A 9-for-21 effort from the 3-point line led Miami (Ohio) to an 81-56 win over the Massachusetts women’s basketball team on Saturday. Despite having three players in double digits, UMass lost its second consecutive game, moving its record to 1-2 on the season.
The Minutewomen traveled to Oxford, Ohio for their first road game of the year. UMass struggled shooting in the first half, amassing 32.3 percent, while the RedHawks (2-1) were just over 50 percent. The Minutewomen got in a hole early, going down 16-6 as the RedHawks outscored UMass 10-2 in a span of four minutes, 19 seconds. The Minutewomen went into halftime trailing 40-28, led by Shakia Robinson with 18 points.
In the second half, UMass was never able to close the deficit as it shot 20-for-62 from the field and scored on just 4-of-20 3-point attempts. The RedHawks were led by Courtney Osborn with a game-high 25 points to go along with five assists. Hannah Robertson and Maggie Boyer both were in double-digit scoring figures as well, while Kristen Olowinski led the team with eight rebounds to go along with four steals and two blocked shots.
“We didn’t play defense the way we practice,” said UMass coach Sharon Dawley in a UMassAthletics.com post-game interview. “On a good day we play transition defense, on a good day we defend shooters a lot better and for some reason we kept getting stuck under screens and we don’t get stuck under screens.”
For UMass, Robinson led the way with 18 points and six boards. Also in double-figures was Jasmine Watson with 14 points and Emilie Teuscher with 10.
On Tuesday, the Minutewomen will try to get back on track against Holy Cross in their second consecutive game on the road.
UMass has been led by its post-game thus far in the season as Robinson and Watson lead the team in points. Robinson has 52 points in three games and has scored in double-figures in every contest, while Watson is tied for second on the team in points with 29 with guard Megan Zullo.
Zullo has been the threat from beyond the arc, shooting 50 percent from long range on 9-for-18 shooting. Watson, Robertson and redshirt sophomore Carolann Cloutier all have at least 23 rebounds, while Millie Niggeling has grabbed 11 off the bench. Cloutier also leads the team with four steals and 16 assists.
Holy Cross comes into Tuesday’s game with a 1-3 record and is coming off a 54-43 loss to Fordham. The Crusaders’ sole win this season came on Nov. 16 against Quinnipiac, 80-70. Holy Cross is currently 1-1 when playing at home.
The Crusaders spread the ball out evenly on the offensive end as five players have over 30 points already this season. Amy Lepley is leading the way with 47, followed closely behind by Meredith Ward (41) and Alex Smith (40). Smith has been the main distributor on offense as well as on the glass, with a team-high 18 assists and 22 rebounds.
The game gets underway at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Worcester. UMass is trying to move to a .500 win percentage, something it was unable to do throughout the entire 2010-11 season.
Michael Counos can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Counos.
