So far this season, the Massachusetts women’s basketball team has kept a pretty fair balance on offense, with all five starters averaging at least six points per game but none more than 12 points per game.
All of those players have shown that they can contribute in other ways that help round out the team’s play.
Leading the way has been the team’s pair of post players, Shakia Robinson and Jasmine Watson, who each average 12 and 11.9 points per game, respectively. Watson has very nearly averaged a double-double, contributing 8.3 rebounds per contest while Robinson has grabbed 6.3 per game.
The guard and wing play has also provided balance as Carolann Cloutier, Megan Zullo and Emilie Teuscher all make their mark on the floor in different facets of the game. While they have proved that they can put the ball in the hoop, the trio has given the team something else to count on.
In her first year running the point for the Minutewomen (6-13, 1-3 A-10), and after sitting out a transfer year, the sophomore Cloutier has not only shown she can run the show, but also that she can be active on the glass, averaging nearly four rebounds per game. Cloutier has also cashed in at the free throw line, converting her attempts at a rate just south of 80 percent, while pacing the Minutewomen with her team-high 4.9 assists per game.
Zullo, a senior guard whose 48 consecutive starts streak snapped was just snapped due to illness, has provided accurate shooting from long distance, ranking second on the team in 3-point shooting percentage at 40.8 percent and first in attempts and makes. Zullo has also been able to show her playmaking ability, averaging just over three assists per game – good enough for second on the team – while pestering the opposition with just over a steal per contest.
Teuscher has done a little bit of everything for UMass. The senior has compiled average outputs of nine points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting the ball over 41 percent from beyond the arc.
The story is much the same for the Duquesne (14-5, 2-2 A-10) women’s basketball team, who the Minutewomen entertain on Wednesday night in Ohio.
While the Dukes have three players averaging double figures compared to UMass’ two, they have been able to distribute the scoring fairly evenly to this point in the season. Duquesne’s lineup runs eight deep, with all of those players averaging at least 15 minutes of action per game.
The scoring has been well-balanced too. Each member of its eight-player rotation average scoring outputs of four points per contest or higher. Sophomore forward Wumi Agunbiade leads the team in scoring with 15.2 per game and is second in rebounding with 6.6 per game, while guarding the basket with a team-high 23 blocks in the team’s 19 games.
Senior guard Alex Gensler leads Duquesne in 3-point shooting percentage – 35.4 percent – and is second on the team in scoring with her 13.1 points per game.
For UMass, going into Pittsburgh will be a tough test, as Duquesne has yet to lose on their home floor.
The Dukes, despite already losing a pair of games in conference play, have proven that they can string together a hot streak, having already won 10 of 11 games early in the season.
Eric Mansfield can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @MDC_Mansfield.
