“Charlotte is a very up-tempo team and they like to press full court and confuse you,” Lanpher said. “What we will look to do is be more patient on offense with good ball control and if we can play a half-court game and limit them to one shot per possession I think we have a good chance of winning that game.”
Last season, UMass was blown out 85-51 by the 49ers in North Carolina. Then-junior Megan Zullo had the team-high in points with 11 while Watson chipped in for 10 in that game.
Action kicks off at 2 p.m. at the Mullins Center, before UMass hits the road to face Dayton and George Washington.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected].
