Just nine days ago the Massachusetts women’s basketball team was fresh off a three-game winning streak, supporting a .500 record this late in the season for the first time in years.
Now UMass (6-9, 0-3 Atlantic 10) has essentially ended up right back where it started after falling 66-41 at St. Bonaventure Monday night, marking its third straight loss.
The Minutewomen’s main issue was that they struggled to find the offensive rhythm necessary to keep up with the red-hot Bonnies (14-2, 3-0 A-10). Shooting inefficiently from the floor plagued UMass, as its 27.5-shooting-percentage didn’t matchup compared to SBU’s 43.1-percent mark. This difference, tagged along with the 20-point deficit it held at the start of the second half, left UMass coach Sharon Dawley believing that shot consistency played a larger role in the loss.
“It was a tough game for us,” Dawley said. “I thought we shot extremely poorly. We’re obviously not shooting the ball real well. I thought we missed a lot of bunnies…on the road, (when) you miss seven or eight bunnies and you miss free throws, in time, it’s going to end up being the deficit.”
The Minutewomen started the game very slowly, as they managed to convert just two shots from the field and one free throw for a mere five points after the first quarter. The second quarter didn’t prove much better, as UMass’ eight points led to a season-low 13 points at halftime.
Twelve of the Minutewomen’s 17 turnovers came in the first half as the Bonnies capitalized on the miscues with 24 total points coming off of turnovers. Whether the turnovers were a result of risk, sloppiness or just good defense, Dawley says all of them made a “huge” impact.
“Every time we make a stab at coming back, a turnover with a fast break point breaks it,” she said. “Twenty-five points is the difference of the game. If we can [get rid of] those turnovers, erase half of them, now we’re in striking distance.”
Mariah Ruff led SBU with 20 points and five rebounds on an 8-of-12 shooting effort, while Miranda Drummond chipped in 18 points of her own with three 3-pointers. The win marks the team’s 13th straight, leaving them tied for first with Duquesne and George Washington.
Despite the loss Dawley had nothing but positive things to say about the Bonnies.
“I think they are a really good team because everybody can shoot it and everybody can pass it,” Dawley said. “The timing of their shots (is good), they share the ball real well, they only shoot when it’s not contested, they run their motion real well and every penetration they did a great job passing.”
Despite the outcome, UMass can find positives from the individual efforts of Bria Stallworth and Rashida Timbilla. Stallworth scored a team-high 14 points on 5-of-13 shooting and Timbilla racked up 10 points and nine rebounds.
Dawley said that the Minutemen’s biggest issue was one that’s been haunting them all season long: rebounding and defense.
“We need to box out better,” she said. “We’re still not getting free to the glass like we’d like to. I’d still continue to get better at the same old problems, which are rebounding and transition defense.”
UMass will face Saint Louis Wednesday night to complete the back end of a two-game road trip. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
Tom Mulherin can be reached at [email protected].
