The Massachusetts Minutewomen (2-9, 0-0 A-10) snapped their nine-game losing streak with a 64-52 win over the UMass Lowell Riverhawks (0-9, 0-0 America East) on Sunday afternoon. The Minutewomen are now 6-1 against the Riverhawks in the all-time series history.
Some good news for the Minutewomen is that the injury bug has passed them. Alexsia Rose made her Minutewomen debut Sunday afternoon, and Mikenzie Jones has been cleared to return to play, and Jones was available for the team. “I think today Lilly [Taulelei], Stefanie [Kulesza], and Chinenye [Odenigbo] were doing a great job on the inside, so just rotating those three was beneficial for us, but [Mikenzie] is fully cleared,” said Coach Mike Leflar on Jones’s availability. Bre Bellamy was the only Minutewomen not available due to taking a hit to the head midway through the second against Boston College this past Wednesday but should be back in the lineup for the next game.
The Minutewomen had two players enter double-digit scoring and eight of the nine players who played in Sunday afternoon’s game. Kristin Williams led the way for the Minutewomen with 19 points tying her career-high, and Dallas Pierce scored 10 points achieving a new career high as well to round out all scorers in double digits. Taulelei had 8 points, Kulesza had 8 points, 14 rebounds and 5 assists, Odenigbo and Tori Hyduke had 6 points apiece, Rose had 5 points, and Jermany Mapp had 2 points. While Lilly Ferguson did not contribute in scoring, she instead helped contribute 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 1 steal.
The Minutewomen will have a break before having the UAlbany Great Danes (7-2, 0-0 America East) on Wednesday, December 20th at 12pm in the Mullins Center. This matchup will be the second time that these two teams will have met. UMass leads the all-time series history currently 1-0.
Featured Image: Chris Tucci, 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.
