Going ice cold from 3-point range against a high-flying offense is a recipe for disaster.
In a battle between the top two scoring teams in the Atlantic 10 on Friday, the UMass women’s basketball team struggled from deep, going just 6-for-30 from beyond the arc.
Despite that, the Minutewomen and visiting St. Joseph’s were knotted at 51 going into the final quarter of play before a 13-2 run from the Hawks gave them a 64-56 lead with 5:24 to go. It was an advantage they never relinquished as UMass fell at the Mullins Center, 76-69.
“Who we were on the court today was something that we aren’t,” UMass coach Tory Verdi said. “I was embarrassed with how we played today and how we didn’t play as a team. You have to give St. Joe’s credit, I thought they outworked us, I thought they out-toughed us and I thought they out-coached us and that’s on us.”
The game was tightly contested throughout, with neither team holding a lead of more than six points through three quarters. The 3-point woes were magnified in the second half of play, as the Minutewomen (10-4, 6-3) made just two-of-19 attempts from deep while also struggling to get into the paint and convert easy baskets inside.
While the Hawks (5-1, 3-1) weren’t much better from 3, making 6-of-19 attempts, they got into the paint regularly and made plays in transition, finishing the game shooting 50.9 percent from the floor.
“We didn’t make shots from the perimeter and we didn’t move the ball well,” Verdi said. “Our interior post players need to score. We have to be able to finish around the rim. When you add up all the missed layups, had we made them the game might be different. It was the missed layups and not being able to knock down perimeter jumpers. We didn’t move the ball, we didn’t get into gaps, we didn’t post up against their zone.”
Sam Breen finished with a double-double for UMass, scoring a team-high 17 points and snatching 10 rebounds. Destiny Philoxy finished with 15 points, while Sydney Taylor and Ber’Nyah Mayo each had 13 points in the loss. Maddie Sims dished out a career-high seven assists.
St. Joe’s received offense from multiple different players, with a big-time effort from a bench that had 43 of its 76 points. Alexis Santarelli and Alayna Gribble led the way with 15 points apiece.
“They made shots today,” Verdi said. “We knew coming in they could shoot the ball and everybody on their team can. They made shots, off balance or bad shots, they went in. We didn’t defend here today and it was really disappointing to see. If somebody told me coming in this is how we’re going to play defensively, I wouldn’t have believed it. We didn’t play as a team today.”
Until the fourth quarter, it was about as even of a game as they come. The two teams were knotted at 18 after the first quarter and the Minutewomen led by just one, 36-35, at the half.
UMass looked like it was set to go on a run to start the second half, getting out to a 44-38 lead with 7:51 to go in the quarter after a Taylor layup in transition. But the Hawks defense packed it in and made life difficult for the Minutewomen, which went nearly five minutes without a basket from the field after taking that lead.
A late push by UMass looked to have some life, as an and-one from Breen cut the St. Joe’s lead to 70-65 with 1:06 to play, but it was the closest it got as the Hawks knocked down six free throws in the final minute to hang on.
“We’ve been in tough games before,” Verdi said. “We toughed games out. We just did not function as a team today. You aren’t going to be successful if you don’t do that and they did. They worked together, they played together and played the way the game is supposed to be played and we did not.”
The Minutewomen are back in action Sunday, looking to snap their two-game losing skid against La Salle, with tipoff set for 1 p.m. at the Mullins Center.
“Next game, we have to play as a team,” Sims said. “Having a quick turnaround is good for us. We’ll learn from today, practice tomorrow and get right back after it Sunday.”