The Massachusetts women’s basketball team lost 48-45 to New Hampshire in its home opener. The Minutewomen (0-2) did not make a field goal during the final 5:34 of the game.
UMass earned a side out with just over 20 seconds remaining after a Wildcats (2-0) offensive foul. Nursing a one-point lead, Yahmani McKayle caught the inbound and tossed it backwards towards Momo LaClair. LaClair made a one-handed grab, but her right foot grazed the hardwood and was whistled for a backcourt violation.
“We’ve set up that play a bunch in practice,” head coach Mike Leflar said. “Unfortunately for us, [LaClair] just caught it a bit too close to the halfcourt line. And then when she got trapped, just got sped up a little bit.”
New Hampshire took full advantage of the miscue, as Maggie Cavanaugh drove past Megan Olbrys to lay in the eventual game-winning bucket off the glass with 12 seconds to play. Even so, the Minutewomen still had opportunities to retake the reins.
With the clock ticking down into the single digits, Stefanie Kulesza circled back into the paint and put too much power on a scoop layup attempt to snatch the lead back. Olbrys grabbed the initial rebound, but a quick tie-up and possession arrow decision gifted UNH the ball.
UMass found one last chance to send the game to overtime, only to fall just short again. LaClair caught the ball and dribbled the length of the floor before firing a three-pointer off one foot that caromed harmlessly off the backboard.
Dry spells were the demise of the Minutewomen during rough stretches in the second and fourth quarters. The team shot 2-13 in each quarter, making for a measly 15 percent from the field. The lack of scoring in the clutch invited the Wildcats to take the game by the scruff of the neck.
“It’s tough, I’m sitting there talking on the bench and I think at times, we were getting looks and we were getting layups,” Leflar said. “They got to fall, we have to make layups. We have to make open shots, if you want to be good you still got to put the ball in the basket.”
Allie Palmieri served as UMass’ dominant force on offense. She finished with an even 20 points on 7-16 shooting, including two of the team’s five three-pointers. Palmieri was the player that stepped up when nothing else seemed to be going the way of the home team.
“[Palmieri] needs to be our scorer, so I was happy to see her produce,” Leflar said. “Again, called some plays for her, tried to get her involved, wanted her to continue to stay aggressive and I thought she did that on the offensive end. I think we need to find who that secondary scorer is.”
The Minutewomen consistently look inside but have been simply unable to finish at the rim. They missed 10 layups and scored just 16 points in the paint in the contest.
“I think offensively for us, the game plan was to throw the ball inside, we had a size advantage,” Leflar said. “And for our two starting posts to have five field goal attempts, that’s obviously not following the game plan.”
Defensive urgency led to a positive start for UMass due to three steals and intense pressure holding New Hampshire to single-digit first quarter points. The energy was not sustained throughout the game, as the Wildcats began to get more open looks and drew a plethora of fouls.
The bench didn’t see much offense, totaling just two points via LaClair with Dallas Pierce missing on all four of her long-range attempts, while Aleah Sorrentino went without a basket as well. LaClair played 35 minutes due to McKayle’s foul trouble, shooting 1-6 in that time.
UMass will continue its five-game home stand in a matchup with Central Connecticut State on Sunday, Nov. 10. The 1:00 p.m. game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
“It’s about having pride and defending your home court and really having pride in the jersey you’re wearing,” Leflar said. “I don’t think we tried too hard to do that [Thursday], we got to understand that. This means something, defending the Mullins Center means something.”
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected].
