The Massachusetts women’s basketball team opened up its 2024-25 season with a loss to Harvard on Monday night. The Crimson (1-0) defeated the Minutewomen (0-1) 71-58 in the in-state clash after a night of back-and-forth gameplay.
Yahmani McKayle drained two free throws with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter to bring UMass within three points, but Harvard stormed back, going on a 10-0 run to close out the game and hand the Minutewomen their first loss.
“It was a game of runs,” head coach Mike Leflar said. “Harvard’s a really good basketball team and they just had an answer every single time and we need to be able to answer our opponent’s runs, just like Harvard did all of ours.”
UMass may have lost by 13, but the game was as close as one possession nearing the final minutes. The fourth quarter was a series of comeback attempts for the Minutewomen, headlined by Allie Palmieri in her first game of UMass eligibility. Three triples from Palmieri in the final minutes helped the Minutewomen hang onto hope for a win.
“The fight was there,” Leflar said. “We’re obviously a lot more talented and equipped for games like that this year than we were in the past.”
Palmieri sunk a 3-pointer at 5:39 in the fourth, putting the Minutewomen within reach as she cut a 10-point Harvard lead to seven with the Crimson up 54-47. The two teams traded buckets before Palmieri made her final 3-pointer of the quarter, putting the Minutewomen within five with five minutes to play.
“I was really proud of [Palmieri], especially knocking some shots down there in the second half,” Leflar said.
Palmieri led UMass with 15 points, shooting 60 percent from the 3-point arc and going four-for-four at the charity stripe. McKayle scored nine points for the Minutewomen, while Megan Olbrys and Aleah Sorrentino, both transfers into the program, each tossed in eight points.
While UMass locked down on Crimson standout Harmoni Turner, Harvard turned to others to lead the offensive efforts. The Crimson scoring was spearheaded by the duo of Gabby Anderson and Elena Rodriguez. Anderson put up 20 points including four 3-pointers, while Rodriguez followed in suit, scoring 18.
UMass started off the game strong, taking an early lead in the first few minutes of gameplay. McKayle, Palmeri, Stefanie Kulesza, Megan Olbrys and Chinenye Odenigbo started for the Minutewomen, with Palmieri putting two points on the board early on. McKayle, the sole starting freshman nailed a three to make it 5-0 UMass. Kulesza followed with a layup, giving the Minutewomen an early seven-point lead, their largest all-game.
UMass struggled with its offensive efforts as the game advanced due to a high turnover rate. The Minutewomen recorded 34 turnovers, tallying 10 in the first quarter alone.
“We’re going to have some growing pains and we just have to work through those things,” Leflar said. “Happy with our effort but certainly not satisfied because I think we can become a better basketball game each and every night.”
On the defensive end of things, the Minutewomen started with high energy in a full-court press for the first few minutes, before settling down and focusing on coverage on the Crimson offensive end. Olbrys snagged 13 rebounds, 11 of them defensive. Right behind her on the defensive attack was Kulesza who grabbed five defensive boards. Harvard scored 24 from the 3-point line and went 11-14 from the foul line.
The Minutewomen will look to capture their first win in their home opener vs the University of New Hampshire on Thursday, Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
Lucy Postera can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X/Twitter @lucypostera.
