AMHERST – A 15-0 run from the UMass women’s basketball team to finish out the third quarter of Wednesday’s game against St. Bonaventure was the difference in the Minutewomen’s 81-54 victory at the Mullins Center.

The Bonnies fought back from a 10-point deficit at halftime to tie it at 43 apiece with 4 miuntes, 19 seconds left in the third, but four 3-pointers from UMass highlighted its strong run to end the frame and take St. Bonaventure out of it with a 15-point advantage to start the fourth (58-43).

“I think at halftime we talked about, they had six 3s at the half, and it was more the uncontested ones. We were in their space, but no hand up and we’re just letting them shoot over us and that wasn’t good enough,” Minutewomen head coach Mike Leflar said. “Of course they start the third quarter and they were moving faster than us, plain and simple. Again, I challenged them at the timeout and they responded. They came out and the ball started going through the basket again and I just think our energy picked up.

“The first five minutes of the third quarter, St. Bonaventure was the more excited team. The last 15 minutes of the game there was no doubt who was the more excited and hungrier team,” Leflar said. 

Leflar called a timeout when the Bonnies made it a one-point game and after briefly knotting up the score, it was all Minutewomen (13-10, 8-4 Atlantic 10) the rest of the night. The club extended their winning streak to a season-high four games with the lopsided victory.

Freshman Yahmani McKayle was sharp from beyond the arc, hitting 5-of-8 long-balls, which helped the guard grab a team-high 21 points. Senior Allie Palmieri’s 12 points was next best among Minutewomen players, followed by a career-high 11-point night from junior Lilly Ferguson.

“Honestly, I think it’s just a testament to the work that I put in ,” Ferguson said. “I think my teammates would say that I’m a hard worker and I do what I do. Points came to me today because I was doing things on defense, getting charges, rebounding. I wouldn’t able to do it without my teammates.”

Junior Megan Olbrys managed 10 points despite seeing double-coverage from St. Bonaventure most of the night. The Norwood native made up for it by distributing eight assists, which led UMass.

“They were doubling all of our post-catches,” Leflar said. “We’ve been working on that. I think early on she had a couple turnovers against the double and just needed to settle down. So she settled in and I know she was able to find her teammates.”

The Minutewomen shot 55.6 percent from the field (30-of-54), 50 percent on 3s (11-of-22) and 76.9 percent (10-of-13) on free throws.

UMass’ bench players also made an impact on Wednesday, tallying 31 points on the night. St. Bonaventure received just nine points from its bench players.

“I’m really impressed and proud of them,” Leflar said on his team’s productivity from the bench players. “Obviously, [Ferguson] understands that role and is really comfortable with her role, being that first post-sub off the bench and thrived and has been thriving in it.”

The Bonnies received 13 points from Dani Haskell while Zoe Shaw and Hannah Richardson each concluded with 11 points. St. Bonaventure fell to 5-18 overall and 1-11 in the A-10 with their eighth straight loss.

Wednesday’s win puts the Minutewomen in sole possession of fourth place in the A-10. With just six regular-season games remaining, UMass wants to continue its good habits that has carried the team during its recent hot stretch.

“I think the biggest thing you have to do is just keep doing the same things that we’ve been doing the past couple games,” Ferguson said. “Obviously, our hard work has kind of shown itself these past couple games and [Wednesday].”

The Minutewomen host Davidson next on Saturday at 1 p.m.