The Massachusetts women’s basketball team showcased its strength in the paint on both sides of the ball in its 67-58 win over the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
“When you win on the road a lot of times you don’t even care how you do it, you just do it,” head coach Mike Leflar said. “I just liked the way we did it today. We held onto the lead for pretty much the entire time [and] responded when we needed to.”
UMass (8-8, 3-2 Atlantic-10) came out hot, outscoring the Bonnies (5-11, 1-4 A-10) 21-9 in the first quarter. St. Bonaventure’s efforts to cut this lead were strong after winning the second and third quarters by close margins. Yet, the Minutewomen put out the Bonnies fire quickly, maintaining their lead throughout the remainder of the game.
The offensive game of UMass relied heavily on its post play, scoring 44 of its 67 total points in the paint. Leading this charge were starters Chineye Odenigbo and Megan Olbrys. Olbrys held the team-high in scoring and rebounds, recording a double-double with 18 and 10 respectively. Odenigbo worked the paint well too, adding 12 points and seven rebounds.
“I was really proud of [Odenigbo], the way she responded … [she] was a difference maker for us,” Leflar said. “[Olbrys], second half obviously was awesome, scoring, rebounding, just being a big presence.”
Rebounding proved to be a key element to the Minutewomen’s game on Sunday afternoon. Grabbing 40 rebounds over their opponent’s 26, the emphasis of paint play reached beyond scoring. Just about half of these rebounds came from the offensive end, as UMass snagged 19.
“[Rebounding] was a big part of our game plan,” Leflar said. “We had the advantage size wise and I wanted to make sure we had the advantage effort wise too.”
The Minutewomen’s bench came ready to play, contributing 21 points. Freshman guard Yahmani McKayle boosted this number by attacking the paint and finishing with 14 points. McKayle saw the floor well defensively, snatching three steals against the Bonnies.
St. Bonaventure kept its hopes alive through experienced guard Dani Haskell. In 38 minutes of play, Haskell scored a total of 29 points, her new season high. Haskell’s game was supplemented by teammate Zoe Shaw, who chipped in 13 points.
“Obviously Haskell’s a really good scorer,” Leflar said. “We let her run free a couple times.”
UMass’ defensive strategy proved effective, despite some struggles in the second and third quarters. Its intensity on defense forced 24 turnovers from St. Bonaventure. The Minutewomen guarded their basket well, only allowing the Bonnies 16 points in the paint, forcing their offense to come primarily from outside shots.
“I’m happy with our defensive effort … and [we] turned turnovers into points,” Leflar said.
The Minutewomen will return to the Mullins Center on Wednesday, Jan. 15 for an early game against the 7-11 La Salle Explorers. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m and the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
“Excited to get home and be back in Mullins and hopefully stack a second win on top of this one,” Leflar said.
Rachel Toth can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @RachelToth46.
