The Massachusetts women’s basketball team has solidified itself as one of the top six teams in the Atlantic 10 to this point. But is it contenders or pretenders? When the Minutewomen (15-12, 10-6 A-10) establish their game plan inside, opponents have difficulty holding them down. All but two of their conference victories have been by double-digits, though they have struggled against the top teams in the conference.
Now that UMass has gotten a stab at every conference foe, it knows what to expect in every potential opponent in the looming A-10 Tournament. The Minutewomen have had no trouble at all winning games they are supposed to win on paper. The next big step they must take in Glen Allen, Virginia is staying in striking distance and making clutch plays down the stretch.
As it stands, UMass holds the No. 6 position in the conference and sits within one game of both Rhode Island and Davidson. The top four teams earn a double-bye in the tournament, which is very much up for grabs heading into the final two matchups. This will set up a crucial game between the Minutewomen and URI (15-13, 10-5 A-10) on Sunday, Feb. 23, as the two schools tussle for position. UMass will then finish the season at George Washington in an extremely winnable game, against a team it already defeated 71-54.
If the Minutewomen can’t sneak into the top four, they will begin play on day two of the tournament against one of the bottom six teams. In this scenario, they should be slated for a win in their opening game. This would set up a quarterfinals date with one of those aforementioned top four teams, which is where things get a tad shaky.
UMass was only truly played off the court one time this season, an 82-52 loss to Richmond. The Spiders sit all alone at the top with a near-perfect 14-1 conference record. But they aren’t unbeatable. Richmond shot an unbelievable 51.5 percent on 17-for-33 3-point shooting in that game, which is far from a normality. In their most recent game, the Spiders shot sub-30 percent from distance and failed to score 60 points against a below-average Saint Louis team. If the Minutewomen learn from their mistakes and guard the 3-point line, a rematch will be a whole different story.
The second-best team in the A-10 is 23-3 George Mason, who defeated UMass in a game that was much closer than the final score indicated. The Minutewomen were within one possession for a good portion of the second half, only to miss every opportunity to tie the game back up or take the lead. In a one-off tournament game, all it takes is one of those late-game shots to go down, and the story is altered. Keeping the score manageable at all times will remain an absolute necessity.
Beating good teams is no simple task. That does not mean that UMass does not have the capability of doing it. In many of the losses this season, the team lost its game plan and faltered when shots refused to fall through the net. The most important trait the Minutewomen must take with them to the tournament is adaptability. When Plan A clearly is not getting the job done, a shift to a new look must be made in a timely fashion.
All season, Plan A has been pounding the ball inside. UMass has outscored its opponents in the paint in 12 of its last 13 games. On Wednesday, it beat out Loyola Chicago in a wild 50-14 disparity in the category and Megan Olbrys scored a career-high 23 points during the 87-62 win. The Minutewomen are at their best when they find her in the paint. Some teams have opted to double-team her, she just needs to be ready to find the open shooter, but also remain aggressive when possible.
“Obviously, we go inside to [Olbrys] a lot, we love to keep going inside to [Chinenye Odenigbo] and posting her up,” head coach Mike Leflar said. “Having a guard like [Stefanie Kulesza] who we can get involved in post-ups, I’m very fortunate to have that and to be able to play to those strengths.”
On the defensive side of things, Leflar has shown various press looks. In the win over the Ramblers (11-16, 3-13 A-10), UMass forced 19 turnovers and outscored its opponent 24-3 on fast break points. Steals are such a crucial piece to the Minutewomen’s game and can flip the momentum entirely on its head.
“We do want to get some easier baskets, we really talked about it and started focusing a little more on that again a few weeks ago,” Leflar said. “So, it was nice to see it pay off [Wednesday]. Again, we want easy ones and we certainly want to take away easy ones.”
UMass has a unique opportunity in its very last season in the Atlantic 10. With a few clutch buckets and a few more made 3’s, no game is unwinnable in the upcoming A-10 tournament. That is the mentality the Minutewomen must carry with them, no matter what seed they enter the competition as. They must stick with what has worked all season long and trust their preparation against even the best-of-the-best.
Cameron Pellegrino can be reached at [email protected] and followed on X @cam_pellegrino.
