The Massachusetts women’s basketball team could not escape its shooting woes against the Army Black Knights on Saturday afternoon. The Minutewomen (2-4) fell 56-50 after shooting 25 percent from the field.
“Foul trouble hurt us, per usual,” head coach Mike Leflar said. “Missed layups hurt us, per usual.”
UMass’ late attack in the final two minutes of the game was not enough to break through. Junior guard Allie Palmieri cut the Black Knights’ (6-1) lead to two points with 19 seconds remaining. With no timeouts left, UMass sent Cameryn Tade to the charity stripe, who iced the game with two free throws.
Although the Minutewomen made it to the line 22 times, it was not enough to counteract their poor shooting from the field. They connected on 17 of their 22 free throws, but these shots were not a reflection of their play. UMass failed to capitalize on historically high percentage shots, shooting 6-for-26 on layups.
“We have to make some and-one’s there,” Leflar said. “We’re just wishing, hoping to get fouled on a couple drives.”
While UMass held Army to a total of 56 points, it could not stop the efforts of senior guard Trinity Hardy. Hardy finished with a team-high of 20 points in addition to grabbing eight rebounds.
“A couple [plays] in the first half, she rebounds her own miss or she gets a 50/50 ball,” Leflar said. “Those are the plays you try to explain to the team on film that have to make the difference and we did explain it.”
Two Minutewomen finished the game with career-highs. Averaging two rebounds per game, Lilly Ferguson snatched 13 rebounds on Saturday, doubling her previous mark. Palmieri kept UMass in the game with her 3-point shooting, shooting 50 percent from behind the arc. She notched 21 points in the game, a new career-high.
“[Ferguson] plays really hard and is always willing to lay her body on the line, sacrifice her body at practice… that needs to, in a way, hold the next person accountable,” Leflar said.
Straight from the opening tip, the Minutewomen were chasing the Black Knights. Before UMass scored its first points four minutes into the first quarter, it turned the ball over three times. This sequence gave Army the opportunity to garner a sizable head start, scoring eight points in the opening minutes. While the Minutewomen won that quarter by two points, they went on to lose both the second and third quarters.
“I thought we were too slow when we did get paint touches early in the game, too slow to make moves,” Leflar said.
UMass did not utilize their post players when the jump shots weren’t falling. Starting forward Megan Olbrys attempted just four shots and fellow starter Aleah Sorrentino only took two.
“Early third quarter, I wanted to go back inside, but we throw it in, they double off [Stefanie Kulesza]. We don’t talk, we don’t move and it ends up being a turnover,” Leflar said.
The Minutewomen will now go on the road following their five-game homestand. UMass looks to snap its two-game losing streak against the winless Siena Saints. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1.
“We need to play with a sense of urgency for 40 minutes, let’s be honest. We’re not talented enough to not,” Leflar said.
Rachel Toth can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X/Twitter @RachelToth46.
