The Massachusetts Minutewomen (1-6, 0-0 A-10) lost to the #23 Washington State Cougars (7-0, 0-0 PAC-12) 90-48 on Day 2 of the Cancun Challenge Friday morning. The Cougars take a 1-0 lead in the all-time series history.
UMass had their available players drop from eight players to seven after Thursday afternoon’s game. Jermany Mapp was not dressed for Friday’s game, but the good news was she was not wearing a sling. (At this time, I don’t know the extent of the injury for Mapp or the timetable of her return.) Avery Childers and Chinenye Odenigbo were both dressed for Friday’s game, but they did not play. Childers and Odenigbo should hopefully be coming back soon if they have been dressed for the past two games. While the extent of the injuries for Alexsia Rose or Mikenzie Jones is not known, they should also hopefully be returning to play for the Minutewomen soon.
The Minutewomen changed up their starting line-up again this season, but this time it was due to injuries. Bre Bellamy did return to the line-up replacing Lilly Taulelei, and Lilly Ferguson returned to the line-up replacing the injured Mapp.
UMass had one player in double-digit scoring, but all seven players contributed to the game. Stefanie Kulesza had a career-high 20 points as well as 11 rebounds, earning her third career double-double. Kristin Williams had 8 points, Dallas Pierce posted a career-high of 7 points, Bellamy had 6 points, Tori Hyduke with 4 points, Ferguson with 2 points, and Taulelei had 1 point.
The Minutewomen wrap up the Cancun Challenge Saturday morning against the RV (Receiving Votes) Maryland Terrapins (3-3, 0-0 Big 10) at 11am, and will be streamed on FloHoops only. This will be the third time these two teams meet, and the Terrapins lead the all-time series matchup 2-0.
Featured Image: Riley Ubben, UMass Athletics
Kaily “KG” Godek is a current student at Western New England University (WNE). She has been a supporter of UMass Athletics for over 15 years. Kaily focuses on both UMass Basketball teams and occasionally on the other Women’s Basketball teams in the conference. While writing for A10 Talk, she works in the athletic department at WNE. When she graduates from WNE she wants to go into Sports Broadcasting and Journalism. You can follow Kaily on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kgumass23.