The UMass women’s basketball team kept on rolling Tuesday night, cruising to an 80-62 win over Providence on the road.
The win was the first time the Minutewomen had bested the Friars since the 2004-05 season, and improved their record to 5-0 on the season.
Junior Sydney Taylor set a new season-high with 26 points and snagged five rebounds as well. Angelique Ngalakulondi posted her second career double-double, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 boards in the winning effort, and teammate Makennah White tied her career-high in points with 12 on the evening.
The win keeps the Minutewomen undefeated this season, the team’s best start since 1988-89.
The Friars jumped out to an early 20-12 lead in the first quarter. The Minutewomen struggled behind the three-point arc early, missing on all five of their attempts, before storming back in the second quarter to outscore Providence 23-14 to head into halftime up 35-34.
They pulled away with a monstrous third quarter, outscoring the Friars 26-9, with 11 of those points coming off of turnovers.
UMass will get a couple days to rest before heading down to Florida for the Gulf Coast Showcase over Thanksgiving weekend. The Minutewomen will face off against South Dakota State on Friday at 11 a.m. The Jackrabbits were an NCAA Tournament team last year.