Despite holding Quinnipiac to 33 percent shooting, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team fell to the Bobcats, 66-63, on Tuesday night.
With just under a minute and a half remaining in the game, UMass trailed by two, and forced a missed shot from Brittany McQuain. As it seemed like the Bobcats were about to score and ice the game, UMass came up with a pivotal defensive stop when Carolann Cloutier grabbed the defensive rebound with 22 seconds left. A timeout was called with 14 seconds left as UMass coach Sharon Dawley drew up the final play for UMass.
Following an inbound pass, guard Dee Montgomery drove to the basket with three seconds on the clock, but missed her layup attempt. Mcquain grabbed the rebound and was fouled, sending her to the free throw line with a chance to put the game out of reach, and that’s exactly what she did. McQuain netted one of two free throws to extend the lead to three points. With under two seconds to play, any attempt at a half-court shot for the Minutewomen was impossible.
The Minutewomen dropped to 1-5 overall after the loss while the Bobcats improved to 4-2 on the season.
UMass was led by Jasmine Watson, who totaled 18 points and eight rebounds. Other Minutewomen in double-figures included senior guard Emilie Teuscher with 12, Kim Pierre-Louis with 11 and Cloutier with 10. Shakia Robinson was a non-factor in this game as she was held scoreless in 14 minutes of play. McQuain led the way for the Bobcats with a double-double, while Martin pitched in 11 points and Warner added 13.
The game stayed close throughout the entire first half. UMass got its largest lead of the half when Cloutier made a 3-pointer to extend the Minutewomen’s lead to six with just over two minutes to play. The Bobcats clawed their way back at the end of the half but went into the break with UMass leading, 34-31.
In the second half the game stayed tight the entire time. After dropping its halftime lead, UMass tied the game again with 14 minutes left when Teuscher made a 3-pointer to knot the score at 43. Nine minutes later, the Minutewomen were able to jump out to a six point lead with five minutes left to play after Cloutier hit a jump-shot.
Then, Aisha Rodney fouled McQuain, who made both of her free throws to cut the deficit to four. A steal by Lisa Lebak with just over five minutes remaining turned into a Martin bucket to bring the Bobcats to within two.
Lebak then hit a 3-pointer four seconds later to give the Bobcats a 60-59 lead, made possible by Camryn Warner’s offensive rebound and assist.
Trailing by one, Watson made a steal with two and a half minutes left, but ended up turning the ball over as the Bobcats increased their lead to three. Pierre-Louis made a key basket with a minute and a half left bringing the score to 65-63 but the Minutewomen were unable to tie the game as time expired.
The Minutewomen’s struggles came in two areas: turnovers and allowing too many offensive rebounds. UMass committed 22 turnovers to Quinnipiac’s 11, and the Bobcats ended the game with 10 steals. However, what really hurt UMass was allowing second-chance opportunities on 22 offensive rebounds.
In the contest, Quinnipiac fired off 74 total shots while the Minutewomen settled for 51. Fouls were an issue as well, with three Minutewomen ending the game with four fouls and Rodney fouling out of the game in the second half. The Bobcats converted on 16-for-28 attempts from the line, while the Minutewomen were efficient shooting 12-for-17.
The series is now split between the two teams, as UMass got the best of the Bobcats in their first-ever meeting, 82-66, two years ago. The Bobcats have now won four straight games and they will move on and take on Bryant in a Northeast Conference battle this Saturday.
UMass has two more games on the road against George Mason on Thursday before traveling to Chestnut Hill to take on Boston College on Dec. 7. The Minutewomen return home to the Mullins Center on Dec. 9 when they take on Providence.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Counos.
