The Massachusetts women’s basketball team defeated UMass Lowell 53-33 in a Friday afternoon edition of the Kennedy Cup. The victory in the low-scoring affair was driven by effort and hustle.
“Games like this right before the break, we have half the team leaving from [Lowell], can always be a little tricky,” head coach Mike Leflar said. “We did practice well this week, obviously a sloppy game, but in the second half we did what we needed to do. It’s okay to win ugly.”
UMass (5-6) did not make many shots, but its defensive performance was enough to secure the win. The Minutewomen shot at 32.8 percent, while the River Hawks (2-10) made just 24.5 percent of their attempts. A flurry of missed layups and close-range shots led to a sloppy game throughout.
The Minutewomen took the reins in the fourth quarter, where they outscored UMass Lowell 18-4. The River Hawks couldn’t get any good looks against the stifling UMass defensive structure. The 33 points it allowed was by far the least conceded this season, with the next closest being the 81-50 victory over Northeastern.
“I think the way we ended the third quarter was really good, just that intensity and toughness,” Leflar said. “I just asked them, hey let’s not take our foot off the gas, which we had our foot off the gas for probably the first 25 minutes … I was really happy for our group in the [fourth] quarter to separate.”
Megan Olbrys was once again at the forefront for the Minutewomen, posting 15 points along with 13 rebounds. She remained aggressive inside the paint even when some of the shots were simply not falling for her team. Olbrys also grabbed two steals and blocked one shot in the win.
Lilly Ferguson was the epitome of effort, constantly jumping on the floor for loose balls. She did the dirty work and gained UMass extra possessions when it desperately needed them. The team as a whole refused to back down from battles, showing no fear or restraint in grappling for the basketball.
“Probably the last two or three weeks, we really chart [hustle plays], we’ve been talking about it at practice, drilling it a little bit, getting on the floor,” Leflar said. “From a rebounding perspective and a 50-50’s perspective, I bring that up at every timeout. Obviously it’s in [Ferguson’s] comfort zone, but to see people who it’s out of their comfort zone to get on the floor, it’s a really positive sign because that’s who we want to be as a program.”
Offensive rebounds were a constant tug-of-war throughout the game. The Minutewomen and River Hawks each grabbed 13 boards on the offensive glass. Ferguson can be credited for four of those, to go along with her three steals. Second chance points were aplenty, as over a fourth of the total points were scored in do-over fashion.
UMass has now completed its out-of-conference portion of the schedule and will begin Atlantic 10 play next. The opening game of the A-10 slate will be at home against Fordham on Sunday, Dec. 29. Tipoff is set for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted live on NESN.
“The last three or four games, we played better basketball, they’ve turned into wins,” Leflar said. “I’m really optimistic and excited, I really haven’t focused too much on the record. I know I want some of the close ones, all of our losses have been close, I want some of them back … As long as we just keep getting better, I feel like we’ll put ourselves in position to win, no different than [Friday], and same thing going into A-10 play.”
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.
