The Saint Louis Billikens (6-10, 1-2 A-10) defeated the Massachusetts Minutewomen (3-12, 1-2 A-10) 79-75 in a second-half thriller on Saturday afternoon. The Minutewomen still hold the 17-9 advantage over the Billikens.
The game started back and forth, but UMass started to pull away with a 6-0 after back-to-back three-pointers from Stefanie Kulesza and Kristin Williams which forced a Billikens timeout. The Minutewomen had the lead for most of the game until we got to the fourth quarter. During the fourth quarter, both teams had seven lead changes and tied the score up four times. Once we hit the midway point of the fourth quarter, Saint Louis seemed to have all of the momentum, but UMass was able to keep it close all the way until the end which led to Tierra Simon scoring the game-winning free throws for the Billikens.
The Billikens had three players in double-digits scoring. Kyla McMakin had 27 points to lead Saint Louis and surpassed the 2,500 career point mark towards the end of the game. Peyton Kennedy had 18 points, and Camree Clegg had 10 points to round out double-digit scoring for Saint Louis. Brooklyn Gray had 7 points, Julia Martinez and Simon both had 6 points apiece, Marcavia Shavers had 3 points, and Bri Johns had 2 points to round out all scorers.
The Minutewomen had three players score in double digits. Alexsia Rose and Kulesza both had 18 points apiece. Rose tied her career-high in points but earned a new career-high of 9 assists. Williams had 17 points to round out scorers for UMass in double digits. Chinenye Odenigbo had 8 points (a new career high), Lilly Taulelei had 6 points, Bre Bellamy and Tori Hyduke had 3 points apiece, and Mikenzie Jones had 2 points to round out all scorers for the Minutewomen.
UMass hits the road to face off against the Richmond Spiders (13-3, 3-0 A-10) on Wednesday, January 10th at 11am on ESPN+. This will be the 30th meeting between these two teams, and the Spiders lead the all-time series history 20-9 over the Minutewomen.
Saint Louis travels back to Chaifetz Arena to face the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (13-2, 2-1 A-10) on Tuesday, January 6th at 8pm ET on ESPN+. This will be the 23rd time these two teams meet, and the series is tied at 11 apiece for both the Hawks and the Billikens.
Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Scoreboard:
- Wednesday, January 3rd:
- The Fordham Rams (6-8, 1-2) defeated the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies (4-9, 1-1) 65-57.
- The Richmond Spiders (12-3, 2-0) defeated the Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (12-2, 1-1) 72-65.
- The Loyola Chicago Ramblers (7-6, 1-1) defeated the Saint Louis Billikens (5-10, 0-2) 74-72.
- The Saint Joseph’s Hawks (13-1, 2-0) defeated the George Washington Revolutionaries (7-7, 0-2) 67-47.
- Saturday, January 6th:
- The Dayton Flyers (7-8, 1-3) narrowly defeated the Loyola Chicago Ramblers (7-7, 1-2) 69-65.
- The Saint Louis Billikens (6-10, 1-2) narrowly defeated the Massachusetts Minutewomen (3-12, 1-2) 79-75.
- The Rhode Island Rams (11-5, 3-0) defeated the Saint Bonaventure Bonnies (4-10, 1-2) 65-41.
- The Richmond Spiders (13-3, 3-0) defeated the Saint Joseph’s Hawks (13-2, 2-1) 64-59.
- The La Salle Explorers (4-10, 1-2) defeated the Fordham Rams (6-9, 1-3) 64-53.
- Sunday, January 7th
- The George Mason Patriots (11-3, 2-1) defeated the Duquesne Dukes (7-7, 2-1) 101-75.
- The Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (13-2, 2-1) defeated the Davidson Wildcats (12-2, 2-1) 65-55.
Atlantic 10 Women’s Basketball Upcoming Schedule:
- Tuesday, January 9th:
- Saint Joseph’s Hawks (13-2, 2-1) at Saint Louis Billikens (6-10, 1-2) at 8pm ET.
- Wednesday, January 10th:
- Massachusetts Minutewomen (3-12, 1-2) at Richmond Spiders (13-3, 3-0) at 11am.
- Fordham Rams (6-9, 1-3) at Virginia Commonwealth University Rams (13-2, 2-1) at 6pm.
- Duquesne Dukes (7-7, 2-1) at George Washington Revolutionaries (7-7, 0-2) at 6pm.
- Rhode Island Rams (11-5, 3-0) at Loyola Chicago Ramblers (7-7, 1-2) at 7pm ET.
- La Salle Explorers (4-10, 1-2) at Saint Bonaventure Bonnies (4-10, 1-2) at 7pm.
- Davidson Wildcats (12-2, 2-1) at George Mason Patriots (11-3, 2-1) at 7pm.
Featured Image: Domenic Allegra, The Next
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.
