Make it 12 straight losses for the Massachusetts women’s basketball team.
Despite feeding off the energy from hundreds of screaming children on UMass’ annual Field Trip Day, the Minutewomen fell to George Washington 89-76.
“It was a tale of two halves,” UMass coach Sharon Dawley said. “We outscored them in the second half, and our transition offense was much better. We just have to come out and play with that aggression we showed in the second half.”
UMass (3-19, 0-8 Atlantic 10) outscored the Colonials 46-38 in the second half after trailing GW by 21 at the half.
The Minutewomen had five different players score in double digits in the losing effort. Rashida Timbilla had a team-high 16 points, while Jasmine Harris added 14 of her own. However, it was Amber Dillon’s career-high 11 points that sparked UMass’ play in the second half.
“Amber came in and got super aggressive and turned up our transition game,” said Dawley. “That got Emily (Mital) and (Jasmine) Harris more looks, and that really helped us in the second half.”
Dillon also played 28 minutes in today’s game, the most she has played in a UMass uniform. Her actual career high in minutes is 30, which she achieved while playing at Maine.
While Dillon’s 11 points and three assists might not jump out off the stat sheet, it was her speed and agility that kept the Colonials on their toes all day.
“I just have to keep doing what I do in practice,” Dillon said. “I just have to keep going hard in practice.”
GW (14-7, 5-3 A-10) was led by center Jonquel Jones, who ended with 20 points and a career-high 17 rebounds, 11 of them coming on the offensive end. The Colonials totaled 60 rebounds, including 28 offensive rebounds, which lead to 26 second-chance points.
“We’re just small,” Dawley said. “Having Paula (Tarnachowicz) would have definitely helped. Paula is an excellent rebounder and would have helped inside today.”
Tarnachowicz missed her second consecutive game due to a right ankle sprain she suffered in the game against Dayton. Dawley said that she is still listed as day-to-day, but is doing much better than she originally anticipated.
GW had a very productive day from its trio of guards as well. Both Chakecia Miller (14) and Danni Jackson (11) scored in double figures, while Hannah Schaible had nine points and 10 rebounds as well.
After picking up two quick fouls early in the first half, Kiara Bomben was forced to sit out for the majority of the first frame. Bomben returned in the first half, but picked up a questionable third foul after being called for a block hedging a Colonials’ screen at the top of the perimeter.
Bomben finished the game with 11 points, while Jasmine Harris scored 14 points to go along with six assists on the day.
Not only was it a different environment at Mullins Center with the 11:45 a.m. tipoff, but the Minutewomen also played in front of 1,382 people, their largest crowd of the year, many of them being screaming young fans.
“It was a lot of fun,” Mital said. “Everyone loves playing in front of a loud crowd. It just made us all laugh.”
Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected], and followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.
