The Massachusetts’s women’s basketball team escaped the nor’easter back home but brought the weather with them in its 74-48 commanding win over Saint Joseph’s in Philadelphia.
After dropping three out of their last four games, UMass (16-5, 4-3 Atlantic 10) responded with an empowering victory. Saturday’s game had Sydney Taylor’s fingerprints all over it, who once again proved to be a catalyst for the Minutewomen.
Taylor finished with 10 points through the first quarter of play, due to her quality marksmanship beyond the arc. Taylor was also on the receiving end of a Destiney Philoxy dime where she collected the inbounds pass right underneath the hoop and laid out to cash home the quick bucket.
“I thought [Taylor] had an excellent day,” head coach Tory Verdi said. “She got us going early, and knocked down some big shots… We played UMass basketball here today and I’m extremely proud of our team’s effort.”
Taylor finished with 17 points, trailing only Sam Breen who tallied 18, and accompanied it with five rebounds, four assists and two steals. She shot 5-for-16 from the field, converting three 3-pointers and four of her six free-throw attempts.
Taylor, who only averages 1.5 assists per game, totaled four assists against the Hawks – her new season-high.
“It’s very encouraging,” Verdi said about Taylor’s passing against Saint Joseph’s. “[Taylor’s] a common denominator to a lot of what we do. When she’s on and she’s playing at this level we’re really good. She needs to bring that each and every single day.”
Taylor’s keen passing was on full display, and her dimes showcased her ability to share the ball effectively. Taylor recognized the open pockets to spread the ball between the Hawks defense and give her teammates quality looks at the basket. Both in transition and in offensive sets, Taylor distributed the ball productively.
After a 5-0 run by Saint Joseph’s to bring the game within ten points, the UMass offense was at a stand-still. The Minutewomen had missed their last three shot attempts and committed two turnovers. Desperately needing a bucket to stop the bleeding, Taylor flexed her strength and delivered a skip pass to Philoxy in the corner, who converted the three-pointer with the defender too slow to close out.
The Taylor and Philoxy connection was in full swing all game. Before leaving the court in the blowout win, Taylor collected a perfectly placed bounce pass from Philoxy before laying it up off the glass. That layup was UMass’ nineteenth point off of the Hawk’s eighteen turnovers.
Not only was her passing on point, but her ability to crash the boards and clean the glass was why she exceeded her season average in rebounds, as well. With her five rebounds, Taylor crushed her average of 2.9 per game. Those five rebounds were a major contributor to UMass’ effort of out-rebounding Saint Joseph’s by 20.
“She planted the flag here today,” Verdi said. “Just her energy, her effort, her talk, her communication and her defense here today was great.”
UMass will continue its road trip in Hanover, New Hampshire when it faces Dartmouth on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Michael Araujo can be reached at [email protected] and followed on Twitter @araujo_michael_ .
