AMHERST — The streak is finally over.
Following an abysmal stretch of 15 consecutive losses, the UMass women’s basketball team finally put an end to its skid with a 58-45 win over St. Bonaventure on Wednesday night at the Mullins Center. Kristin Williams erupted for a game-high 21 points and knocked down five 3-pointers to lead the Minutewomen to victory.
UMass scored the game’s first four points to grab control in the opening minutes, and used an 8-2 run to build a lead it would not relinquish. The Minutewomen led for all but a minute and six seconds (while the game was 0-0) and their biggest advantage was a 15-point cushion in the fourth quarter.
Prior to that, however, the Bonnies got within two after a pair of Isabellah Middleton free throws made it 43-41 with just over six minutes remaining the final frame. That’s when UMass locked in defensively, only giving up four points the rest of the way.
A 15-2 run highlighted by Williams and Alexsia Rose put the game out of reach for good and earned UMass its second win in the Atlantic 10 (2-16) in its regular season finale.
St. Bonaventure now sits alone in last place of the conference at 1-16 with still one more game remaining.
Rose (12 points) joined Williams in double figures, Stefanie Kulesza (game-high nine rebounds) and Chinenye Odenigdo (five rebounds, three assists) each scored eight points while Lily Taulelei added six points and four boards in the Minutewomen victory.
