AMHERST, Mass. – Despite a well-rounded team effort by the UMass women’s basketball squad, Ole Miss managed to rally in the second half to edge the Minutewomen, 72-67 at the Mullins Center on Saturday afternoon. Following the loss, UMass is now 1-4 on the season, while the Rebels move their record to 4-1.
Junior Jasmine Watson (South Bend, Ind./South Bend Washington) led four Minutewomen in double figures, posting her second double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three assists and two steals. Classmate Shakia Robinson (North Wales, Pa./North Penn) had 17 points and five boards off the bench, while redshirt-sophomore Carolann Cloutier (Montreal, Quebec/Dawson College/Old Dominion) added a career-high 15 points and dished four assists. Senior Emilie Teuscher (Miamisburg, Ohio/Miamisburg) chipped in with eight points, six boards and five assists.
After a 4-0 start for Ole Miss, Cloutier’s free throw at 16:01 gave UMass its first lead of the game, part of a 10-0 run for the Minutewomen that put the squad out in front, 10-4 at the 14:23 mark in the opening half. UMass went on to lead by as many as 13 in the period when Robinson’s layup at 4:03 brought the score to 34-21. However, the Rebels responded with a three from Whitney Hameth, one of three she made in the final 3:43 of the frame to lead a 13-2 run for Ole Miss that cut the deficit to 36-34 at the intermission.
The Rebels came out of the break with a layup by Valencia McFarland that tied the score, but a 7-1 stretch helped the Minutewomen back out to a six-point advantage with 14:52 remaining. However, Ole Miss stayed with UMass and did not trail again after the 8:46 mark when a basket by Hameth that put the Rebels on top, 51-50. Robinson completed a three-point play that tied the score at 65 with 1:23 to go, but free throws helped Ole Miss hang on despite a layup by Cloutier that brought the Minutewomen within one with 34 seconds left.
UMass shot strong out of the gate, making 14-of-26 from the field in the first half (53.8%) and finished the afternoon at 43.3% (26-60) overall. The Minutewomen made 4-of-11 (36.4%) from three-point range and converted 11-of-14 attempts (78.6%) at the charity stripe, while out-rebounding the Rebels, 40-36. Ole Miss was 24-for-65 (36.9%) from the field on the day, 5-of-16 (31.3%) from three and 19-of-24 (79.2%) at the free throw line.
Nikki Byrd led the Rebels with a double-double on 26 points and 17 boards, while also grabbing four steals. McFarland totaled 15 points and five assists and Amber Singletary and Hameth finished with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
UMass will be back in action on Tuesday evening, Nov. 29, at Quinnipiac, beginning its stretch of three straight home games with a 7 p.m. tip-off against the Bobcats.
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