AMHERST – Fresh off a championship win at the FIU Thanksgiving Classic, UMass outplayed Yale on its home court on Wednesday, posting a 72-57 win to give the Minutewomen a 7-1 record going into December.
Sam Breen led the way with a staple double double, posting 25 points and 15 rebounds. Ber’Nyah Mayo also cracked the 20-point mark in scoring with a career-high 21 points and five boards. Destiney Philoxy put up five steals and eight points and Sydney Taylor had nine points and four assists.
Despite the 15-point margin of victory, head coach Tory Verdi wasn’t happy with his team’s disjointed performance. Though there were moments where the team was clicking together, it wasn’t a consistent thread throughout the game.
“Team’s scout ya, and they tried to muck it up today, there’s no question about that. They tried to be physical and get into us and so forth. You’ve got to give them credit, there was no absolutely zero flow to the game,” Verdi said. “The stoppage hurt us as well because we couldn’t just get out and run and so it was just stagnant.”
It took the Minutewomen a little time to get their feet under them in the opening quarter. Yale’s Mackenzie Egger sank a triple to give Yale a 3-0 lead and Yale kept UMass from leading for the first three minutes. After that, it was all UMass – a Breen layup sparked a 10-0 run for the Minutewomen, building up a 14-6 lead. Yale never retook the lead from the home team. UMass finished the first with an 18-13 lead, though Yale had the edge in rebounds 12-10, a rare feat for any opponent.
With a five point lead heading into the second quarter, the Minutewomen quickly set to work building up the game. They opened the second period with a 7-0 run, forcing a Yale timeout after “Swish” Taylor sank a three-pointer at the 7:31 mark. Though Yale answered with a bucket after the break, UMass added two more baskets to make in an 11-2 run, building up a commanding 29-15 lead.
Yale only got within nine points of UMass; Alexzeya Brooks, Philoxy and Mayo combined for a 7-0 run late in the period, and the Minutewomen went into halftime with a 14-point lead up 36-22.
Both teams were fairly evenly matched in the third, but Yale couldn’t dent in the significant lead that UMass had. It was a scoring bonanza, with each team knocking down 19 points over the 10-minute span. Breen went off for the home squad, knocking down 13 points in the third frame alone to secure a double double and keep the Minutewomen’s 14-point lead.
“There was definitely a little stretch there where I lost a little bit of confidence and was just in a slump. But having a good stretch of practices and just kind of getting that back, I think it’s been definitely need ed for me,” Breen said. “I’m a little bit more confident underneath again and just getting the shots that I got last year.”
After the third, UMass had a comfortable 55-41 lead to protect for 10 more minutes.
Things got heated in the fourth quarter; UMass’ Philoxy and Yale’s Klara Astrom got matching technicals after an exchange and near-scuffle between the two teams.
“Their player got Destiney’s face, said something to her – ‘Happy Holidays,’ whatever it was. Obviously, Destiny was standing up for herself as well, and that’s where the double techs come into play,” Verdi said.
Another play went under review a couple of minutes later, but things quieted down for the remainder of the game. Neither team went on a significant run, with both sides trading buckets down the stretch. UMass found its way to the free throw line quite often, with Breen, Mayo, Taylor and Angelique Ngalakulondi combing to knock down 12 points from the charity stripe.
UMass will hit the road and travel to the Briann January Classic in Tempe, Arizona for their next two games. The Minutewomen will play Arizona State on Friday at 8 p.m. ET.